Boys Soccer
The boys soccer team, led by captains Irving Dorman, Robbie Hellmann, Adian McLaughlin, Jeronimo Marsili and Lorenzo Marsili, made it to FCIACs for the first time since 2014.
Their final regular season game against Westhill determined whether they would make FCIACs. The team’s chances to make the playoffs seemed to be slipping away after four straight losses to Darien, Ludlowe, Norwalk and Trumbull. Before the game, Lorenzo said, “I promise this will not be my final game.” Lorenzo followed through on his promise; the boys took home a 2-1 win after a last second crossbar miss by the Westhill striker.
Throughout the year, the boys experienced highs and lows, as they started the year winning 5 of their first 6. Coach Luke Green said, “I am proud of my boys, I hope next year we’re able to repeat our success.”
They entered FCIACs as the seventh seed playing the number two seed Norwalk, who they lost to 6-1 in the regular season. At halftime, the game was 1-0 Norwalk. Later in the game, Norwalk tacked on another goal, and the Rams were not able to recover. Despite the loss 2-0, Lorenzo made the all FCIAC team, and Aidan, Irving and Jeronimo made the all FCIAC East team. After the game, coach Luke Green said, “It was an honor to play in FCIACs. I’m proud of my boys despite the tough loss.”
The boys were looking to bounce back in their state game versus Norwich. They took a 2-0 lead after goals by Irving and senior Jake Bausman. However, the Rams conceded two goals with just 30 minutes to play. They lost the game 4-2 and ultimately ended their season. After the game, Robbie said, “It’s an unfortunate ending to the season, this is not how we envisioned going out.” Despite the unwanted outcome, their 8-7 regular season record was a massive improvement from the previous season’s record of 3-10-1.
By Alex Etergino
Girls Soccer
The girls soccer team, led by captains Katherine Byrne, Maddie Donaldson, Ellie Gallois and Kennedy Kreutzer, finished off the season with a record 4-9-2. The girls finished seventh in the FCIAC East division and did not qualify for FCIACs nor states.
The girls began the season off to a slow start, losing games to Danbury, Staples, St Joes, Ridgefield and Wilton. During this stretch the girls struggled to put the ball in the net, scoring just one goal. After the 0-5 start, star sophomore Paige Place said, “Something has to change. We have to begin playing with each other.”
After this the girls went on their best stretch of the season going 2-1-2 over the next five games. A big win against Greenwich kickstarted this run. The girls lost to Brien McMahon by a score of 2-0, but a tie with Trumbull and a 7-0 victory over Bridgeport Central concluded the middle of the season. Coach Rich Hickson said, “I hope we can finish off the season strong and potentially make states.”
Following this the girls dropped the next three games to Darian, Fairfield Ludlowe and Fairfield Warde. Although disappointing to the girls, they still had two games remaining in the season. Maddie Donaldson said, “We’re playing for pride.”
The girls won versus Norwalk 7-0, leading them to the final game of the season versus Westhill. Westhill, being one of the better teams in the division, was going to be a tough matchup for the Rams. It was Senior Night in New Canaan and the girls were going to leave it all on the field. The girls pulled off their biggest win of the season, and beat them 4-1 a score nobody was expecting. After the season Coach Hickson said, “The girls finished the season strong, next year we will be back.”
By Alex Etergino
Girls Cross Country
Girl’s Cross Country finished the season with a record of 17-0 and placed 2nd at FCIACs this year. The Rams had nine runners in the top 40, including three in the top eight; sophomore Radea Raleva with a time of 15:01 (6th place), freshman Eliana Savelli with a time of 15:12 (7th place), and sophomore Charlotte Moor with a time of 15:15 (8th place).
In States, New Canaan had seven runners in the top 32 with the top three runners for New Canaan being Radea, Eliana, and Charlotte, with times of 19:40, 20:19, and 20:19 respectively. CIACs was a 5000-meter run as opposed to the 4000-meter run, which posed new challenges for the runners, yet seven runners from New Canaan still qualified for state opens.
Charlotte said, “I was really excited to see how well our team did this year. We all did our workouts together, we ran together, and definitely put in the hard yards together. The work we did paid off, and it was a great season.”
The Rams ran state opens which they placed 7th in, where only Charlotte qualified for the New England Championships.
Charlotte said, “I am really surprised that I qualified for New England individuals and I will be representing NCXC.”
By Jackson Mountford
Boys Cross Country
Boy’s Cross Country ended the season with a winning record of 11-6. After a good team effort, especially from sophomores Spencer Paine and Ryan Boulanger and a senior captain Oliver Gray, the team finished in 6th place at the FCIAC Championship on October 19. This gave the team momentum heading into the CIAC Class L Championship.
November 4, the Class L CIAC State Championship took place. The team saw the 4 of November as the most important part of the season, so freshman phenom Braden Barber was called up to participate in the tournament.
The team finished in 6th place, and the top four runners were as follows; Ryan finished in 22nd place with a time of 17:46, Spencer finished with a time of 17:58 in 31st place, Oliver finished with a time of 18:12 in 40th place, and Braden finished with a time of 18:22 in 47th place.
When asked about the successful season this year and specifically about the CIAC championships, Oliver said, “It’s so great that we are a young team. I am sure over the next few years the team will continue to improve. The main few athletes are Braden, Ryan, and Spencer being freshman and sophmores. As for the team this indoor season, I have a good feeling that we will all continue to progress. It was a great eason and really fun memories were made.”
The boys had a winning record, and the sky’s the limit with a young team like this.
By Jackson Mountford
