Back in the action: Wave girls soccer starts states at Warde on Monday

Written by Steven Buono
Saturday, 07 November 2009 09:34

The Darien girls soccer team missed the FCIAC playoffs, but the girls will return to the fall '09 fray when the Wave visits Fairfield Warde to play the Mustangs in round one of the CIAC Class L championship tournament at 4 p.m. on Monday.

Darien (8-6-1) finished 17th in the division, suffering injuries to key players all season, and completing the regular slate without leading scorer Kelly Mahoney, and fellow captains Alex Budd and Cat Thomas.

Warde (7-4-5) is the 16 seed by virture of a .594 winning percentage, while Darien slipped one below the Mustangs with a .567.

Wave field hockey takes third straight FCIAC crown, Riegel MVP

Written by Steven Buono
Thursday, 05 November 2009 20:36

Updated Friday, 06 November 2009 12:30 — The Darien field hockey team reigned, in a driving rain, as Fairfield County Interscholastic Athletic Conference champion for the third straight year, blanking the rival Rams 3-0, with goalie Aimee Rich nabbing her 15th shutout this season, at Dunning Field in New Canaan tonight.

Junior Ellie Riegel, putting away the early first-half winner and scoring on a blast from the top off a corner to finish off NC in the second, was named FCIAC Final MVP.

"I just gave it everything I had!" said Riegel of her major league drive that made it 3-0.

Halloween in Ottawa: 'Where the goal was, it was no longer'

Written by Steven Buono
Wednesday, 04 November 2009 18:46

How many hockey heroes in their own minds have done this late at night at some ice rink, DIR or otherwise?

Close in on a cage, shooting and circling it, and at will jamming rebounds as you go. All the while your opponents’ crease is reduced to frayed uniforms and shards of stick.

Almost half-a-dozen shots are fired, but it’s no cigar — smoked as thoroughly as that defense might be.

All this happened in real time, way, way up in the big time in Ottawa to Senators forward Ryan Shannon, 26 of Darien, in a fittingly metaphysical sort of 3-1 loss to the Thrashers on Halloween afternoon.

Pool crew true contender in FCIAC mix

Written by Steven Buono
Thursday, 05 November 2009 09:13

It was the last lap of the dual meet regular season, and both teams were the worse for wear.

“You know, we were swimming tired, and they were swimming tired,” said Darien swimming and diving team coach Marj Trifone. “I think Staples is always a good competitor.”

But Darien was by far the least weary, beating Staples 106-78 at Westport on Oct. 28, in its last meet before Saturday's FCIAC championships.

Zero hours: Wave shuts out record 14th at FCIACs

Written by Steven Buono
Wednesday, 04 November 2009 19:15

In shutting out a school — and maybe FCIAC record too — 14 opponents so far this season, Darien could not defensively be putting a better first step forward.

That’s a no-brainer.

But there’s still more to think about this historic season, now that the Wave is knocking on destiny’s brittle door, only one win away from taking an uprecedented-for-the-program third straight conference crown.

Because according to coach Mo Minicus, the Wave’s best foot forward is coming from, in fact, the forwards.

'Pseudo-Senior Day' win advances Wave volleyball to FCIAC semis

Written by Lynsey Santimays
Wednesday, 04 November 2009 08:34

On what served as a pseudo-senior day, the Darien High School girls volleyball team faced Danbury in its first round FCIAC playoffs match on Tuesday.

And while the No. 1-seeded Blue Wave, seeking its ninth straight FCIAC title, won at home in three sets 25-16, 25-12, 25-16, the No. 8 Hatters certainly gave DHS a run for its money.

“They definitely gave us a big challenge,” said senior captain Colby Billhardt, who finished with eight kills and two blocks. “They came out wanting to win, and left their heart on the floor.”

Keane leads at states

Written by Steven Buono
Tuesday, 03 November 2009 08:53

Darien finished eighth at the CIAC Class MM girls cross country championships on a muddy course at Wickham Park in Manchester on Saturday.

The Wave scored 198 points, first was Guilford with 62.

Darien was led by Megan Keane in 19th place in 21:47.

Wave football moves to 5-2 winning fourth straight

Written by Steven Buono
Monday, 02 November 2009 08:58

The Darien High football team kept in the running for a state title berth as it kept on winning, taking Bassick 47-0 at Bridgeport on Saturday.

Bobby Nolan led with three touchdowns and kicker John Gardner (No. 23) booted three points to make it 30 points on the season, all with his toe, good for third-highest scoring on DHS.

Darien improved to 5-2 winning its fourth straight while the hosts fell to 1-6.

Gardner has kicked 18 PAT points and four field goals.

He's punted six times for 630 yards, while kicking-off he's booted the ball 1,797 yards on 34 tries this season.

Nolan leads the Wave with 10 touchdowns, 60 points, Graham Maybell is second with 30 points on six TD.

Wave wins first ever boys cross country state title

Written by Steven Buono
Saturday, 31 October 2009 15:09

Jake McCauley led the Darien High boys cross country team to the first state title in school history in the sport, coming in second in 17:14 at Wickham Park in Manchester today.

Darien scored 60 points to runner-up Guilford's 73 for the Class MM title.

"Everything kind of went much better than we thought — on paper," said Darien coach of seven years Tyson Kaczmarek, who has seen several second place finishes at states with the Wave. "I mean, we put six guys in the top 20, and there is no way that I thought we could do that.

13 for Halloween: Wave gets a dozen-plus-one shutouts on the season with 6-0 win over Staples in FCIAC quarterfinals

Written by Steven Buono
Saturday, 31 October 2009 11:14

Visiting Staples must have thought it was Groundhog Day and not the eve of Halloween yesterday.

That's when the two-time defending Fairfield County Interscholastic Athletic Conference champion Blue Wave field hockey team beat visiting Staples by an eerily familiar 6-0 score to advance to the FCIAC semifinals on Tuesday.

How familiar was it?

To a creepy degree, it must have seemed to the Wreckers, losing for the third time to DHS this year in a quarterfinals match that, like "Groundhog "Day" the movie, also must have seemed too much like a permanent deja vu.

Darien blanked the Wreckers by the same score in the last regular season game of the year only three days before in its 12th shutout of this thus far undefeated, and un-tied, season.

On Friday, goalie Aimee Rich roped her 13th zero of the season — nothing unlucky about it. She made three saves.

Darien, the top seed, plays No. 4 Wilton at New Canaan at 7 p.m. on Nov. 3 in the semifinals.