SPB's High School Football

… because it wasn’t the official soft drink of the FCIAC. (Pretty sad that even high school soccer needs a corporate sponsor. At least it’s not as bad as FCIAC basketball, which can’t play at Sacred Heart’s Pitt Center because it serves Coke products.)

Yes, tonight at Wilton’s Kristine Lilly Field its the FCIAC/Pepsi (according to your official FCIAC-approved program) boys and girls soccer championships.

Trumbull and Wilton play for the girls crown in a rematch of last season’s 2-2 tie. I’m guessing here, but both sides probably would rather lose than tie again. That game’s at 6 p.m.

At 7:30 (more like 8:30 though) Trumbull and Staples rumble for the boys title.

Bear in mind that the second half of the first half will likely begin around 7 p.m. Considering it takes 40 minutes to play, there is no possible way the boys game begins at 7:30.

You gotta love high school sports administrators.

The ‘Peter Principle’ is alive and well.

Don’t forget to bundle up. Should be plenty of Pepsi-approved hot chocolate for sale.

– Cardillo.

Cardillo here.

The FCIAC boys and girls soccer playoffs begin Wednesday at Fairield Ludlowe and Wilton, respectively. In a sense, the four teams on each side, especially the boys, have achieved something by just reaching the playoffs. The league wisley only awards spots to the top four teams.

On the flip side, there’s a large contingent out there that for whatever reason think the FCIAC is the best league in Connecticut. While I will agree it is strong, there’s pretty much no way to quantify that assumption.

Then again, that’s what the world of soccer is all about. People like to speculate which league is the best in the world. All I can say is that it isn’t the MLS or the Australian A-League.

Enough of my yakkin’, let’s look at the teams.

BOYS

Semifinals –Wednesday at Fairfield Ludlowe
Finals – Friday at Wilton, approx 7:30 p.m.

Defending champ – Greenwich/New Canaan (co-champs)

Game 1 — No. 2 Trumbull (12-0-4, 40 pts) vs. No. 3 Westhill (11-1-4, 37), 6 p.m.

Game 2 – No. 1 Staples (13-1-2, 41) vs. No. 4 Greenwich (11-2-3, 35) approx. 40 mins after first game

Whew. That’s a sound that coaches don’t want to hear from their teams right now. Yes, it is an impressive feat to make the playoffs. But teams need to worry about that on Thanksgiving, not now.

There can’t be any letdown. Not here.

Still, Trumbull deserves credit, win or lose for finishing the 16-game grind without a loss. There’s a school of thought that the true test of ther better team comes over 16 games, than a two-leg, do-or-die playoff.

By that logic, Staples, with its free-flowing Matt Lamb, Brendon Cristobaland Russell Oost-Leivense attack, is the league’s best team, only dropping seven of 48 points at stake. The Wreckers should also have a mild psycological egde against Greenwich, having soundly defeated them 6-2 less than two weeks ago on Oct. 21.

Greenwich boss Kurt Putnam won’t let his team, which last year split the spoils with New Canaan after an undefeated regular season, forget that result with Staples.

Staples, though, enters the game on a big-time roll, with a lot of hungry seniors.

Meanwhile, Trumbull and Westhill should be a downright interesting contest.

Two weeks ago the teams drew 0-0 down in Stamford. The result seemed to trigger a downward spiral for the Vikings. Westhill enters the game in its last five: D-W-D-L-W. The loss, to Fairfield Ludlowe on a Jeff Swan goal, was Westhill’s first.

Westhill is a team that thrives on rythmn. They’ll need to regain their form quickly on what figures to be a chilly night at Ludlowe.

Rob Bronski and the Eagles would love to throw the Vikings out of their comfortable level. But playing only three in the back, could pay for it.

Hard tackling and grit should be the word of the day. Should be a good one.

It bears noting that Staples and Westhill split the crown in 2000. Westhill is the last of the four to win it outright, coming in 2001. Trumbull has never won the FCIAC, while Staples and Greenwich have numerous titles under their respective belts.

Let’s just hope that it doesn’t come down to penalty kicks Friday night.

Oh wait, the FCIAC would rather have a tie so no one’s feelings are hurt. It might be good enough to decide a World Cup final, but not our league.

GIRLS

Semifinals – Wednesday at Kristine Lilly Field, Wilton.
Finals – Friday at Lilly Field, 7:30 p.m.

Defending champs: Trumbull/Wilton co-champs

Game 1 – No. 2 Trumbull (14-0-2, 44 pts) vs. No. 3 St. Joseph (13-3, 39), 6 p.m.
Game 2 – No. 1 Wilton (15-0-1, 46) vs. Greenwich (11-3-1), approx. 40 mins. after first game

First and foremost, the league needed a better way to decide its fourth team than flipping coin to decide the fourth playoff team, which it did with Greenwich and New Canaan. The schools finished with the same record, drew in the regular season and neither beat either of the three other playoff teams.

Do a play-in game. Ever hear of goal differential? Play a video simulation. Something other than flipping a coin.

That said, it’s hard to say this tournament is anything other than a rematch of last year for Trumbull and Wilton.

Yes, St. Joseph and Trumbull is a nice semifinal. Cross-town schools, playing again. But on opening night Trumbull handled St. Joseph 3-0 and the Eagles seem to have the Cadets number in recent years. St. Joseph coach Jack Noguiera will press his kids, but it just might not be enough to crack Trumbull’s stingy backline.

Wilton’s only blemish is a tie against Trumbull. With hard-charging forward Devon Bryn the Warriors have been near-unstoppable to slow down. And the Warriors certainly aren’t on a one-man team. Bryn has excellent support from the rest of the unit.

Still, Trumbull coach Dan Uhrlass and his experienced bunch won”t capitilate to Wilton. When they drew 1-1 in October, Trumbull scored within a minute of Wilton’s goal.

Last year they played out a thrilling 2-2 draw. Trumbull held an early 2-0 lead, but Wilton never gave up and knotted it up very late. In the last minute Kate Macauley made an incredible run from midfield, getting dragged down in the box for a penalty kick. Wilton missed and it ended a draw.

It bears nothing that in the first half of that game, Trumbull sliced and diced its way through Wilton. Most of the key performaners that night are back, except for the starting goalies.

Wilton will need to be careful to fouling anyone near the area, since Caitlin Mulligan is a set piece specialist for the Trumbull.

Should both teams win their first game, a classic could ensue.

One quick little rant. We all realize the rules for high school soccer have about as much in common with the FIFA standard as a bald eagle and pine tree. In other words, not much.

But for the playoffs, could we try, just try, to not have a running clock and let the refs keep the time on field. Is there anything more frustrating for team than having time run out for them as they’re lining up a corner kick or something.

Just a thought.

Greetings. Cardillo here again.

The SWC gets an early jump on the postseason, with its boys and girls soccer playoffs beginning Friday afternoon at the higher seeds home field.

Let’s take a look at how things may unfold.

Boys

Defending champ – Barlow

Quarterfinals

No. 1 Barlow (11-2, league record) vs. No. 8 Weston (5-7-1)
No. 2 Masuk (9-2-1) vs. No. 7 Pomperaug (6-5-2)
No. 3 Brookfield (10-3) vs. No. 6 Bunnell (9-4-0)
No. 4 Bethel (10-3) vs. No. 5 Newtown (9-3-1)

Semifinals – Monday (4 p.m, 7) at Newtown
Finals– Thursday (4:30) at Barlow

OUTLOOK – These playoffs suddenly seem wide open.

Barlow looked like world beaters, but dropped its final two games of the season. Perennial favorite Newtown slumped down the stretch, too. Meanwhile, only a game separates third seeded Brookfield from sixth seeded Bunnell, look for the Bulldogs to possibly spring the mild upset.

Quietly, Masuk has cobbled together a strong season and based on current form might be the best bet to win the crown. The Panthers drew Newtown and beat Barlow, yet were thumped 4-0 by Brookfield on Oct. 5. Yet, Masuk hasn’t lost since that game, finishing the regular season with seven wins on the trot. The defeated Brookfield 2-0 Wednesday, but according to Masuk coach Brian Humpal the Bobcats rested some important players due to yellow card accumulation.

Barlow, which still won the regular season points crown via 11 wins might actually be at a disadvantage since they could potentially face Newtown for the third time this season in the semifinals.

Bunnell/Brookfield should be interesting. The Bulldogs won 3-2 way back on Sept. 18, which means little at this point. As you’d expect, Bunnell has a lot of scrap — headed by midfield Brenden Broadbin and are capable of a title run.

The pyscology stemming from the regular season could be important. The lower seeds likely think they can hang with the top seeds. Weston, the No. 8, should be flying high after a late season win over Newtown, the first over the Nighthawks for coach Mark Berkowitz. The defending Class M co-champs only lost 2-1 to Barlow back in September.

Still, in the end led by the pairing of striker John Chernesky and midfielder Mike McGowan, Masuk just might be clicking at the right time. Still, it’s hard to count out Barlow and Tony Magliocco and Newtown.

Girls

Defending champ – Immaculate

Quarterfinals

No. 1 Newtown (11-0-1) vs. No. 8 New Milford (6-5-1)
No. 2 Masuk (10-0-2) vs. No. 7 Pomperaug (6-4-2)
No. 3 Lauralton Hall (9-2-2) vs. No. 6 Immaculate (6-3-3)
No. 4 Bethel (9-2-2) vs. No. 5 Bunnell (7-3-2)

Semifinals: Monday (4 p.m, 7) at Pomperaug
Finals: Thursday (7:30) at Barlow

OUTLOOK – Parity is probably the buzzword for the SWC girls this year. Long time powers Newtown and Masuk, while very talented, might not be the juggernauts they’ve been in years past, which could leave things very wide open.

Newtown, which was upset in the semifinals last season by Bunnell, should use that setback to their advantage. Masuk too, missed out the finals last season, losing to Immaculate. Oddly enough, Friday’s quaterfinal will be the third game in three days for Masuk, which played Cheshire to a 1-1 draw Wednesday then played an game with ND-Fairfield Thursday.

Quietly, Lauralton Hall has made steady improvements, closing the season with a nine game unbeaten streak.

Bunnell and Bethel looks like toss up, much like the entire league.

For some reason, these playoffs feel like a lot of overtime and possibly penalty kicks in multiple matches.

Whichever team keeps its mental toughness for the three games should come away with the title.

Hey World Wide Web, Cardillo here again with some high school soccer chatter.

What I want to ramble about in this space today is defense, not exactly everyone’s favorite aspect of soccer — defense.

Let me explain.

Since space and staff are tight, it’s tough for me to get out to more than one or two games during the season. I’d like to think I’m a pretty good judge of talent and seeing a player with my own two eyes leaves an impression.

Why is this important with defenders?

The rest of my knowledge is limited to what coaches call in to report to the Post. This is strictly limited to goal scorers and goalkeepers.

Now, goal scoring is certainly a nice skill, but even the worse team in Connecticut is going to have — by default — a leading scorer.

Therefore, when we select our All-Star team in November, I’d rather not have 14 of the 15 selections being a certain school’s top scorer. In actuality, I’d like an equal representation of offensive and defensive players.

Center backs and attacking outside backs don’t get enough credit as far I’m concerned. It takes just as much work to prevent a goal sometimes, as it does to score one. Is it any surprise that the top club teams allow forwards to transfer, but retain their center-backs like winning lottery tickets? Think Sir Alex Feurgeson would let Rio Ferdinand walk away from Old Trafford cheaply the same for John Terry at Chelsea.

And no doubt, Fabio Cannavaro, a diminuitive centre back, was Italy’s best player during this summer’s World Cup win.

Most of the time defending ends up being a very thankless task, that goes unnoticed by most eyes — especially in high school.

In my travels this year a couple defenders stick out.

On the boys side Bunnell skipper Matt Lance does an excellent job holding his back-four together, calling out assignments and reading the opposition’s offense. Lance, a midfielder last year, sometimes plays more of a holding role, but we’ll credit him for his defense nonetheless.

Notre Dame-West Haven owes a lot of its success this season to a taught backline. When I saw them play Fairfield Prep in early October, John Giammatteo held down his zone very tight. But who impressed me most was Steven Day. Day, like Lance, plays more of a defensive midfield role, but his ability to link the offense and the defense is a skill in its own right.

On the girl’s side of things, Trumbull center back Christina Fini stands out. The Eagles have only conceeded three goals this year, thanks namely to Fini’s experience in the back. In the few years watching I’ve rarely seen her out of position and her clearances help start the Trumbull attack.

So in the end, I guess I’m asking for you help. Let me know about the area’s best defenders and why they are so good. We’re all about equality here. Feel left out, here’s your chance.

Send me an email or comment on this blog post.

– MIKE CARDILLO

Some of you may have noticed a new feature we added this week, “High School Top Performers”.

On Friday night, one of the sports editors asked if football should be included or not. Since we give more coverage to football than other sports, should we let this new feature be for the other sports.

Well, we decided that football should be included. The general feeling was all sports should be eligible, so if you’re a high school athlete in any sport, if you have a big day, you could find yourself in our “Top Performers of the Day” category.

Then, we had another question, one we haven’t been able to answer. Which is a bigger accomplishment, a running back who gains over 120 yards in a football game, or a cross country runner who wins the FCIAC cross country championship?

I thing the general consensus was that we highlight performers who stand apart from the rest of the athletes in any given sport. An athlete who accomplishes something few of his peers were able to do, on any given day.

But it is an interesting question, and maybe there isn’t an answer.

You know you’re in trouble when your cell phone starts ringing off its charger during lunch and your email inbox reads “800 new messages.”

So far the SCC has taken the early ppd. lead.
Fairfield Prep at Notre Dame is off until Saturday, 2 p.m. Won’t be fun for the folks there trying to hold the school’s 60th anniversary Banquet, especially PR/Alumni director Steve Kirck.

Shelton at Hand is off until tomorrow night at 7. Good thing, too, if the Gaels want to pass the ball. The Surf Club can be a dicey place to play. If it’s windy inland, it’ll be a hurricane at that place.

Hamden-Wilbur Cross off until Saturday at 2. Guilford-North Haven, off until tomorrow night. …And it goes on like this.

And for all you FCIAC folks, your chance to show the SWC who’s “boss” will have to wait. Trinity Catholic at big, bad Bunnell, also off until Saturday at 7 at Bulldog field.

So far, no word on West Haven-Xavier. Back in the old days, before Cable TV started showing live high school games, this game would have been postponed on Monday based on the rumor of rain. Yes, it’s turf. But the West Haven staff is a funny bunch.

That’s it from me. Check for more postponements at the CIAC home site.

SPB

Ever wonder why some games aren’t reported in the newspaper? Joe fan gets up Saturday, picks up his paper and goes, ‘Huh? I was at that game, it was pretty big, from what I remember. How can the Post not have a summary?’

Back in the day–not too long ago, mind you–the Post used to pay correspondents to cover all games–just to get the summary and leaders. Alas, budget constraints have caused us to abandon that practice. So we did the most logical thing: We wrote letters to all the coaches and athletic directors to have their statisticians or assistants to call in the result of their games so we can get it reported. We only have two or three (at best) writers trying to cover 47 teams and we can’t do it all.

Unfortunately, not everybody wants to help get their games into the paper. In short, people get left out, even the winners. For whatever reason, a lot of people don’t like to call their games in. They see it as a chore. I don’t understand, but hey, that’s their perogative.

If you don’t call, don’t ask us why we don’t write about your team.

We need the info. No info? No coverage.

Thanks.
Sean

Welcome to our new High School Sports blog.

Well, I guess it’s about time we put up a blog about high school sports, after all, the high school section of our website is fast becoming the most popular part of the site.

Before I was promoted to the Online Editor of the website, I was a photographer at the Post. Space is tight in the paper, so there were many times when things would happen that we didn’t have room for in the paper, but times are changing with the Internet. We now have plenty of space to do things we could never do before.

We’ve added message boards and the blog so you can tell us what you want us to cover, what you think we missed, or if you disagree with our assessment of the local teams.

We have a section where you can send us your videos and we will post them, something we couldn’t do before. Send us your videos of game action, the band at halftime, the rowdy fans in the stands, the cheerleaders, or anything else you get from the games and we’ll get them online.

We can’t cover everything, all the time, so if you have info that you think is important, post it.

Enough from me now lets hear what you have to say…

-Jeff Bustraan
Online Editor, ConnPost.com