DARIEN, Conn. - The Darien Blue Wave girls lacrosse team is well-known for its strength of schedule as it regularly goes out of state to take on as many powerhouse squads as head coach Lisa Lindley can line up.
The plan usually pays off as the Wave is well-prepared for its chief FCIAC foes from Wilton, New Canaan and Greenwich when the postseason rolls around. It just means that sometimes, at least early in the season, Darien will take one on the chin.
Playing on its home turf Saturday afternoon, the Blue Wave was undone by a Garden City Trojan team which opened the second half with a 7-1 run and went on to win, 19-12. The Trojans improved their record to 7-1 this spring, while Darien suffered its first loss and fell to 4-1.
Shannon Mangini delivered a stellar performance with nine points on six goals and three assists for the winners. Lauren Terracciano added three goals and five assists, while Emily Norell and Caroline McTiernan each had a hat trick and McTiernan also dished out a pair of assists.
Liz Calby led the Blue Wave with four goals and an assist, while Amy Marchesi had two goals and three assists and Sam Stevenson and Courtney Bennett each had two goals and one assist. Cali Ceglarski and Lindsey McDonald each had a goal. Goalie Phoebe Maglathlin made six saves in the win.
Darien trailed by one goal, 9-8, at halftime, but The Trojans' 7-1 outburst made it 16-9 with a little over 11 minutes remaining.
The contest was a great lead-in for next weekend’s showdown between Darien and the New Canaan Rams, the runner-up team in the FCIAC last spring.
The two rivals faced off three times last year, with Darien winning the regular season match-up. The Rams staged a second-half rally to upset the Wave in the FCIAC semifinals, but Darien avenged the loss a week later when it eliminated New Canaan in the state quarterfinals.
The Rams faced their own test when they took on the Glastonbury Tomahawks in a road contest last Thursday. The Rams rallied to beat the Tomahawks by one goal in New Canaan last year — a victory head coach Kristin Wood referred to as the turning point of the Rams’ season.
New Canaan outscored its host 11-7 in the first half and then held on through a low-scoring second half to win 15-13.
Junior Kacey Pippitt led the Ram offense with a hat trick while seniors Jenny Simpson and Meg Boland each had two goals and two assists. In all, seven Rams scored, as junior Anjalie Christie and senior Veronica Lizzio had two goals apiece, junior Erin Fessler had a goal and an assist, and freshman Lauren Freeland had a goal and an assist.
Charlotte Spitzfaden made 11 saves, as New Canaan improved to a perfect 4-0 this spring.
For Glastonbury, which fell to 3-1, Sarah Allen had three goals and three assists, and Siobahn Wilcox had a hat trick.
Darien and New Canaan will square off at noon, Saturday, April 25, at New Canaan High School’s Dunning Field.
Softball: Fico edges toward national record
Masuk softball ace Rachel Fico pitched perfect games on back-to-back days last week to give her 19 for her career, just one short of the national record. The record of 20 was set by California’s Marissa Marzan back in 2001.
Fico has three perfect games this season. She led Masuk to a 1-0 win in 11 innings over Westhill on April 9, and beat Newtown, again 1-0, last Wednesday. In the win over Newtown, Fico struck out 20 of 21 batters and belted a walk-off home run in the bottom of the seventh.
Last Thursday, the Panthers hosted the Stamford Black Knights and Fico was again perfect as Masuk won, 7-0. Fico fanned 17 in that game, and Sam Barbessi ripped a home run. Barbessi and Chaise Courbron each had two hits and Courbron’s included a triple.
Masuk, which is 5-0 this year, has a 56-game winning streak dating back to 2007.
Boys Lacrosse: Darien splits first four
Connecticut’s top-ranked boys lacrosse team, the Darien Blue Wave has started the 2009 season with a split of its first four games — losing to Manhasset, 14-13, and Malvern, Pa., 9-4, while beating Staples, 13-6, and Trinity Catholic. 19-2. The Wave will square off with the Wilton Warriors on Wednesday, April 22.
The Wave faced the Manhasset Indians during the Battle Across the Sound doubleheader at Darien High on April 11.
Darien freshman Chase Matheis delivered a big game with five goals while John Bolton added four. Chas Brickman had a goal and four assists, Brian Gleason had a goal and an assist, and Cameron Ross and Brian Annechio each scored a goal. JT Cook had two assists, Tyler Foley had one assist and Andrew West made 13 saves in the net.
For Manhasset, Connor English scored five times and Jeff Molinari had a hat trick. Jeff Izzo, Kevin Heenan, Glen Tompkins and Brand Cappellini also scored. Goalie Jack Meyer racked up 16 saves for the win.
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
