For the first time, the Ridgefield High girls soccer team enters a season as defending state champs.
After losses in the finals to unbeaten Glastonbury teams the previous two years, Ridgefield defeated Staples, 2-0, in the Class LL title game last November, earning the program a long elusive state championship.
With many players returning, the Tigers will once again be aiming for postseason crowns. Ridgefield won FCIAC titles in 2015 and 2016 before losing to Staples in the conference semifinals last fall — the Tigers then avenged that setback by beating Staples in the state finals.
“Last season was obviously a good one for us,” said Ridgefield head coach Iain Golding, whose team finished with a 16-3-3 record. “It’s never easy to win a state title.”