Ruden Sports News

FAIRFIELD – With New Canaan holding a four-goal lead on Darien with a little more than four minutes remaining in today’s CIAC Class L girls lacrosse championship, Rams coach Kristin Woods was well aware that plenty could happen in the final minutes.

“I knew there was a lot of game left to play and it was going to be a long four minutes,” Woods said. “We’ve been in situations like that three years in a row.”

Woods was right, as Darien scored three consecutive goals in a span of 1:09, cutting New Canaan’s advantage to a single goal — setting up another classic Rams-Blue Wave finish.

And the latest chapter went to the Rams.

Winning the ensuing draw after top-seeded Darien closed to within a goal, third-seeded New Canaan was able to run out the clock and run off the field in celebration of its biggest win of the spring.

Junior Stella Nolan recorded four goals and one assist to propel New Canaan past Darien, 14-13, before a large, enthusiastic crowd at Sacred Heart University.

The Rams’ victory halted Darien’s two-season reign as Class L champion and gave them their first state title since 2018.

“Winning this title is so awesome for our seniors and our whole team,” said Nolan, who has committed to Michigan. “We did this together and stayed strong throughout the game.”

Darien and New Canaan split their first two meetings of the season, with the Blue Wave posting a 15-11 regular season win and the Rams taking a 10-8 decision in the FCIAC championship. 

Senior Dillyn Patten recorded two goals and one assist, sophomore Devon Russell had two goals and two assists, senior Caitlin Tully tallied two goals and an assist, while sophomore Lexie Tully and junior Caroline Underwood each scored twice for the Rams.

“This is a perfect way for us to end the season, honestly, there’s no other feeling like it,” the Cornell-bound Patten said. “Not many New Canaan teams have won both the FCIAC and state championship in the same season. We came out determined and we really wanted to win. Our execution throughout the game was great.”

Junior Ryan Hapgood notched four goals, sophomore Sadie Stafford recorded a hat trick and senior Molly McGuckin and junior Chloe Humphrey each tallied twice for Darien. 

Trailing 14-10, the Blue Wave stormed back, getting goals from McGuckin and Stafford to close to within 14-12 with 1:58 left, then added another, making it a one-goal game at the 1:13 mark.

“I’m very proud of them,” Darien coach Lisa Lindley said. “They never gave up. If we had a little more time in the end, we probably would’ve brought it to overtime. So that was a positive.”

McGuckin scored off a free position shot, then Stafford tallied off a dodge, putting Darien on top, 5-4, with 9:12 to go in the opening half. New Canaan then went on a 4-0 spurt, getting a pair of goals from Nolan and tallies from Patten and Lexie Tully to seize an 8-5 edge at the 2:17 mark of the first half. 

The Blue Wave made it all even at 8-8 heading into halftime though, with Hapgood weaving her way past a defender and tallying and Stein scoring with just one second left in the first half. With the score knotted 9-9 Patten put the Rams ahead for good, getting a shot from close in past Darien senior goalie Shea Dolce with 16:42 remaining. 

The Rams had the advantage on draw controls thanks to six by senior midfielder Kaleigh Harden.

“It’s awesome, we said no matter what the outcome of this game was, we would leave the field with no regrets,” said Harden, who will play lacrosse at North Carolina next season. “This was our biggest game of the season and we were going to leave it all out there on the field.”

Russell had three draw controls and senior goalie Claire Mahoney made six saves in the winning effort. Junior Kate Demark had six draw controls for Darien, which received six saves from Dolce.

“The difference in game was the draw controls and the groundballs,” Lindley said. “They did a better job than we did as a whole. We had some key shots that we didn’t finish on and those were a momentum-killer for us.”

During Darien’s comeback in the final minutes, New Canaan knew it had to win one final draw, then maintain possession.

“Darien is a great team and props to them for playing so well and coming back at the end,” Harden said. “We took a deep breath, made an adjustment on that last draw and we were able to get the ball at the end, then show a lot of poise.”

“It was an amazing game,” Caitlin Tully added. “It’s always a dogfight right until the end when we play Darien. We knew we had to do it for each other. When they were coming back at the end, we focused on staying composed and we did not freak out. Staying composed is what we have done well all season.”

Both teams finished their respective seasons with only two losses, with New Canaan going 21-2 and Darien at 20-2. The Rams’ win snapped Darien’s 11-game winning streak in state title games.

“I have a very special group of seniors,” said Woods. “Everyone stepped up and played for the seniors. Our seniors are such a talented group. We have players who were on the school’s undefeated hockey team and successful field hockey and soccer teams.”

St. Joseph Defeated

Advancing to the CIAC Class M Tournament final as the No. 15 seed, St. Joseph fell one win short of taking the title.

The Cadets dropped a 12-8 decision to top-seeded Guilford in today’s final. St. Joseph trailed just 6-5 at halftime, then Guilford opened the second half with five straight goals to seize an 11-5 advantage.

Sophomore Payton Root scored a game-high five goals, while senior Maddie Epke tallied three goals and four assists to spark Guilford. Junior MJ Santa Barbara recorded a hat trick in the winning effort.

For St. Joseph, sophomore Meghan Hoynes notched three goals, while senior Izzy Casucci and sophomore Casey Maygothling tallied twice. Trailing 11-5, the Cadets closed to within 11-8 on a pair of goals by Maygothling and Hoynes.

“We started out slow, they beat us on a few fast breaks off the draw, which is what we worked on all week, but that’s their strength,” St. Joseph coach Lee Gray. “We settled in after that. We had four yellow cards in the second half and that took the mojo out of the comeback. I’m very proud of the girls. They were very special. The captains have been playing for four years. I’m going to miss their leadership. This is a nice, loving family.”