With Thursday November 10th marking the start of CIAC playoff play for most teams, the Rams looked to get off on the right foot in the early rounds of the tournament. Each earning a home game, the volleyball and girls soccer teams fought for big first round wins to advance in their respective brackets.
First, the volleyball team, looking to avenge its FCIAC Semi-final loss to archrival Darien, took the court against fellow FCIAC contender, Trumbull. The 11th seeded Rams, entering the match with a 15-5 record, won the first set convincingly, 25-9. However, the Eagles of Trumbull, the 22nd seed in the bracket, bounced back to win the second set before surrendering the final two sets to the Rams, 25-16 and 25-15. With the win, the Rams will travel to Westport on Saturday night to battle the Staples Wreckers, the sixth seed, in the second round of tournament play, at 7pm.
A victory would not come so easy for the girls soccer team, however. Hosting the 26th seeded Middletown Blue Dragons under the lights on a foggy night at Dunning Stadium, the Rams also hoped to erase their FCIAC tournament loss to Fairfield Warde with a solid win. The Rams, the seventh seed, dominated possession throughout the entire game, but sloppy play kept them from finding the back of the net. After two forty-minute halves, the score remained 0-0 and the game was headed for overtime.
In the first of two ten-minute overtime periods, the Rams continued to put the pressure on. Less than two minutes in, freshman Alyssa Valente blasted a shot past Middletown’s keeper, finally putting the Rams on the scoreboard. Just two minutes later, the Rams put the game away as junior Anna Borea converted a penalty kick as a result of a Middletown foul in their own 25-yard box. The 2-0, overtime victory sends the Rams into the second round, where they will play 23rd seeded Hamden. The match will be played at Dunning Stadium at 2pm.
Today, Friday November 11th, the boys soccer team begins their quest to defend their 2010 CIAC Class L Championship with a home contest against 21st seeded Lyman Hall at 3pm. A Rams victory could potentially set up a second round match against FCIAC archrival Darien, whom the boys battled to a 1-1 draw earlier this season.
At 7pm, later this evening, Dunning Stadium will play host to an FCIAC football battle between the visiting Trumbull Eagles and your New Canaan Rams. The Rams, now eliminated from FCIAC Championship contention with Greenwich’s 17-7 victory over Danbury last night, will look to bounce back from last week’s loss to Stamford. This game has immense State Tournament implications, with the Rams likely needing two wins in its final two games (11/11 vs. Trumbull and 11/24 vs. Darien) to earn a berth in the Class L football tournament.
