HARTFORD – They started winning titles before Steve Waters arrived at Old Saybrook. He was in his 36th year of coaching the Farmington boys soccer team when the Rams and their coach Sam Barnes won the Class S title in 2018.
In 2019, they won again. Waters was an assistant to Barnes. There was a shortened season in 2020, the COVID year, the year Waters took over as head coach. They won Class S in 2021. They won Class S in 2022.
On Sunday, Old Saybrook was back, unbeaten and top-seeded in the Class S tournament, ready to take on No. 2 Shepaug Valley (17-3) in the Class S final. Senior Kevin DeCapua, the game’s MVP, had a goal and an assist and junior Felipe Dutra had two goals in Old Saybrook’s dominating 4-1 victory at Trinity Health Stadium.
And the Rams (18-0-2) won their fifth straight title, tying Staples (1969-73) for the most consecutive titles won in boys soccer in the state.
“That’s history,” Old Saybrook senior goalkeeper London Sweeney said. “We have a great coach. We have an amazing program. It’s a brotherhood. It’s a dynasty. It’s the chemistry we have – always wanting to get better and better every practice. We have so much passion in our town and in our team.”
Waters, the state’s winningest boys soccer coach, got his 12th state title (nine with Farmington, three with Old Saybrook).
“It’s fun,” Waters said. “We still have a lot of fun. We have four seniors that started three years in a row, they have three state championships. In the last four years, they’re 65-5-5.
“It’s impressive. I started adding it up the other day and I said if you got 50 wins by your senior year, you had a good career. They had 65 wins. My hat’s off to them. They just kept working. They had an incredible run. We had to play some tough teams, Canton, East Hampton and a very tough Holy Cross team in penalty kicks.”
The Rams had to play East Hampton, whom they faced in the final last year, in the semifinal. They won 1-0. Beat Holy Cross 2-1 on penalty kicks (4-3) in the semifinal.
Sunday, it wasn’t that close. Dutra scored the first goal, DeCapua assisted. Lucas Webb had the second. DeCapua got the third and it was the Dutra-DeCapua combo again for the final goal. Harrison Smith scored for Shepaug Valley.
“We were looking forward to this,” Waters said. “We were ready. Mentally, physically, psychologically, we were just ready – let’s get out and play this game and win it.”
