FCIAC

Darien defense dominates in beating Warde

FAIRFIELD — For a moment, for a brief moment, Fairfield Warde had a chance to change the momentum of what had been a one-sided affair in favor of Darien and make the Blue Wave sweat a little.

Will Stearns has just caught a touchdown pass to get the Mustangs on the board and one play after the ensuing kickoff, Joe Gjinaj recovered a fumble at the Darien 31, giving Warde the football and the chance to cut the Blue Wave lead in half.

But Darien doesn’t have the best defense in the state for nothing. John Henry Slonieski intercepted quarterback Joey Gublin — one of four Warde turnovers — as the No. 1 ranked Blue Wave used four touchdown passes from Cooper Hancock to roll past the Mustangs 42-7 Friday night at Tetreau-Davis Field.

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Ridgefield’s Viggiano nips Danbury’s Moore at wire at FCIAC Girls XC

NEW CANAAN — It was deja vu all over again.

It just wouldn’t be an FCIAC Girls Cross Country Championship if Danbury High School’s Lauren Moore and Ridgefield’s Gabriella Viggiano weren’t racing neck-and-neck to the finish line.

In 2017, it was Moore who hit the wire one second ahead of Viggiano to capture second place overall behind runaway winner Morgan McCormick of Wilton.

On Thursday, Viggiano turned the tables as her last push at the wire made her the 2018 FCIAC Girls Cross Country Individual Champion over Moore. The margin of victory at New Canaan’s Waveny Park for the 4,000-meter race was microscopic (Viggiano 14:39.07; Moore 14:39.53).

“It was a great race. I really love running at Waveny Park,” Viggiano said. “The final time was a personal best for both Lauren and I by about 20 seconds. After finishing third in 2017, I wanted better this year.”

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Staples captures third straight FCIAC cross country championship, New Cannan’s Malling wins

NEW CANAAN — There is no Wrecking the Wreckers.

The Staples High School boys cross country team put an exclamation point on Hall of Fame coach Laddie Lawrence’s 50th season Thursday by capturing the FCIAC Boys Cross Country team championship at Waveny Park.

Staples High was an impenetrable pack as its top seven runners all finished between fourth and 19th place over the 5,000 meter course that was revamped for safety due to wet conditions from last week’s rains.

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Greenwich girls soccer edges Danbury

The Greenwich High School girls soccer team entered Tuesday night’s game against Danbury knowing they needed a victory to keep their hopes of qualifying for the state tournament alive.

After 80 minutes of intense action, the Cardinals were still in the running for the postseason.

Kelly Martyanov, a freshman, scored with six minutes remaining in the second half, lifting visiting Greenwich to a well-earned 1-0 win over Danbury in an FCIAC matchup.

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Greenwich crushes Trumbull in football opener

GREENWICH — During the preseason, Greenwich High School football coach John Marinelli mentioned AJ Barber as a receiver capable of stepping up and making plays.

Well, Marinelli was right on in his assessment.

Barber, a sophomore, helped set the tone of the Cardinals’ season-opener against Trumbull, catching three touchdowns from quarterback Gavin Muir in the first half.

Those three receptions, coupled by Ryan Raybuck’s interception return for a touchdown sparked Greenwich to a 42-7 win over FCIAC foe Trumbull in the season-opening game for both squads.

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College Sports Roundups: Former FCIAC athletes on the big stage

The first official games of the fall athletics season are just two weeks away, so we’re taking one last look back at what some former FCIAC stars have been doing in the college ranks. Each of these stories was featured over the summer, as compiled by Bob Greeney, and include numerous brilliant performances by graduates … Read more

College Women’s Basketball Roundup: A look back at some winter stars

Tiana England, Stamford High’s all-time leading scorer with 1,501 career points, had a very good freshman season for St. John’s University to highlight some of the successful women’s college basketball seasons which were turned in by former FCIAC players. The accomplishments and statistics of those players are listed underneath each of the respective FCIAC high … Read more

College Women’s Lacrosse Roundup: FCIAC stars are leaders on their college teams

New Canaan’s Bailey Pilder was the starting goalie for the Gettysburg Bullets, who won the 2018 NCAA Div. III National championship this spring. — Gettysburg Athletics photo Former Fairfield Ludlowe star Ali Gorab was a senior captain, former New Canaan star Bailey Pilder was the starting goalie, and former Darien standout Daphne Budd was a … Read more

College Men’s Lacrosse Roundup: Former FCIAC standouts excel at the next level

Former New Canaan High School lacrosse stars Michael Kraus, Harry Stanton and Cole Turpin each had quite the memorable seasons to highlight some of the many accomplishments of former FCIAC lacrosse players for their respective men’s college teams this past spring. Kraus had a superb season as a sophomore attack for Virginia and was selected … Read more