State Tournament Pairings Set; Wreckers’ Quest Begins Monday
The state soccer tournament is a 32-team affair. All teams with a .400 or better record qualify.
Some years, the #1 team gets a bye.
The Wreckers — with a 12-1-3 regular season record — are the top seed this year. But because 33 schools made the “LL” (extra large schools) tourney, there are no byes.
Instead, #32 Ridgefield hosts #33 Norwalk in a playdown round on Saturday. Ridgefield won their regular season encounter 3-0, in September.
The winner travels to Wakeman Field on Tuesday (November 7; time TBD) for Round 1 of the state tournament.
Staples will be shooting for their 13th crown overall, but first since 2009. The last time they faced an FCIAC foe in the first round was 2018. The Wreckers won, on penalty kicks.
Twelve of the 16 FCIAC teams qualified for LLs. Seedings are done based on regular season record; 2 teams with the same points are then decided by head-to-head results, then on power ratings of opponents.
First round match-ups are: #2 Greenwich vs. #31 Bristol Central; #10 Trumbull vs. #23 Fairfield Warde; #12 Brien McMahon vs. #21 South Windsor; #14 Stamford vs. #19 New Milford; #16 Fairfield Ludlowe vs. #17 Norwich Free Academy; #18 Danbury vs. #15 Shelton; #28 Darien vs. #5 Hall.
Click here for the full LL bracket.
Though Trumbull is only #10, they are on a roll. The Eagles won their second straight FCIAC championship — and fifth in the last 7 years — with a wild 3-2 overtime victory over Stamford. As they had done in their previous 2 FCIAC games, the Knights rallied from behind to tie. They were without Noel Vargas, the striker who scored the late game-winner against Staples in the semifinals. He had to sit out, after accumulating his second yellow card of the FCIAC tournament in the Wrecker game.
