State Tournament Begins Tuesday; Wreckers Face Hall Away, 4 pm
Staples’ quest for a 13th state championship begins Monday.
The Wreckers — ranked 20th in the “LL” (extra large schools) division with an 8-4-4 regular season record — travel to Hall-West Hartford (#13, 11-4-1). Game time is 4 p.m.
Staples and Hall have played 7 times since 1963, always in the state tournament. The most recent meeting was 2010, a Wreckers victory in the LL semifinals.
“We always say we’ll play anyone, any time, anywhere,” said Staples head coach Dan Woog. “We’ll try to figure out Hall, and be ready for them. We welcome the opportunity to play a new opponent. And of course in the state tournament, we approach it one match at a time.”
Eleven FCIAC schools are in the LL tournament.
Two 1st-round match-ups pit a pair of FCIAC foes against each other: #11 Darien hosts #22 Ridgefield, while FCIAC champion Fairfield Ludlowe (#14) entertains #19 Greenwich.
Two other FCIAC teams have home games: #10 Danbury (the highest ranked FCIAC side) against #23 Wilbur Cross-New Haven, and #15 Wilton vs. #18 Shelton.
Besides Staples, 4 FCIAC squads hit the road on Tuesday: #17 Fairfield Warde (at #16 West Haven), #25 Trumbull (at #8 Cheshire), #29 Norwalk (at #4 South Windsor) and #28 Central (at #5 East Hartford).
Glastonbury and New Milford finished the regular season with identical 14-2-0 records. They’re #1 and #2 respectively, based on a random computer-generated selection. Both have byes.
There are no FCIAC teams in the class L (large schools) tournament. However, Harding of Bridgeport — which left the league this year — is ranked #4. This year, in a new conference, the Presidents roared to a 13-1-2 record — and the league title. That earns them a 1st-round bye.
Follow the Wreckers in the CIAC tournament on StaplesSoccer.com.
