GREENWICH – Darien’s dynasty rolls on. The Blue Wave left no doubt in beating Ludlowe 5-2 on Saturday at Greenwich High School to win their 18th FCIAC field hockey title, their fifth in the last six years and second straight.
“It feels amazing. We worked so hard for this,” Darien forward and FCIAC finals MVP Shannon Bock said. “Our ability to reset has really helped us get here. We know how dangerous (Ludlowe) is. They are a very good team and we knew they could come back at any second.”
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Darien’s Skylar Stephens scored three goals, with Bibi Osberg and Avery Little adding goals.
The Blue Wave wasted no time, scoring with 9:23 to go in the first quarter and adding another with 5:23 left. Darien went up 3-0 with a goal as time expired in the first half.
“We consistently scored and kept that cushion,” Darien coach Mo Minicus said. “You have to stay ahead, and 2-0, 3-0 is better and we kept adding on.”
The second half was more of the same, with the Blue Wave going up 4-0 before Ludlowe got on the board with a Lily McClay goal with 59 seconds left in the third quarter.
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Darien’s defense held tough in front of goalie Ella Harrison, who made eight saves.
“We were really smart and staying composed and making sure that nobody was diving at anything,” Darien center back Sophie Beach said. “(Harrison) has grown so much this season. It’s her first year playing field hockey goalie and she absolutely stepped up and she made so many amazing saves today.”
Ludlowe has never won the FCIAC title, though the former Roger Ludlowe was a co-champion in 1979. That was the last time before Saturday that a team from Fairfield reached an FCIAC championship game.
Both teams will begin play in the CIAC Class L tournament on Wednesday, with No. 1 Darien hosting No. 16 NFA and No. 3 Ludlowe hosting No. 14 Trumbull. Both games are scheduled for 4 p.m.
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Player of the Game
Sophie Beach, Darien: With talented offensive weapons, including All-American junior Lily McClay, Ludlowe’s offense can be formidable, but Beach and the Darien back line kept them in check all afternoon.
Quotable
“(Beach) is amazing. She’s just incredible and nothing gets past her and the girls play off of her. She is smart and will not let a ball pass her by. She is the reason why our defense is as strong as it is.” – Darien coach Mo Minicus.
Darien 5, Ludlowe 2
LUDLOWE 0 0 1 1-2
DARIEN 2 1 1 1-5
Scoring: D-Skylar Stephens 3g; Bibi Osberg 1g; Avery Little 1g. L-Lily McClay 2g
Saves: D-Ella Harrison 8; L-Erin McNamara 11.
This article originally published at Darien’s dynasty rolls on as the Blue Wave beat Ludlowe for 18th FCIAC field hockey title.
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: Sports.yahoo.com
