The Middlesex boys' varsity soccer team traveled to northeastern Connecticut for a Class B matchup on a sunny Saturday in mid-September with a tenacious Pomfret team. In the first
half, Middlesex got their noses out into the lead, thanks to goals from Bryan Mayhew '26 and Adriano Valmora '28 and an assist from a Mahad Garad '29. However, each time they were pegged
back by the industrious pressing work of Pomfret's #9, who scored on a Middlesex turnover in the back, and Pomfret's #10, who took a beautiful first touch opportunity from the top of the box to slot home and knot the game at 2-2 with just eight minutes left in the first half. The Zebras bounced back and senior captain Hanad Garad '26 got on the board, courtesy of Valmora's first of three assists on the day. With the game settled at 3-2 by halftime, Middlesex talked about some adjustments that needed to be made for the second half. The result was excellent execution and a string of great scoring chances that saw a much higher conversion rate. After 23 minutes of sustained pressure, Chris De Morais '29 broke into the penalty box and was taken down from
behind for a spot kick. De Morais settled his nerves and buried his penalty to extend the lead with about twenty minutes left to play. Within the next ten minutes, the game was put out of reach thanks to Hanad Garad and Tyler Martinez '26, with assists going to Valmora and Elliot Koopersmith '27. Mayhew added one more goal from Valmora's third helper to close out the
match. Throughout the 90 minutes, Pomfret battled to pressure the ball and created a significant number of quality chances. Both of the goalkeepers performed very well and kept this a highly
competitive match for the first three quarters of the game until the visitors converted a few chances in rapid succession.