Stonington boys' soccer keeps calm and carries on in Class M tournament

Stonington — With a return trip to the Class M boys' soccer state tournament semifinals at stake, Stonington senior Chase Donnarummo stepped up to take his penalty kick attempt on Friday.Donnarummo appeared calm."There was a lot of pressure on me," Donnarummo said. "But we go with conviction."Donnarummo buried his shot to hand No. 18 Stonington a 5-4 win in the shootout over No. 26 Lewis Mills and set off a joyous celebration. The score stood deadlocked 2-2 after regulation and two 10-minute overtime periods.Stonington will play No. 6 Tolland, a 5-0 winner over No. 3 Hand, in the semifinals at a date and time yet to be determined.In the quarterfinals, the Bears won the rematch between last year's two Class M finalists. Lewis Mills won the 2023 state title showdown and rallied from a 2-0 deficit to send Friday's quarterfinal into overtime.Junior Sal Alessio's laser handed the Bears a 1-0 lead and senior Landon Pelletier curled in a shot directly off a corner kick to push the lead to two with 21 minutes, 30 seconds left in the first half.The Bears led 2-1 at halftime before Roberto Rubbo Jr. buried a low shot into the corner to the score with 28:48 remaining.Both teams frantically tried to break the tie.Playing with the wind at its back in the second half, Lewis Mills nearly took the lead on a few occasions. The Bears defended with heart and hustle to prevent any further damage.After a scoreless overtime, Stonington found itself in a penalty kick shootout for the second time in three state tournament games.Stonington senior goalie Nick Cannella was ready. He never flinched after Lewis Mills scored four goals off well-placed shots.Alessio, Pelletier, senior Ethan Cabrera and senior Jace Wolfradt all converted their attempts to keep the Bears alive.Then Cannella delivered, making a terrific diving save to begin the fifth round to set up Donnaurummo's game-clinching kick."I feel pretty confident," Cannella said. "Last year in the state tournament semifinals, I saved three of them. … I trusted my instincts. I figured it was coming. I got my hands on two of them. It was frustrating. But the PKs are all about flushing and going to the next one."Stonington coach Mario Costa had faith in his keeper."Big Nick is always good for at least one save, "Costa said. "It's nice to have a keeper that can step up in those moments."Stonington (12-7-2) is in a familiar position.As a No. 17 seed last year, the Bears exceeded expectations and reached the final. They believe they can do it again."We knew we had just as good of a chance as last year if not better to come back here," Cannella said. "One hundred percent we knew we were coming back here."Now the Bears will prepare for the semifinals."Now it's one win and you're back at Dillon Stadium," Costa said, referring to the site of the state finals. "That's always been the goal for this team. We returned eight or nine starters that played in the final last year. They have aspirations to get there again."But it's not going to be easy against a Tolland team that I heard won 5-0."g.keefe@theday.com