Norwalk Stifles Wilton

Andres Torres scored two goals to carry the Bears to a season-opening win

By Mike Madar
Hour Correspondent

NORWALK — Sophomore striker Andres Torres scored a pair of goals and the Bears connected on a perfect free kick as the Norwalk boys soccer team opened its season with an impressive 4-1 win over Wilton Thursday night.

The game was the first played on the beautifully resurfaced Testa Field.

The Warriors and Bears battled in the midfield for the first 30 minutes until Norwalk broke the deadlock when it scored off a free kick with 7:32 remaining in.

After two players became decoys and ran over the ball, Jake Zuniga placed a perfect pass into the box. Matt Surace, who had beaten his man, got to the ball and headed it past Wilton keeper Austin White for a 1-0 Bears lead.

“We’ve been working on free kicks to try and get the timing right. We connected early,” Norwalk head coach Chris Laughton said. “It showed that if you practice enough it will pay off every time.”

Just over two minutes later, Torres broke free of the Warriors’ defense but was denied by a diving save from White.

Late in the half, Norwalk again showed off its speed at the striker position, this time to double the lead.

On the Bears second goal, Torres beat a Wilton defender to a through ball from Danny Quintero and placed it past White for a 2-0 lead with 2:17 to go in the half.

Norwalk put the game away early in the second half when Torres scored his second goal of the game with 37:18 remaining off an assist from Fabian Carvajal.

“Andres showed that he is going to be dangerous up front,” Laughton said. “He’s fast, technical and is going to be a problem for all the defenders he’ll face.”

Scott Brown put Wilton on the scoreboard midway through the second half when he scored off a Lucas Ruffel pass with 21:38 to go.

Norwalk put the finishing touches on the win with 15:11 remaining as Sean Whitteaker scored off a rebound following a beautiful cross by Willy Arbieto.

Wilton defender Ian Halter left the game early in the 13th minute when collided hard with White and a Norwalk striker. Halter left the game with an injury to his right arm and did not return.

For the game Norwalk outshot Wilton 8-5. White made four saves for the Bears while Alex Hurd stopped three shots for the Bears.

Even with a season-opening win under his belt, Laughton knows his team has to continue to improve. “I still feel there is a lot we can work on,” Laughton said. “I thought our intensity and teamwork was there. It was definitely a step in the right direction.” Both teams return to action Saturday as Norwalk hosts St. Joseph and Wilton visits Central.

The Hour Newspaper – 9/12/08