Rivals Avon, Farmington Duel for Soccer Championship

The last time Avon boys soccer faced Farmington in an official game was when the Falcons clinched a victory after penalty kicks in the 1989 state tournament semifinal.

Friday afternoon, the longstanding local rivalry will be rekindled when Avon and Farmington high schools play each other in the CIAC Class L state tournament championship game in Meriden.

"Everyone is very excited. The players know each other from youth leagues," Avon assistant varsity coach David Zlatin wrote in an email to Patch.

Historically, Farmington has a 16-14-1 record against Avon, Zlatin said. The teams played against each other in the Northwest Conference until Avon left the conference in 1985. The Falcons now are in the NCCC.

"We have met six times in the state tournament, each team winning three games," Zlatin said. "They played in one state final, in 1986, won by Farmington."

Even though the teams have not played any conference or tournament games against each other for more than 20 years, they do have a tradition of scrimaging every August.

Avon concluded their season with a 12-3-1 NCCC record. Farmington had an 11-2-3 record in the Northwest Conference.

Farmington earned their spot in the championship with a 1-0 win over RHAM on Saturday, when senior Tyler Hoffman scored.

Avon advanced after defeating Daniel Hand High School 1-0 last weekend. Daniel Leszczynski scored off a free kick from teammate David Freling with nearly 11 minutes remaining in the game, according to the Hartford Courant. 

Three goals have been scored against Farmington so far in the state tournament, including a 3-1 win over Stratford in the first round and a 3-2 victory over Branford in the second round. Farmington shut out both Windsor and RHAM 1-0 in the quarterfinal and semifinal, respectively.

The Class L finals for boys and girls are being held at Falcon Field in Meriden at 200 Westfield Rd. Kickoff for the Avon-Farmington boys game is today at 1:30 p.m.