TORRINGTON – The Torrington High School Blazers’ soccer team secured a pair of wins against conference foes Newcastle and Buffalo over the course of an adrenaline-filled weekend.

Opening the action on a high note, Torrington cruised past Newcastle, 8-1, at home on Thursday, May 2.

Squaring off against Buffalo on Saturday, the Blazers foiled an attempt by the Bison to advance on the leaderboard in a tie-breaker. The neck-and-neck game came down to a 3-3 stalemate at the end of regulation. In an epic overtime shootout, senior Greysen Shields slammed in Torrington’s fourth penalty kick for the Blazers to prevail and post a 4-3 overall victory against Buffalo.

Newcastle

A tenacious Torrington offense set the momentum in the first half against Newcastle with four goals while a solid Blazer defense prevented the Dogies from scoring.

In the first three minutes of regulation, junior Elijah Hatch struck deep into Newcastle territory to score Torrington’s first goal.

Gaining possession, sophomore Anthony Arnusch scored a pair of goals, the first with a penalty kick and the second assisted by Hatch.

Hatch netted his second goal midway into the first half, assisted by junior Kaiden Riggs. 

Seniors Adam Bartlett and Leo Belli maintained the offensive momentum in the opening half with a shot on goal.

On defense, sophomore Jace Schlagel cleared the backfield with a header and junior goalie Ayden Shimic posted three saves.

Torrington hammered away at Newcastle in the second half, shooting in four more goals while holding the Dogies to one.

Belli scored first for Torrington, followed by Riggs. Hatch rounded out the tally for Torrington with a pair of goals.

Junior Carter Blevins attacked Newcastle’s territory early in the second half with a shot on goal. Ayden Shimic tallied seven more saves before the end of regulation.

Torrington’s second string entered the game midway into the second half, with shots on goal by freshman Braxton Carlson, sophomore Brody Harrison and freshman Brody Ringrose.

Buffalo

The Bison struck first with a goal early in the first half. Arnusch responded with a penalty kick and the game reached a 1-1 stalemate.

Defensive hustle by Riggs and Shields, along with four saves by Ayden Shimic, kept the backfield clear. Junior Nounou Braddy deflected a shot by Buffalo with a header.

The Bison ultimately broke through Torrington’s perimeter in the final moments of the first half to break the deadlock and pull ahead, 2-1, at halftime.

Refusing to throw in the towel, the Torrington offense stepped up its pressure in the second half with repeated attacks into Buffalo’s territory and shots on goal by Anrusch and Hatch. Arnusch succeeded in kicking the ball past Buffalo’s goalie on his second shot to tie the game, 2-2.

Riggs followed with a penalty kick and Torrington seized the lead, 3-2.

On defense, plays by Shields, Riggs and junior Skyler Thomas prevented Buffalo from scoring for most of the remainder of the second half. Ayden Shimic picked up four saves in the final 40 minutes of regulation.

With less than one minute remaining in regulation, Buffalo managed to score a penalty kick and the game deadlocked, 3-3, when the final buzzer sounded.

Advancing into an overtime shootout, Torrington matched the Bison in scoring, 3-3, following successful penalty kicks by Thomas, Arnusch and Bartlett.

The Bison’s kicker missed Buffalo’s fourth penalty kick, and the ball ricocheted off the goalpost.

Taking possession, Shields lined up and expertly kicked in Torrington’s fourth penalty kick, securing the win for the Blazers.