East Lyme — They might have been best served Tuesday night by admiring their championship rings from last year a bit longer. Or maybe before leaving East Lyme High, stroll through the gym and appreciate the banner they hung a year ago at this time.

Because if nothing else, the Vikings learned all over again how truly difficult championships are to accomplish.

The Vikes, who entered Tuesday’s second round Class L boys’ soccer game undefeated, the No. 2 seed, the reigning state champion and 2024 Eastern Connecticut Conference Division I champion, left their home field despondent, after a 1-0 loss to No. 18 Brookfield.

“That’s a quality team,” East Lyme coach Paul Christensen said of Brookfield. “Tough draw. They have a Division I player (UConn-bound Jack Ryan). They’re the first team that possessed the ball and swung it around us.”

It was Ryan who ultimately ended the season, converting with 7:05 left in regulation. Ryan will graduate from Brookfield in December and enroll at Storrs next month.

“I thought we shut him down for a good portion of the game,” Christensen said. “Our defense played really well. But he’s a very good player.”

East Lyme ended 16-1-2. And yet did not score in its last two games, save penalty kicks against Woodstock in the ECC Division I final.

“Woodstock parked the bus on us,” Christensen said. “This was just a solid team. A well played game for the most part. The longer you go in the state tournament, the tougher scoring gets. Teams start playing defense differently.”

When it was over, there was palpable disappointment, despite a program that had lost two games in two years. Senior Callaway Scott addressed the team after Christensen was done, reminding his teammates of their potential for next year and an excellent season of 2024.

“The last two years, two losses,” Christensen said. “Winning a state championship is a really hard thing to do. People don’t realize that. It would probably have been better for us to have played (in the first round) and not got the bye. Practices can’t be hard because it’s November and we’re all banged up. But that’s what happens. Sometimes, you have to take a step back to realize how lucky you have to be to win one of these.”

m.dimauro@theday.com