Bacon Academy senior Tyler Parmalee burst through the Norwich Free Academy defense Nov. 5 as Nick Koss took a free kick from about 40 yards out halfway through the second half.

It was one of the few legitimate opportunities for the Bobcats' boys soccer team to that point, and Parmalee knew what was going to happen if he missed.

"Everybody's going to kill me," he said.

Instead, everybody was hugging him just moments later. Parmalee's break found the back of the Wildcats' net and the top-seeded Bobcats downed third-seeded NFA, 1-0, in the inaugural Eastern Connecticut Conference championship game at Lyman Memorial High School. It also marked Bacon's first win over NFA since 2000.

"To be the first, no one can ever take that away," said Bacon goalkeeper Joey Lindsay. "We won the first-ever ECC championship in soccer."