It’s survive and advance time for the fall sports season as the CIAC volleyball, soccer and field hockey teams get underway this week.
A total of 43 FCIAC teams will be in action across four sports. Here’s a look at the teams and schedule.
Volleyball
In volleyball, a dozen FCIAC teams qualified for the state tournament, with nine of those teams on one side of the Class LL bracket.
There will be three head-to-head contests between FCIAC teams in the first round of the Class LL playoffs, including New Canaan at Westhill, Darien at Greenwich, and Brien McMahon at Staples. During the regular season, FCIAC champion Greenwich defeated Darien 3-0; Brien McMahon knocked off Staples 3-1; and New Canaan rallied for a 3-2 win over Westhill, a result which gave the Rams a berth in the conference tournament.
Ridgefield, which is seeded No. 3 in Class LL has a first-round bye and will host the New Canaan-Westhill winner in round two; while St. Joseph, the only FCIAC team in a tournament outside of Class LL, is the No. 1 seed in Class M and also has a first-round bye. The Cadets will host either Prince Tech of Tolland in Wednesday’s second round.
Girls Volleyball
Class LL Tournament – First Round, Monday, Nov. 6
No. 23 Wilbur Cross (10-10) at No. 10 Trumbull (13-5), 4 p.m.
No. 26 Kennedy (9-11) at No. 7 Danbury (15-5), 4:30 p.m.
No. 27 Darien (8-11) at No. 6 Greenwich (16-4), 4:30 p.m.
No. 19 New Canaan (12-8) at No. 14 Westhill (13-7), 5:30 p.m.
No. 17 Hall (12-8) at No. 16 Stamford (12-8), 6 p.m.
No. 25 Warde (9-11) at No. 8 Glastonbury (14-5), 6 p.m.
No. 18 Brien McMahon (12-8) at No. 15 Staples (12-7), 6 p.m.
Bye: No. 3 Ridgefield (15-2)
Ridgefield will host the New Canaan/Westhill winner on Thurs., Nov. 9
Class M Tournament – First Round, Monday, Nov. 6
Bye: No. 1 St. Joseph (19-1)
St. Joseph will host the Prince Tech/Tolland winner on Wed., Nov. 8
Boys Soccer
The FCIAC already has one victory in the state boys soccer playoffs, as the Wilton Warriors doubled up New Fairfield, 4-2, in a Class L qualifying game on Saturday. The Warriors are seeded No. 34 and will play at No. 2 Wilcox Tech on Monday.
The FCIAC has 11 teams in the Class LL tournament, including league champion Greenwich at No. 11 and runner-up Trumbull at No. 14. Thirty teams qualified for the Class LL playoffs, with No. 1 Naugatuck (13-1-2) and No. 2 Glastonbury (13-2-1) receiving first-round byes.
Three first-round games are head-to-head FCIAC clashes, as Bridgeport Central plays at Ridgefield; Staples plays at Stamford; and Danbury plays at Ludlowe. In those regular-season meetings, Ridgefield beat Central 2-1; Stamford beat Staples 1-0; and Ludlowe and Danbury played to a scoreless tie.
Class LL Tournament – First Round, Monday, Nov. 6
No. 20 Norwalk (9-5-2) at No. 13 South Windsor (11-5-0), 2 p.m.
No. 21 Staples (8-4-4) at No. 12 Stamford (11-4-1), 2 p.m.
No. 22 Hamden (8-4-4) at No. 11 Greenwich (11-4-1), 2 p.m.
No. 19 Cheshire (9-5-2) at No. 15 Trumbull (10-4-2), 2 p.m.
No. 29 Warde (5-7-4) at No. 4 Newtown (12-2-2), 4 p.m.
No. 27 Westhill (6-6-4) at No. 6 Farmington (11-2-3), 4 p.m.
No. 28 Bridgeport Central (5-5-6) at No. 5 Ridgefield (12-3-1), 6:30 p.m.
No. 23 Danbury (7-4-5) at No. 10 Ludlowe (9-1-6), 7 p.m.
Class L Tournament – Qualifying Round, Saturday, Nov. 4
Wilton 4, New Fairfield 2
Class L Tournament – First Round, Monday, Nov. 6
No. 34 Wilton (6-7-4) at No. 2 Wilcox Tech (15-0-1), 2 p.m.
Girls Soccer
The FCIAC has 11 qualifiers in CIAC girls soccer, nine in Class LL and two in Class L.
Three of those teams will have first-round byes in Class LL: No. 4 Staples, No. 5 Warde, and No. 7 Ridgefield. They’ll all be in action during the second round on Thursday, Nov. 9.
Unlike the boys soccer and volleyball tournaments, the FCIAC teams are spread out across the Class LL girls soccer bracket with No. 25 Danbury at No. 8 Darien being the only match between conference opponents. Darien defeated Danbury 1-0 during the regular season.
Class LL Tournament – First Round, Tuesday, Nov. 7
No. 25 Danbury (5-8-3) at No. 8 Darien (11-2-3), 2 p.m.
No. 20 Ludlowe (6-4-6) at No. 13 Conard (10-3-3), 2 p.m.
No. 18 Cheshire (9-4-3) at No. 15 Brien McMahon (10-4-2), 2 p.m.
No. 19 Wilton (9-6-1) at No. 14 NFA (11-5-0), 2 p.m.
No. 21 West Haven (6-5-5) at No. 12 Trumbull (10-3-3), 4 p.m.
Byes: No. 4 Staples (12-3-1); No. 5 Warde (12-3-1); and No. 7 Ridgefield (11-2-3)
Staples will host the Conard/Ludlowe winner on Thurs., Nov. 9
Warde will host the West Haven/Trumbull winner on Thurs., Nov. 9
Ridgefield will host the Hall/Southington winner on Thurs., Nov. 9
Class L Tournament – First Round, Tuesday, Nov. 7
No. 30 Windsor (7-9-0) at No. 3 St. Joseph (11-1-4), 2 p.m.
No. 25 New Canaan (5-5-6) at No. 8 Wethersfield (11-3-2), 6 p.m.
Field Hockey
Eight conference teams are playing in the state tournaments, which kicks off with a Class L qualifying round on Monday.
The 15th-seeded Ridgefield Tigers are the lone FCIAC team in action Monday, as they host No. 18 Conard at 4 p.m. The winner of that game will play at No. 2 Cheshire on Wednesday, Nov. 8.
No. 3 Greenwich, No. 4 Norwalk, No. 5 Darien, and No. 7 Staples will all host playoff games on Wednesday.
New Canaan is the lone FCIAC team in the Class M tournament. The two-time defending champions are seeded No. 8 and will host No. 9 East Lyme on Tuesday, Nov. 7
Class L Tournament – Qualifying Round, Monday, Nov. 6
No. 18 Conard (8-5-3-0) at No. 15 Ridgefield (9-5-1-1), 4 p.m.
Class L Tournament – First Round, Wednesday, Nov. 8
No. 9 Ludlowe (11-4-1-0) at No. 8 South Windsor (12-3-1-0)
No. 13 Simsbury (10-5-1-0) at No. 4 Norwalk (14-2-0-0)
No. 12 Hall (9-3-3-1) at No. 5 Darien (13-2-1-0)
No. 10 Wilton (11-4-0-1) at No. 7 Staples (11-2-0-1
Southington/Newtown winner at No. 3 Greenwich (14-2-0-0), TBA
Ridgefield/Conard winner at No. 2 Cheshire (13-0-1-2), TBA
Class M Tournament – First Round, Tuesday, Nov. 7
No. 9 East Lyme (8-7-0-1) at No. 8 New Canaan (9-7-0-0), 6 p.m.