WILTON — As part of her pep talk before the start of overtime, St. Joseph junior forward Maddie Fried reminded her teammates that they hadn’t come this far for nothing, adding that she had never wanted to win a game so badly in her life.
Fried then did her part, converting a penalty kick in the second 10-minute overtime period to give second-seed St. Joseph a 2-1 victory over third-seed (and defending champ) Ridgefield in the second game of a semifinal doubleheader at Kristine Lilly Field.
The Cadets (15-0-3) will meet another unbeaten, top-seed Staples (16-0-2), in the conference championship game Thursday night at Fairfield Warde. Staples advanced with a devastating 6-0 triumph over fourth-seed New Canaan in the first semifinal Monday.