CT Championships: Stonington Falls To Mills In Class M Boys Soccer

HARTFORD, CT — A brilliant and relentless second-half comeback propelled the Lewis Mills Spartans to their third state championship as they defeated Stonington High School, 5-2, Sunday.

Sunday's CIAC Class M boys soccer title game — played at Trinity Health Stadium in Hartford — was a matchup of underdogs based on their seedings, though both sport winning traditions.

Lewis Mills, a regional high school serving Burlington and Harwinton and coached by Ben Kulas, was seeded 14th and Stonington High School, located in southeastern Connecticut on the shoreline, was seeded 17th.

The Sunday showdown had everything from highlight reel goals, deflections into the net, sweet passes, a penalty kick, and ferocious, up-and-down attacks from each side.

While the game delivered action, it was defined by a Lewis Mills squad that turned a halftime deficit into a blowout win against a determined Stonington squad coached by Mario Costa.

Mills drew first blood 11 minutes into the game when sophomore Hayden Melingonis took a corner kick from senior Aleksander Swider and plowed it into the net.

The goal appeared to take a deflection from a Stonington defender, but Melingonis was credited with the goal because his shot would have been on target without the deflection.

The Bears, though, evened the score 1-1 with about 10 minutes left in the first half when junior Landon Pelletier took a long through pass from sophomore Salvatore Alessio and nicely slotted it into the net.

About two minutes later, Stonington took the lead with a Sportscenter highlight-type goal as junior Chase Donnarummo blasted a long-distance shot past the goalkeeper, making it 2-1 Southington.

That is where the combatants stood at halftime as afternoon turned to evening.

Early in the second half, Mills evened up the score at 2-2 when senior Aleksander Swider deposited a penalty kick after a Mills attacker was taken down in the box two minutes into the second half.

Then, with 35 minutes left in the game, Lewis Mills took a 3-2 lead after a long shot by junior Alex Begert was deflected into the net from distance by a Stonington defender.

The spectacular goal caused delirium from a large Mills student contingent that occupied the stands nearby, directly in front of where the action was.

With 19 minutes left, Mills scored just about the sweetest goal that can be expected in high school soccer.

Swider delivered a short, no-look pass on a give-and-go with junior Roberto Rubbo Jr., who walked into the box and easily slotted the ball into the net.

Now up 4-2, Mills was counting down the clock toward a state title as Stonington pondered a difficult second half that saw them give up the lead.

Then, with a little more than 14 minutes left, Lewis Mills started up the championship bus with another sweet goal from freshman Elias Pavelchak that was assisted by Swider, putting them up 5-2.

Swider gently rolled a pass on a breakaway to the freshman, who easily passed the ball past the keeper in front.

Both squads enjoyed good, but far from dominant, regular seasons, then got hot in the CIAC tournament.

From there, it was simply a matter of running out the clock, with Mills planning a celebration while Stonington pondered how their halftime lead evaporated so quickly.

Both teams, though, deserved credit for resilient tourney runs following uncharacteristically normal regular seasons.

Swider was the game's MVP for his three assists on the day.

Mills' regular season record was 8-5 with three draws, while Stonington was 9-7. In the tourney, though, both sides swept to 4-0 records, setting up Saturday's contest of improbable finalists.

Both, though, had some championship pedigrees, with Mills winning their third Saturday and Stonington garnering three, the last being in 2021.