Avon Old Farms 2007 NEPSAC Class A Champions

The Winged Beavers posted shutout wins over Taft, Trinity-Pawling, and Brunswick to open the regular season. Next, Avon traveled to Salisbury and came away with a 2-1 victory. Next on the docket was a road trip to Hotchkiss, who was also undefeated. Hotchkiss found the back of the net first, but Avon got the equalizer, forcing a 1-1 draw. The Winged Beavers then faced Deerfield going into the middle stretch of the regular season, coming away with another 1-1 tie.

The next four games - all shutouts - evidenced the team's hard work and desire to improve. Avon goalkeeper Joey Kapinos '08 was an integral part of this success with many excellent saves, while the team scored ten goals without allowing a single tally from any opponents to remain undefeated.

After the break, Kent visited Avon; looking to avenge last year's draw, Avon came away with a 3-2 victory. The Winged Beavers went on to defeat Kingswood-Oxford 6-2 in front of a large Headmaster's Day crowd. Loomis Chafee was the next opponent, also undefeated at the time and contesting Avon for the top spot in the league. Ultimately, the Winged Beavers fell to the Pelicans by a score of 1-0 for their first loss of the season.

The final three games of the regular season were on the road, with Choate slated first. Avon scored with just one minute remaining in regulation to secure a dramatic 1-0 victory. Next up were the Bears of Berkshire, who the Winged Beavers dismantled by a score of 4-0. The final contest of the season was at Wilbraham and Monson Academy, and Avon marked the end of an outstanding regular season with a 2-0 win.

The Winged Beavers finished the regular season with 38 goals in 16 games, while allowing their opponents just eight. They also earned an invitation to participate in the New England Prep School Soccer Tournament for a fourth consecutive post-season appearance. Worcester Academy was the first obstacle, a team who had defeated the Winged Beavers in the previous year's quarterfinal. This year, however, Avon prevailed with a 2-1 victory in front of 300 dedicated Avon soccer fans, advancing to the semifinal match against Loomis.

The highly anticipated Founders League match-up at Loomis was a stellar battle, and the Winged Beavers put together some of their best play to defeat the Pelicans 2-0. With the win, Avon headed to Middlesex School in Concord, Massachusetts to play Buckingham Browne and Nichols in the championship final. In a titan battle, both teams brought a stellar defense, the 0-0 regulation score forcing a sudden-win overtime period. However, one overtime was not enough time to decide an winner. As the second overtime period waned, murmurs of a co-champion buzzed as the sun began setting low. But with just 45 seconds remaining in this story, Avon's Nick Gantsoudes found a hole in the BB&N defense, placing a perfect ball through the middle of two defenders for a streaking Justin Davis, who chipped the ball past the opposing keeper into the left corner of the net for the dramatic "golden goal," the Winged Beavers winning an astonishing 1-0 double overtime victory.