Field hockey: Wilton falls to Darien in FCIAC semifinals

Written by J.B. Cozens
Tuesday, 03 November 2009 21:53

A month had passed since the Wilton High field hockey team suffered a 3-0 loss to Darien, and the Warriors were hoping a month of improvement would pay off when the two teams met on Tuesday night in the FCIAC semifinals.

Problem was, the Blue Wave has improved since then as well, and the result was another 3-0 Darien win, at New Canaan High School’s Dunning Field.

“They executed a game plan and we didn’t. Everything they executed was practically textbook,” said Wilton head coach Deirdre Hynes after the game. “They have excellent stick skills. It’s all of them, and they work well together.”

The Warriors (11-4-1) open the Class M state tournament on Tuesday. Pairings will be announced on Friday.

Top-seeded Darien (17-0) scored off a penalty corner just 4:40 into the game, on a blast from the top of the arc by Sophie Doering. The teams battled it out between the 25s most of the first half, with Wilton evening out the play as the half wore on.

But Ellie Riegel made it 2-0 with 3:03 left in the first half, off another penalty corner — a goal that Darien head coach Mo Minicus said was a key goal in providing a two-goal cushion.

“Nothing’s sure against Wilton,” she added.

Anna Heck made it 3-0 with a goal 1:37 into the second half, off a nice assist from Doering.

Wilton played with intensity, but had trouble getting the ball through Darien’s midfield and defense, which blocked nearly everything. The Warriors’ best chance of the game came with 22 minutes left when Amy Drummond’s hit to the right of the cage forced Darien keeper Aimee Rich out. Daisy Hanna pounced on the rebound but after a scramble was unable to get the ball passed.

Coach Minicus said the difference in the game was Darien’s ability to execute deep in the Wilton zone.

“Between the 25s, it was very competitive,” she said. “The score, I don’t think, was really indicative of the game.”

“They capitalized on the opportunities they had,” said Hynes. “In the second half we tried to recover. Against a team like this, you can’t have a bad 30 seconds much less a bad 30 minutes

It was the Blue Wave's 14th shutout in 17 games. Darien has surrendered only four goals all season.

For the game, Darien had a 9-2 edge in penalty corners and a 9-1 edge in shots. Steph Fricke had seven saves in goal for the Warriors.