Girls' Soccer: Rams blank Bears to set up clash with Tigers

Written by Dave Stewart
Wednesday, 28 October 2009 16:25

FCIAC soccer fans, listen up. Thursday night’s match between the New Canaan and Ridgefield girls at Tiger Hollow figures to be a pretty good primer for the conference tournament.

New Canaan and Ridgefield will square off Thursday evening ay 6:30 in Ridgefield with the No. 1 seed in the FCIAC on the line. The Rams (12-0-2, 38 points) and Tigers (12-1-1, 37) rank first and second, respectively, heading into the season finale, with the Westhill Vikings (11-1-2, 35) breathing down their necks. The FCIAC tournament begins with quarterfinal games on Saturday.

New Canaan will clinch the top seed with either a win or a tie, while Ridgefield needs a victory to be No. 1. Either way, there’s sure to be some fireworks at Tiger Hollow.

“It’s going to be a good game — two teams who’ve had great seasons and it’ll be very competitive,” New Canaan Head Coach Kirk Bamford said. “Hopefully, it’ll be a great advertisement for FCIAC soccer.”

“The way the points are right now, that game is going to decide who comes in first place,” senior co-captain Kacey Pippitt said. “So, our team is really pumped up for it. It’s their turf at (6:30 p.m. and we’ve been preparing for that all week.”

The clash of playoff-bound teams should help both teams get ready for what figures to be a highly-competitive tournament. Nine teams are in the running for eight playoff spots, and just three had clinched heading into Tuesday’s games.

The Rams have also faced just one FCIAC playoff team in their last four games, so Bamford is happy to get a test before the playoffs begin.

“It’s a great way to warm up for the FCIACs,” the coach said. “You can’t beat a good competitive game leading into that type of situation. It’s a fantastic opportunity for both teams.”

The Rams took care of business on Tuesday at Testa Field in Norwalk, as they received goals from three players and shut out the Bears, 3-0, for their 12th win.

Caroline Murray got the ball rolling in the ninth minute, when she booted in a goal on a second shot.

In the 44th minute, senior co-captain Freddie Kemp fired a low liner inside the left post off a direct kick to make it 2-0.

A corner kick netted the third goal as senior co-captain Clare Ashforth sent a pass in front to Pippitt, who one-timed it into the right of the net.

In all, New Canaan outshot Norwalk 11-2, with goalie Holly Burwick stopping both shots for her 11th shutout of the season.

The win was the sixth straight for the Rams, who have allowed just three goals this season. New Canaan has been without defender Sarah Mannelly, who’s been sidelined the past few games. The defense has been led by Kemp, Pippitt, Burwick and freshman Kelly Armstrong.

“We’ve been working on our shape because in the Staples game, we got split a lot,” Pippitt said. “We went over defensively how to split and move the forwards so we won’t get beat.”

New Canaan has had some decisive wins against several non-contenders in recent weeks.

On Oct. 16 at Dunning Field, the Rams blanked Central, 7-0. Abigail Sawabini scored twice, while Katie McKeever, Pippitt, Kemp, Aly DiRocco and Caitlin Gallagher also scored. Keri Lloyd had two assists, and Abby Lee and senior co-captain Emily Goetz had one each.

On Saturday, Oct. 17, Sawabini and Armstrong scored goals to push the Rams to a 2-0 win over the Golden Eagles in Trumbull. Jana Persky and Pippitt had assists, while Burwick made two saves.

Playing in Westport on Oct. 19, New Canaan gave up a goal, but defeated the Staples Wreckers, 2-1. Kemp and Liz Bruno scored, Pippitt had an assist, and Burwick made five saves.

New Canaan also beat Brien McMahon, 2-0, last Friday in Norwalk.

Being heavily-favored in those kinds of games can be difficult, but Bamford said the Rams have handled it well.

“It’s tough sometimes playing teams that you’re expect to beat because everyone reads too much into what the outcome should be, rather than what we need to do,” Bamford said. “I can’t complain because the girls have stayed focused, maintained a great attitude and for young athletes, they’ve shown a lot of maturity.”

As for possible playoff matchups, the FCIAC field is still undetermined, but Pippitt said there are a few teams she’d love to see again.

“I would love to play the teams we’ve tied again, both Fairfield teams,” she said. “And I’d like to see Greenwich again because the game was 2-1 and I’d like to see now that it’s four weeks later in the season, if we could beat them again. I’d like to see those teams but we’re ready for anyone.”