The Westport soccer team is heading to the final four after stunning one-seeded Sutton 3-2 in triple overtime during a Division 5 Elite 8 game at Sutton on Saturday afternoon. The eighth-seeded Wildcats with a record of 20-0-1, will face Boston International at Scituate High School on Tuesday at 4:30 p.m. for a chance to play in the final. It’s the second trip in three years for head coach Chris Parker and the Wildcats. 

“The boys demonstrated exceptional heart, courage and grit,” Coach Parker said. “I am so incredibly proud of them.”

Sophomores Landon Novo and Carter Couto scored goals during regulation and the defensive back four of 

Ryan Borges, Marcos Dutra Africano, Ben Cross, and Zachary Lopes played a tremendous game to limit Sutton's attempts to penetrate the final third of the field, said Coach Parker.

The teams battled through two scoreless 10-minute overtime periods, before a shootout determined the game. The Wildcats kicked second. Ben Novo, Carter Couto and Will Quinlan each scored as Westport took a brief 3-2 lead during the penalty kicks. Junior goalkeeper Noah Amaral came up huge, diving to his left, to make the save on Sutton’s fourth shot. 

“It was an outstanding save,” said Coach Parker. The athletic keeper also made seven saves during regulation and overtime. 

Sutton scored on their fifth shot to knot the score 3-3. 

Sophomore Landen Novo took the Wildcats’ final shot and blasted a rising shot to the upper right corner of the goal to send the Westport crowd into a frenzy as they were headed to the final four.

Round of 16: Wildcats 7 Hull 0

In the round of 16, Will Quinlan scored three goals as the Wildcats overpowered Hull 7-0 during the home playoff game on Thursday afternoon. Nyzaiah Pacheco and Ben Novo each scored two goals. Carter Couto contributed with two assists. 

“We started playing our style and took the game away,” said Quinlan. “We move as a unit. It’s starts with the defense. We move it through the midfield and go right into the attack. So it’s a whole team process to score goals and create chances for ourselves.”

Quinlan kicked in a rebound off the goalkeeper to give Westport a 1-0 lead in the first half. His two goals in the second, a header off a cross by Tommy Bernard and a kick that sailed over the head of the Hull keeper, helped to break open the game. 

The Wildcats defense stymied Hull’s attack limiting them to just three shots on goal. Amaral made all three saves to secure his 14th shutout of the season. 

“One of the things that we wanted to do in this tournament was to win convincingly,” said Coach Parker. “We wanted to make the statement that we belong here and we feel that we are capable of winning it all.”