Mackenzie Lewis
Sports Editor
Darien is always a big rivalry, no matter what sport is being played. On Thursday, May 7 the girls lacrosse team came ready to take on the Blue Wave on Dunning Stadium at 6:00pm. The stadium was filled with students, parents, and fans ready to watch the number one and two seeded teams in the FCIAC play out a tight battle.
Senior co-captain Emily DeTour knew that the team was ready to take on the rivals after much practice and preparation for the game. “We figured out Darien’s strengths and weaknesses and tried to do what they would do during their games in practice to simulate game situations,” she said. “We tried to pump each other up, get excited, and stayed focused leading up to the game.”
Senior co-captain Elizabeth Miller was the first to put the Rams on the scoreboard with a shot about four minutes into the game. Darien quickly answered, popping in two goals, before junior Catherine Granito tied it up making it 2-2.
Elizabeth made another shot past the Darien’s net to bring the score to 3-2 with 8:33 left in the half, but NC couldn’t seem to get a greater lead, with Darien adding another goal minutes later. The Wave stole the lead from the Rams to bring it to 3-4, before NC’s junior Katie DeMarino tied the game with a goal to make it 4-4. The game remained tight through most of the first half. “Having the game close was exciting because it makes you keep working and it definitely makes us play harder and keep it together,” Emily said.
Darien quickly gained momentum and scored four goals past NC senior and goalie Bailey Pilder with less than five minutes left in the half, to bring the game to a score of 4-8 at the buzzer for halftime.
Once the time on the clock started running again and the second half was underway, the Wave scored again to lead at 4-9, but the Rams did not back down. Elizabeth responded for the Rams by firing another goal into the net, giving her a hattrick for the game. Sophomore Campbell Armstrong followed Elizabeth’s goal with a shot past Darien’s goalie with 20:38 left in the second half and brought the score to 6-9. These goals brought the Rams back into competition with the Wave as junior Kylie Murphy added two goals. Meanwhile, Darien was continuing to find the back of the net as well. New Canaan slowly closed the lead that the Wave had built, bringing the score to 8-10 with 15:02 left in the game.
Although the Rams brought the game back up to a close score, they were only able to add one more goal to their scoring streak, giving Elizabeth a total of four goals. With 8:55 left in the game, the Rams were still down with the close score of 9-11. Throughout the last few minutes NC let Darien take control of the game, making the Rams unable to rally back. “We had about five minutes left in the second half where we weren’t focused and Darien really capitalized on that and gained their momentum back,” Emily said.
The game ended with a score of 9-12, with another late goal by Darien. Although the Rams were upset with the loss, the team hopes to face off against the Blue Wave again in the postseason. “I know that we will face Darien again in FCIACs so we will get another chance to to beat them,” Emily said. “All of the girls really put their hearts into this game and played to the best of their abilities by hustling, and that’s all we can really do.”
The Ram’s next game is Monday, May 18 vs. Westhill at 4:00p.m. at Westhill High School.
