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By JOE PALLADINO
Just wondering: Can it get any better than this?
A pair of elite Naugatuck Valley League soccer programs will again play for a league championship. A team that once dominated in girls soccer is back in the title mix. A relative newcomer plays in its first NVL soccer
That pretty much answers the question: No, it can’t.
In an intriguing NVL boys soccer final, Naugatuck plays for its fourth straight league championship when it meets Oxford, a first-time finalist, at 5 p.m. at Naugatuck High’s Veterans Field.
Since the NVL went to a championship tournament format in 2007, this is Naugatuck’s eighth trip to the final. The Greyhounds have won six times.
“This year we have played pretty well at times,” said first-year coach Ryan Kinne. “This game was a little rough,” he added, about the 2-0 victory in the semis over Ansonia on Tuesday. “But all that mattered was that we got the result.”
Oxford coach Charlie Egervari said it has been a long haul to get to this point, and it happened due to “good, tough conditioning, which I truly believe in.” That gave Oxford an edge, the coach said, late in games and now into November, too.
The NVL girls final features a tourney perennial, Watertown, against a former perennial, Holy Cross.
Watertown will attempt to win its sixth title in seven seasons when it meets the Crusaders, who last won in 2007, in the championship match that will follow 30 minutes after the boys tonight.
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Like the Naugatuck boys, this is Watertown’s eighth time in the NVL final. The Indians have six championship tournaments titles. Last season the Tribe lost to Woodland in overtime.
“The difference between last year and this year is so far we have been able to get ourselves out of some tough situations,” said coach Christina Nunes. “Even though we are still a fairly young team, we have more experience in every position, and more depth. I am confident in my players coming off the bench.”
The Crusaders are in the title game for the first time since 2007 after defeating defending NVL champ and top seed Woodland in a penalty-kick shootout. How did Cross get here? First-year coach Phil Mongelluzzo points to three factors.
“We had 100-percent effort all the time,” he said. “We were committed to that effort no matter how much each girl plays or doesn’t play, and the biggest of three, we empowered each other on the field at all times.”
soccer.