The final week of the regular season begins Oct. 15, and the playoff picture has gotten a bit clearer regarding which eight teams will qualify for the 2024 FCIAC Boys Soccer Tournament which begins Oct. 23.
In the games played through Tuesday, Oct. 8, Greenwich’s undefeated 8-0-3 Cardinals led a group of eight teams with at least 20 points and another three teams were either a couple or a few points behind that group and with hopes of a hot finish to perhaps snatch a final playoff berth.
With the conference standings format of teams being awarded three points for a win and one point for a tie, the Greenwich Cardinals are ranked second in the latest state poll and they’re in great position to secure the No. 1 seed in the conference tournament with their accumulation of 27 points via their 8-0-3 record.
Trumbull and Darien were tied for second place with their identical 7-2-3 records and 24 points. Greenwich defeated host Trumbull, 2-0, on Sept. 21, and six days later Greenwich and Darien played to a 1-1 tie at Greenwich.
Fairfield Ludlowe was in fourth place with 23 points and a 7-3-2 record. Brien McMahon (7-4-1, 22 points) was in fifth place, Ridgefield (7-5-0, 21 points) was in sixth, while Danbury (6-4-2) and Stamford (5-2-5) were tied for seventh place with 20 points.
Staples (6-6-0) and Norwalk (5-4-3) were tied for ninth place with 18 points while New Canaan (5-4-2) was one point behind them in 11 th place.
Most of the conference’s teams who have either already secured their FCIAC playoff berths or are contending for those final berths were scheduled to play their 13th conference game Thursday, Oct. 10, and their last two FCIAC games from Oct. 15-19.
Eight matchups during the final week involving the conference’s top 11 teams are: Darien playing at Brien McMahon on Oct. 15; Trumbull at Fairfield Ludlowe and New Canaan at Ridgefield on Oct. 16; Greenwich at Brien McMahon on Oct. 17; Norwalk at Darien, Danbury at New Canaan, and Staples at Ridgefield on Oct. 18; and Greenwich at New Canaan on Oct. 19.
The 2024 FCIAC Boys Soccer Tournament commences Oct. 23 with four quarterfinal games at the home fields of the four highest-seeded teams.
The semifinals are Oct. 26, a Saturday, at Fairfield Warde High School with the starting times still to be determined. The championship game is the Tuesday night of Oct. 29 at New Canaan High School at 6:30 p.m.
Notre Dame-West Haven, which improved to 12-0-1 with a 6-0 victory at Branford on Oct. 9, received all 12 first-place votes to be ranked No. 1 in the current Connecticut High School Class LL/L Boys Soccer Coaches Poll which was released Oct. 8.
Greenwich is No. 2 and Fairfield Ludlowe is the other FCIAC team in the Top 10 as the Falcons are tied for No. 9 with E.O. Smith.
The teams ranked 3-through-8, in order, are Xavier, Farmington, Glastonbury, Bethel, East Lyme, and Naugatuck.
The FCIAC has three of the top 11 teams as Stamford received the 11 th most polling points as the only conference team among the eight teams statewide in the Others Receiving Votes category.