Wave crashes down on New Canaan in field hockey championship game

Written by Dave Stewart
Friday, 06 November 2009 05:58

When Erin Gildea took over the head coaching reins of the New Canaan Rams’ field hockey team two weeks before the start of the preseason, she inherited a program which was a shadow of its former self.

Once mainstays in the FCIAC semifinals and finals, the Rams struggled just to qualify for the tournament, and often departed in the first round. New Canaan hadn’t even won an FCIAC tournament game since legendary coach Sue Schwerdtle retired after the 2003 season.

So when Gildea spoke to her understandably disappointed team following a 3-0 loss to Darien in Thursday’s FCIAC championship game at Dunning Field, she tried to put things in perspective.

“The girls should be proud of themselves,” Gildea said. “I don’t think they all realize how tough it is to get here and how competitive the FCIAC is. It is bittersweet because they were happy to get here and you say whatever happens, happens, but it is a tough loss, especially for the seniors.”

New Canaan suffered just its third loss of the season and fell to 14-3-1 for the season.

Darien, which is 18-0 this season and a combined 57-3-1 since 2007, scored twice in the first half and added a final tally in the second en route to its three straight FCIAC title.

New Canaan, which played a solid defensive game, couldn’t generate many offensive chances and was outshot, 16-4.

Goalie Amanda Milunovich collected 13 saves against the onslaught, while the Rams did their best to hold back the Wave. Senior co-captains Greer Stichnoth and Betsy Hart, along with Anjalie Christie, Shelby Barada, and Grace Burke led the defensive effort. Burke stepped in for starting back Jasmine Allen, who suffered a concussion in Monday’s semifinal win over Greenwich.

“Defensively, we talked about how they’re a fast team and they spread out a lot,” Stichnoth said. “They have great passing and we tried to focus on not committing to anything, just try to focus on the ball, keep it out of the circle and play clean defense to try and keep the number of corners down.”

Darien got on the board quickly when Ellie Riegal fired in a shot from five yards out just 3:40 into the game. Sam Johnston assisted on the play.

The second goal came with 9:02 remaining in the first half, after Stichnoth had blocked on a shot on a penalty corner. The ball ended up with Leslie Gill on the right side and she sent a pass through the circle to Sophie Watters, who slammed it home for a 2-0 lead.

Riegal scored the third and final goal 6:51 into the second half, with Johnston assisting.

Darien goalie Aimee Rich finished with four saves and a shutout, while Riegal was named the game’s MVP.

New Canaan and Darien will both be playing in the State Class M tournament, which begins next week. The tournament bracket will be announced Friday afternoon.

Hart said the Rams learned a lot Thursday night and will carry the experience into the State playoffs.

“We could have pushed a little bit harder but we’ll take this as a definite learning experience,” Hart said. “It’s the first time in a long time that we’ve been here, so I think this is a great learning experience for us. It was a difficult loss but we can take so much from this loss going forward into States.”