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.

On a feed from Sam Johnston, Riegel drilled her goal in low for the pay-off on what was the Wave's third consecutive corner, Darien chomping the Rams' zone to bits.

The goal came early in the second half at 23:09, and made it feel like it was only time that lodged itself between the Wave and it's fifth title, league and state, since 2007.

"Ellie was great through the midfield," said Darien coach Mo Minicus. "Awesome stepping up on balls and switching fields. And she's our go-to player on the corners. She's very poised"

Defending dual-champ Darien is next poised to go for its third consecutive set of conference and state class titles in as many years.

Minicus said the wet field conditions slowed down play, for both teams, and that Darien's corners would have been even more dangerous for the Rams had the field been dry, adding that of course, field conditions hamper both squads.

Sophie Watters put Darien up 2-0 with 8:30 to play in the first half, and that's where the score stood at the start of the second.

Top seed Darien called the tune, outshooting New Canaan 15-3, and out-cornering the second seed de facto hosts by about the same ratio.

Johnston had two assists to match Riegel's game-high two points, and Maddie Gill had an assist.

Rich made three saves.

"It feels awesome," said Rich, who has done what no other field hockey goalie from town has ever done in piling up a mountain of noughts in net. "And I'm just very happy for the team. I think we all just had the magic tonight — we all came to play."

Darien's magic made the Rams disappear.

The Wave (18-0) played a pressure game that had the New Canaanites cracking early, and saw the Rams unable to get into the game. Riegel's winner came only a few minutes into the match. And Darien's territorial advantage was almost total, with most of the match played in the Rams' end of the field — the Wave always pushing, pushing from start to finish.

"It's so good!" said Wave sniper Sophie Doering — who scored a ton this season — of what it's like to win the championship as a junior this year. "It's better (than last year). Because I've been, like, more a part of the team."

"Oh my gosh — it's so great, we played so well," said Johnston. "We were just confident going in."

Johnston sparked the set-up on Darien's cascade of corners.

"Well, the pressure on me is just trying to get them out," said Johnston. "I know I have to just get them out to Ellie, because I know she can just whack them in."

And the pressure those corners put on the Rams?

"It's just, on the defensive corners, they know how to come out, they know how we play," said Johnston. "So we just want to, like, try different plays and confuse them a lot."

Captains Anna and Ella Heck and Taylor Wells took hold of the FCIAC title plaque, turned to their team and beamed like three faces of the sun through the murkiest of autumn nights.

Alex Bair, and Wells, were key to holding back the Rams on defense, when need be. All Wave players played their part in keeping the Rams on the wrong hoof with that field-wide ball-pressure game. Field-wide, mostly meaning, in the New Canaan end of the field.

Darien, the top seed and defending two-time Class M champ, begins its attempt at a third state crown vs. the winner of a qualifying round between North Haven and Waterford, at home at 2 p.m. on Tuesday.

The quarterfinals are set for Nov. 12, semifinals Nov. 17 or 18. Finals will again be at Wethersfield High School's Cottone Field, 10 a.m. on Saturday, Nov. 21.

Competition includes No. 2 Avon (14-1) and No. 3 Branford (14-2).

As for the FCIAC titles in triplicate, Minicus was happy enough. Ecstatic, with the moment, of winning in the here and now. But numbers-wise, well, she was just — happy.

"I don't know — I don't really think about it like that," said Minicus. "No, I don't. I'm so proud of the girls, I just think it's so fun to look back and realize we did do a three-peat. But it's certainly nothing we focus on.

"I'm fairly superstitious, and I don't ever like to jinx — myself or the team."

Like Rich said, the magic was all the Wave's.

See more of the story featured in the Nov. 12 issue of The Darien Times.