East Hampton girls soccer team finally brought it home, snagging the Shoreline Conference championship 1-0 over Old Saybrook. This wasn’t just another win on the schedule, folks. This went down Monday, November 2, 2026, at Blythe Field in Deep River, and it broke a *two-decade* long drought. Yeah, you read that right: their first Shoreline title since way back in 2006.
The Redemption Arc Was Real
Last season, these Bellringers were legit, winning 17 games, but that postseason title? Nope, it slipped away. They even made it to the Shoreline Championship final, only to suffer their first defeat of the season against Valley Regional. Brutal, right? So, when ten starters came back this year, you *knew* they had unfinished business. Junior Olivia Correia nailed it, saying, “We were really motivated this year to come back. We were, like, hungry for it, we really wanted it, and we knew that no one was going to give it to us, so we had to come out and work really hard.” Coach Andrea Giuliano backed that up, talking about working “two seasons long, to get to this point… and prove a point that our regular season record wasn’t a fluke.” This was about redemption, plain and simple.
Game-Winning Grit Delivers the Gold
This time around, East Hampton came into the final unbeaten again, top seed against No. 3 Old Saybrook. And they made it count. With 5:50 left in the first half, Correia, who is the Shoreline Player of the Year, pulled off some magic. She dribbled through a bunch of defenders, found fellow junior Ava Ploszay, and Ava buried it past Old Saybrook goalkeeper Amarra Holmes. Just like that, 1-0. Ploszay herself described it perfectly: “I saw Liv dribbling up the middle going by people. I saw my mark turn her head. I knew I had the opening, so I was just running. Liv played the through ball. … Before I knew it, I tapped in the goal.” Old Saybrook, for their part, got zero shots off in the first half, though they made East Hampton goalkeeper Cassie Owocki work for five shots in the second, including a diving save. Holmes kept it close for Old Saybrook too, with eight saves. But East Hampton’s 17-0-0 record and their perfect 5-0 mark in one-goal games, including beating Old Saybrook 1-0 in the opener, tells you everything you need to know about their clutch factor.
So what’s next for the No. 1 team in the Class M/S state coaches poll? They roll into the CIAC Class M state tournament as the top seed, snagging a first-round bye. Ploszay summed up the feeling: “We took every practice as seriously as we could to get to this game and finally win it. This (win) means so much to us and we are so happy to finally win it.” With that kind of drive, you know they’re not done yet. Can they keep this undefeated run going and claim the state title? We’re all watching to see what this squad does next.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Yahoo Sports.
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