Ruden Sports News

When sophomore striker Clare Greisen showed up for the first day of New Canaan’s girls soccer season, senior Paige Place knew the new kid was going to be alright.

Greisen and Place had been teammates with the Connecticut Football Club, the duo’s travel program, after all.

As such, Place knew Greisen, who transferred to New Canaan from Sacred Heart-Greenwich, would fit right in with the Rams and their quest to put together a very special season.

Tonight, in New Canaan’s final game at Dunning Field this season, Greisen scored three goals and Place had a goal and an assist as the 9^th-seeded Rams bested 16^th-seeded North Haven by a 4-0 score in a CIAC Class L quarterfinal.

The Rams advanced to the semifinals and will face 12^th-seeded Guilford, a 2-0 winner over No. 20 Berlin, at a date, time and location still be determined.

“I have so much respect for Clare,” Place said. “We knew each other prior but she is a great addition and she’s been amazing for our team this year.”

The Rams had a plethora of chances in the early going, but it wasn’t until 12:41 remained in the first half when Greisen tallied her first goal. During a flurry in front of the North Haven net, the Rams’ Whitney Hoegstedt headed a ball that wound up at Greisen’s feet.

“I think Whitney headed the ball and I was just on my toes and I just kind of reacted by instinct,” Greisen said. “I was like, go, go, go. And then I kind of just slipped it by the goalkeeper.”

Sparked by that initial goal, the Rams kept the pressure on the Nighthawks, and it was Greisen and Place joining forces on a nifty give-and-go that doubled the New Canaan lead.

“Paige is just such a good player and I feel like she’s someone that I can look up to also as an upperclassman,” Greisen said. “She plays at the same club as team, so I feel like that helps us to have such a good connection on and off the field.”

The 2-0 lead stood at halftime, but New Canaan simply couldn’t put North Haven away early in the second half.

The Nighthawks had knocked off top-seeded Suffield, 4-3, in the second round so the FCIAC champs had plenty of respect for their opponents.

“I mean we were obviously a little bit surprised when you look at the rankings, kind of expect number one to go through, but there’s always upsets,” New Canaan coach Rich Hickson said. “I think you look at every bracket, Class LL and here (in Class L), there’s lower seeds that are capable of beating high seeds. So, I was a little surprised, but I’ve been doing it long enough to not be that surprised.”

In a 25-second span of the second half, however, the Rams went for the jugular and put the game away.

It was Greisen first, fighting off two North Haven defenders and the goalkeeper, to net the hat trick, with 12:25 left to play.

“Greisen, yeah, she came in this year as a sophomore and just a tremendous player,” Hickson said. “Really good player, really strong player. She’s added a lot to our team.”

Twenty-five seconds later, Place put the finishing touches on the win with her goal.

“I think as a team we’re just like, we’re not done with just winning FCIACs,” Place said. “I think coming off that win it was like, ok, now let’s go to states. We’re a team that just wants more.”

Armed with a four-goal lead, New Canaan’s vaunted defense simply wasn’t going to surrender a goal—notching its ninth shutout of the season.

It was also New Canaan’s second straight shutout of the playoffs, after bouncing Pomperaug, 2-0, in the second round.

Fullbacks Lilah Donaldson, Kate Kupchak, Cece Patterson and Emma Row — along with goalkeeper Chrys Gabriel (3 saves) — once again pitched a shutout.

“They’ve been great all year long and it was just another great performance from them,” Hickson said.

The Rams will take a 17-3-1 record into the semifinal game.