I thought our intensity to start the second half was really good. We pressured the heck out of them. We were winning almost every ball. We knew once we scored the first goal. The floodgates would open up.”

Wildcat Head Coach Chris Parker

The fifth seeded Westport soccer team scored three goals in the second half to dispatch 28th seeded Granby 3-1 in the Division 5 round of 32 of the Massachusetts state soccer tournament. The Wildcats, who received a bye in the preliminary round of the tournament, will move on to host Boston International in the round of 16 on Thursday afternoon at 2 p.m.

“I thought our intensity to start the second half was really good,” said Wildcats head coach Chris Parker. “We pressured the heck out of them. We were winning almost every ball. We knew once we scored the first goal. The floodgates would open up.” 

Westport captains Hunter Brodeur, Antonio Dutra Africano and Coltrane McGonigle led the team in scoring and execution as they dominated play for most of the game. Brodeur scored two goals, Dutra Africano netted one and McGonigle controlled play through the middle of the field. Granby strarted the game by putting six defenders in the box and played the Wildcats to a scoreless tie in the first half. 

But the senior striker got unleashed in the second. Brodeur took a pass from Antonio Dutra Africano along the left sideline, sped around Granby defender Carter White and placed a right footed shot by goalkeeper Gavin Moreno for a Wildcats 1-0 lead. “Antonio and I made eye contact,” said Brodeur, “He sent the ball down the line, I was able to create a nice turn, get around the defender and get a one-v-one with the keeper and I just put it by him.”

Antonio Dutra Africano lofted a left-footed free kick near midfield, it sailed over a scrum in front of the net which included Moreno and into the left corner of the goal to put the Wildcats up 2-0. 

“Those are typically my kicks,” Dutra Africano said. “I like to put it back door because I’m a lefty. It went where I was aiming, though I felt it was under kicked, but it went through the crowd an into the back of the net. I was happy with that.” 

Senior midfielder Tyler Arraial airmailed a perfect pass sending Brodeur in alone on Moreno. The striker blasted a right footed shot and Moreno laid out to block it. The striker raced in collected the ball and booted it into the back of the net for a 3-0 lead. Arraial jumped onto Brodeur as he made his way back to midfield.

“Tyler sent the ball over the defense,” Brodeur said. “I did a little move off the ball to get by the defender and went in on the keeper. I didn’t get a great shot off. But he bobbled it and I tapped it in.” 

With three goals in the bag, Westport let up and allowed a Granby goal. Coach Parker called a time out to rein the team back in. “I was very upset about the goal we let up.” Coach Parker said. “If we have any aspirations about being a championship team. We can’t have any let down.”

McGonigle agreed, “We played really good in patches,” said the Wildcats’ central midfielder. “We started really strong in both halves. But we had drop-offs.”

“We need improve,” said Dutra Africano. “We need to work on spacial awareness, moving the ball, communication. I feel like we have to play a little bit better as a team.”