Doug Reilly
Senior Editor
Last week’s freak October snowstorm wreaked havoc in the FCIAC tournament schedules for most fall sports. With school resuming this past Wednesday, the boy’s and girl’s soccer teams looked to move on in the FCIAC playoffs and the field hockey team battled Norwalk in the quarterfinals.
Coming off last Friday night’s upset victory over top-seeded Norwalk, the boys soccer team traveled up to Fairfield Ludlowe to face fourth-seeded, three time defending FCIAC champ Staples. Emotions were running high as the Rams looked for their second straight upset win. Two halves of scoreless play forced the game into overtime. Neither team found the back of the net in overtime, and the game went into dramatic penalty kicks. On a disappointing note for the Rams, Staples won the five-round penalty kicks, 3-2, sending the boys home earlier than they hoped.
The girls soccer team, the second-seed in the FCIAC tournament, earned a home game against Fairfield Warde, a team they beat in the regular season, 2-1. Warde got on the scoreboard first, in the 25th minute, beating Holly Burwick, finding the top corner of the net, giving the Mustangs a 1-0 lead. The Rams controlled possession for most of the second half, and put the pressure on Warde’s goalkeeper, but couldn’t sneak one by, and the Rams fell by the same score of 1-0.
On a more positive note, the girl’s field hockey team won their quarterfinal game on Wednesday against higher-seeded Norwalk, 1-0, with a goal by senior captain Melanie Sztorc in the final ten minutes of the game. With the semi-finals always played at Dunning Stadium, the Rams took on a tough Wilton team last night, Thursday November 3rd. An early goal in the first half put the Warriors on top, 1-0, a lead they would not relinquish for the remainder of the game, ending the girls’ FCIAC run.
One of the surprises of the fall season has been the girl’s volleyball team. The fourth seed in their respective FCIAC tournament, the girls hosted the fifth-seeded Greenwich Cardinals. The Cardinals won the first two sets of the match, and put the Rams in a big hole. They would not give up, however, as they fought back to win the next two sets, knotting the match up at two sets a piece. Inside an energized NCHS gymnasium, the Rams won the decisive third set 15-13, advancing to Friday’s semifinal match against powerhouse Darien, a match that will be played at Fairfield Ludlowe High School.
