By Dave Stewart
MaxPreps.com
DARIEN, Conn. - The Darien Blue Wave is the gold standard in Connecticut High School girls’ lacrosse. With nine FCIAC and seven State championships during the past 13 years, Darien is, quite simply, money in the bank to contend for the crown each and every year.
The success puts the Blue Wave girls in a lofty position — one which is not for the timid. They typically enter each season as a favorite, putting them in the crosshairs of every opponent on the schedule.
It’s a position which comes with responsibility, but one the Wave players enjoy, according to senior tri-captain Caroline Spillane.
“We know there’s a lot of expectations for our team and we practice hard for that,” Spillane said. “Everybody just has a really good attitude throughout every practice and every game, from the bench on to the starters, which is really nice. Everybody is so supportive of each other.
“It’s good because it just makes us work that much harder. We don’t want to be the first team to fall.”
So far this season, that hasn’t been a problem, even though Darien is relatively young with just three seniors. Yes, the Blue Wave lost a tight 13-11 battle on April 12 with Suffern, New York’s top-ranked team in Class A, Section 1, but Darien (6-1) remains undefeated against Connecticut foes.
They’ve outscored their Nutmeg State opponents 92-36 and, through April 19, have handed three teams — New Canaan (6-1), Danbury (6-1) and Brien McMahon (4-1) their only losses this spring.
The Blue Wave also picked off perennial contender Greenwich, 12-10, in a game which wasn’t as close as the final score would indicate. Darien led 9-4 with 7:40 remaining when the lights went out, delaying the finish. When play resumed, the Cardinals (3-2) rallied to within two goals, but never threatened for the lead.
Darien’s latest triumph was a 12-7 win over rival New Canaan Saturday morning at DHS. The Rams came in with an unbeaten record but the Wave rolled out to a 6-1 lead en route to the victory.
Thus far, it’s been an impressive performance for a team which had to replace three All-Americans — Liz Scott, Kat Collins and Anne Ryan.
“Last year, I graduated three All-Americans, so this year there’s a little bit of a dropoff,” head coach Lisa Lindley said. “There’s talent, but these kids are basically inexperienced. For them, they have to gain confidence as they go along. We’re not going to be where we were last year, but we have the potential to get there by the end of the year.”
There are plenty of things to like about this year’s edition of the Blue Wave, but the two brightest stars are Spillane and junior midfielder Courtney Bennett.
Spillane, who will play at Penn, racked up 71 goals and 23 assists last season, and should become the program’s all-time leading scorer at some point this year. Bennett, meanwhile, became a big-time offensive force as a sophomore, collecting more than 30 goals and 20 assists.
Spillane’s fellow tri-captains are seniors midfielders Kim Davis and Caroline Frelinghuysen.
On offense, after the one-two punch of Spillane and Bennett, the Wave boasts depth with returning junior starters Cali Ceglarski and Clemi Little, along with juniors Sam Stevenson and Amy Marchesi and sophomore Liz Calby.
On defense, Darien features junior Chloe Drimal, Kat Nestor and Jenny Joy in front of junior goalies Phoebe Maglathlin and Alex Hamil.
The Spillane-Bennett combo attracts plenty of attention on offense, opening the door for the Wave’s other capable weapons. The balance was remarkable against New Canaan, as seven Darien girls scored.
“It’s always a rivalry in any of these sports, so I think my girls were particularly pumped up,” Lindley said. “We played a very strong first half which really dictated the tempo of the game. My attack spread around, so they couldn’t really key on any one person because everyone was scoring.”
Stevenson led the Wave with a hat trick, while Bennett, Ceglarski and Calby had two goals each. Spillane and Frelinghuysen each had one goal and two assists. Marchesi also scored.
Spillane pointed to the loss to Suffern as something for the Blue Wave to build on. The two teams have gone back-and-forth in recent seasons, with Suffern winning by two goals two years ago, and Darien winning by one last spring.
This year it was another tight battle, but with the Blue Wave on the losing side.
“It was within one a lot in the second half, so it was a close game, but it was a learning experience,” Spillane said. “It could have gone either way, but we realize now we need to capitalize on all our shots. Every shots counts.”
One of the sore spots for Darien was draw controls, as Suffern won the possession battle. Lindley and the Wave worked on that aspect of the game during the next week and it paid off against New Canaan, as Darien, led by Drimal and Bennett, dominated the draws.
“That’s something we’ve been focusing on a great deal,” Lindley said. “We had a game in New York last Saturday where we probably lost 80 percent of the draws and it killed us. So we went back to basics and explained to the girls how you actually win a draw. We did a little better at that today.”
Even what could have been the biggest vacancy for the Blue Wave has turned into a positive. Aimee Rich, last year’s starting goalie as a freshman, chose to leave the team for her sophomore season.
Lindley turned to Maglathlin and Hamil, and the duo has been dynamic. Maglathlin made five saves to get the win against the rival Rams.
“It has been a positive thing for us,” Lindley said. “If she didn’t quit, I wouldn’t have Phoebe and Alex and they’ve been outstanding so far. I anticipate that continuing and they’ll be outstanding for me the rest of the way.”
While it would seem Darien has worked like a well-tuned machine from game one, Spillane said the players are just beginning to mesh, a frightening thought for the rest of the FCIAC, and for Connecticut’s Division I teams.
“We have a ton of juniors that came back and three seniors, so we’re not that old,” Spillane said. “We’re starting to mold now that it’s the middle of the season and everyone is playing well together.”
Dave Stewart, the Sports Editor of the New Canaan (Conn.) Advertiser, is a MaxPreps.com writer and photographer. He may be reached at 203-966-9541 or at sports@ncadvertiser.com
