Maloney High School Cracks Top 5 of Final Boys Soccer Poll

MERIDEN, CT — A Class L championship game appearance propelled Maloney High School to the fifth spot in the final Class LL-L boys soccer coaches poll for 2018.

The unheralded Spartans, who emerged from the No. 17 seed to make the finals, defeated four higher-ranked teams before dropping a 1-0 heartbreaker to Daniel Hand. They placed behind only Class LL champion Glastonbury, Daniel Hand, LL runner-up Hall and LL semifinalist East Hartford in the final balloting.

Class M champion Plainville, the Cinderella team which rallied from the No. 23 seed to stun undefeated and top-ranked Ellington in the championship game, was the top vote-getter in Classes M-S.

Here are the top 10 in both divisions, with first-place votes in parentheses, as well as all other teams collecting votes.

LL-L

1. Glastonbury (13)
2. Daniel Hand (1)
3. Hall
4. East Hartford
5. Maloney
6. Wethersfield
7. Pomperaug
8. Greenwich
9. Avon
10. Danbury

Also receiving votes: Farmington, Cheshire, Fairfield Prep, Conard, Trumbull, Xavier, South Windsor, Weston.

Coaches voting: Arnie Jandreau, Lyman Hall; Dave Zlatin, Avon; Dan Woog, Staples; Chris Laughton, Norwalk; Mark Landers, Glastonbury; Dave Yanosy, Southington; Jim Lewicki, Wilton; Joe Mancini,Pomperaug; Art Branco, Cheshire; Tony Fernandes, Bethel; Paul Winstanley, Joel Barlow; Zeke Seguro, Hall; Vic Santos, Independent; John Blomstrann, E.O. Smith.

M-S

1. Plainville (10)
2. Ellington (1)
3. Old Saybrook (3)
4. Stonington
5. Morgan
6. Granby Memorial
7. Litchfield
8. Watertown
9. Lewis Mills
10. Tolland

Also receiving votes: Notre Dame-Fairfield, Brookfield, Lyman Memorial, Northwestern Regional.

Coaches voting: Colin Delaney, Montville; Rob Andrulis, Litchfield; Dave Emery, Granby Memorial; Tim Brown, Plainville; Roy Gurnon, Ellington; Andy Campbell, Northwestern Regional; Sam Barnes, Old Saybrook; Ben Kulas, Lewis Mills; Ryan Fabry, Lyman Memorial; Vic Santos, Independent; Gianni Perugini, Sacred Heart; Dave Lavery, Brookfield; Vito Caligiuri, Watertown; Paul deCastro, Stonington.

Photo credit: Tim Jensen

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