Fairfield Warde eyes championship run in Connecticut girls soccer

Fairfield Warde (Conn.) girls soccer has been a model of consistency in the FCIAC over the past six years.

The Mustangs have been highly competitive in each of those seasons, around the nine-to-10 win range and always in the postseason. That is except head coach Tom Cunningham's first season in 2007, when Warde won it all.

Warde went 10-4-1 in the regular season that year and went on to win its only CIAC Class LL state championship in its only final appearance. Cunningham says he sees similarities between that championship team and this year's model.

"This group is a fun group of girls," said Cunningham, whose team is 10-3-2 with one regular season match left on Thursday against Darien. "They really enjoy playing the game. A lot of them have a lot of experience from when they were in the youth program. We have a really strong balance.

"We have three seniors this year who are tremendous leaders. The talent is spread throughout the grade levels, but it's a great combination of older players with great leadership qualities and the younger players who are so enthusiastic, wanting to play and really putting it all out there.

"I've said from the preseason, this is a very similar team (to the 2007 team) make-up wise," Cunningham added. "We're built around some very good defense and we have some big-time goal scorers. The dynamics of the team are very similar."

The three seniors are Cunningham's captains, forward Emily Pullen, center midfielder Emma Patrone and outside midfielder Katie Tangney, who have filled the void of 10 graduated seniors and done it quite well.

Pullen has become an exceptional scorer, leading the team with 15 goals and three assists (33 points).

"They've been with the program all four years," Cunningham said. "(Pullen) has been a member of the varsity team since her freshman year. Emily's been doing a tremendous job finding the goal. She demands a lot of attention from the other team, usually with their best defenders marking her. So we have the rest of the girls getting openings on the field because of what Emily does."

Warde went unbeaten through its first nine games (7-0-2) before losing back-to-back games to Ridgefield (2-1) and St. Joseph (1-0). The Mustangs bounced back by defeating previously undefeated Trumbull, 1-0, in their next match at night in Trumbull, then rallied for a 3-2 victory over Wilton, when Pullen scored the game-deciding goal late.

Cunningham says his defense has been a big contributor to his team's success, not allowing a goal in 11 of Warde's 15 matches. Junior Julia Delaney is the only returning starting defender, playing along with sophomores Nicole Ciccarelli and Sarah Reilly, and juniors Katelyn O'Brien and Paige Hanley, a sub who gets significant time.

"They've put together a great season with our two goalies, Katie Brennan (five goals allowed, .588 goals-against) and Carly Strachan (0 goals allowed in 360 minutes), who have pitched those shutouts," Cunningham said. "It's really a matter of those girls coming together this season very quickly against some top-notch opponents."

Other top offensive contributors are freshman Jenn Maldenado (six goals, three assists) and sophomore Nell Carpenter (five goals, four assists).

Warde is currently the second seed for the FCIAC tournament, but since the Mustangs have played more games than some of the other teams at this point, Cunningham sees his team earning a four seed, with a chance for a higher position, either of which would earn a home game in the first round.

"Our toughest challenge will be going against some of these teams that we've already faced and repeating performances," Cunningham said. "Within the FCIAC, we play some top teams. There's always 12 teams or so competing for the top eight (playoff berths). It's always tough to match your performance but I have confidence that our players have the ability to do that."

Paul Rosano, the former assistant sport editor of The Hartford Courant and sports editor of The New Haven Register, is a MaxPreps contributor. He may be reached at pjrosano@cox.net.