Winchester Patch Fall Athlete of the Season: Ryan Connolly

Ryan Connolly is the Winchester Patch Fall Athlete of the Season after leading the boys' soccer team to one of its best seasons in history.

The senior center midfielder led the Middlesex League in scoring with 16 goals and 15 assists, as the Sachems for the first time in more than a decade.

Winchester coach Paul Austin said Connolly, one of the team's captains, truly deserves the recognition.

"He's just great," Austin said, "not just with his play but his leadership. He made all of his teammates better."

The Sachems finished the regular season with an undefeated 16-0-2 record, the two ties coming against state power (14-0-4). They outscored opponents 62-9 during the regular season and won by at least two goals in all of their 16 wins.

The team earned the No. 1 seed in the Division 2 North tournament and advanced to the sectional final before falling to Concord-Carlisle, the eventual Division 2 state champ, .

Despite suffering a thigh injury in Winchester's opening round game against Gloucester, Connolly scored a go-ahead goal against Concord-Carlisle eight minutes into the contest at Manning Field in Lynn.

Earlier in the tournament, he scored what would be the game-winning goal in the team's and put home the game-tying goal and added the game-winning assist with his team in the semifinals.

Connolly, who will play at Wheaton College next fall, started for Winchester as a freshman and sophomore, before attending the Hyde School in Maine his junior year.

He was the team's "glue," according to Austin, controlling pace and possession from his center position.

The Sachems were also captained by seniors Benjamin Bratt, Kevin DeSa and Lubomir Svetiev and junior Conor Calnan.