FCIAC

Westhill volleyball tops Darien in 5 to reach finals

FAIRFIELD—In the FCIAC Girls Volleyball Playoff semifinals, victory is not about sheer talent.

The metrics are heart, character and trust.

In a five-set battle worth far more than the price of admission Thursday night at an electric Ludlowe High School gym, Westhill High School rallied from the brink to outlast a resolute Darien High squad, 25-23, 17-25, 16-25, 25-23, 16-14.

The win means No. 1 seed Westhill (20-2 overall) will meet either No. 2 seed Trumbull or No. 6 seed Ludlowe for the 2018 FCIAC Volleyball Championship Saturday at 3 p.m. at the Ludlowe gym.

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Westhill sweeps Staples to reach FCIAC volleyball semifinals

STAMFORD — The magical journey of the Westhill High School girls volleyball team marched on Tuesday night as the No. 1 seeded Vikings rolled to a 25-14, 25-14, 25-20 home triumph over No. 8 seed Staples High in the FCIAC playoff quarterfinals at the J. Walter Kennedy Athletic complex.

The victory means Westhill (19-2 overall) will battle No. 5 seed Darien in the 5 p.m. semifinal on Thursday at the Ludlowe High gymnasium. Darien ousted Greenwich, 3-0 on the road Tuesday night. No. 6 Ludlowe and No. 2 seed Trumbull will meet in the 7 p.m. semifinal Thursday.

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Darien defeats Greenwich in FCIAC field hockey tourney

NORWALK — Darien senior Shea van den Broek gave her team a big boost of momentum by scoring three first-half goals against Greenwich in Monday’s FCIAC Field Hockey Tournament semifinals.

As it turned out, the Blue Wave needed each one of those goals.

Seizing a three-goal lead, second-seeded Darien held off a spirited surge from third-seeded Greenwich and held on for a hard-fought 3-2 win at Brien McMahon High School.

Defending FCIAC champion Darien advanced to the conference tournament’s championship game, where it will play top-seeded Staples at McMahon on Thursday at 7 p.m. Staples eliminated fifth-seeded Norwalk in Monday’s other semifinal matchup.

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Trumbull turns back Staples in penalty kicks

FAIRFIELD — After 100 minutes of scoreless soccer Monday night at Taft Field — 200 minutes with the clock running in the playoffs now — Trumbull boys soccer goalie Chris Prizio finally got to the fun part.

“Penalties are so fun. I live for this. I said it last time, I’ll say it this time,” Prizio said after he stopped three out of four Staples shots to help the Eagles advance to their third consecutive FCIAC championship.

Prizio stopped the last three Wreckers after Austin Sholes scored. Jason Weinstein, Dom Zaleski and Justin Horvath tallied for Trumbull.

The teams traded chances in 80 minutes of regulation and had fewer chances in 20 minutes of overtime.

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Staples stops Norwalk, moves on to FCIAC field hockey finals

NORWALK — Opponents of the Staples High School field hockey team couldn’t find the formula to defeat the Wreckers during the regular season, as they rolled to a record of 16-0.

And the surging Wreckers have continued their eye-opening trend in the postseason.

Capitalizing on their signature counter-attack, top-seeded Staples used a two-goal first half to register a 3-1 victory over fifth-seeded Norwalk in the FCIAC Tournament semifinals at Brien McMahon High School.

With the win, the 18-0 Wreckers advanced to the tournament’s championship game, where they will play either second-seeded Darien or No. 3 Greenwich on Thursday at McMahon.

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Ridgefield edges St. Joseph in 2 OT to reach FCIAC final

WILTON — Caitlin Slaminko scored with 2:48 left in the first overtime period to give the Ridgefield High School girls soccer team a 2-1 (2 OT) victory over St. Joseph Monday night in the FCIAC semifinals at Kristine Lilly field.

The win means Ridgefield will be in the FCIAC championship game for the third time in four years.

The Tigers will face either Darien or New Canaan in Thursday’s final at Warde High School.

“Everybody dreams about scoring an overtime goal in the FCIAC or state playoffs,” Slaminko said. “I knew I had to put one in. I’m so happy it went in.”

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Trumbull edges Norwalk in PKs

TRUMBULL — The action between the Trumbull and Norwalk boys soccer teams finally heated up after 100 minutes of play.

After neither team could find the back of the net in regulation and overtime, each side came through in the penalty kick shootout, and the score was 5-5 at one point, before the Bears missed a PK and Eagles goalie Chris Prizio made a key save, helping lift Trumbull to a 7-5 PK victory in the FCIAC quarterfinals on a chilly Friday at Trumbull High.

“I was just trying to do what I needed to do to help the team win,” said Prizio, who made two saves in the shootout. “That’s all that matters.”

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Ludlowe shuts out town rival Warde to advance

FAIRFIELD — Goalkeeping is basically instinct.

See the play develop, follow your gut feeling and try and make the stop.

Ludlowe’s Nicholas Tenreiro did that — twice — and because he did, the Falcons are advancing into the FCIAC boys’ soccer semifinals.

First, Tenreiro slid out to block a shot in close from Warde’s Daniel Villabla, and then lunged to his right to punch away a curving shot from Jacob Deck. Two potential game-changing plays that kept Ludlowe in front and sparked them to a 2-0 win in the FCIAC quarterfinals on a chilly Friday night at Taft Field.

“I was just thinking that I have to make the saves for my team,” Tenreiro said. “I just kept my eye on the ball and reacted accordingly. I just did what I had to do, and I was there for it.”

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