Overtime

A bit of good news as we prepare to enter the holiday season: We just received official word this morning that the Overtime Team of the Week is going to be continued for the winter season.

The response this fall has been overwhelming and far exceeded my lofty expectations in every way possible. Most importantly, and the seed from which this project was planted, is that it has provided another forum for high school athletes to be recognized for their accomplishments.

Credit goes out to BlueStreak Sports Training, Garden Catering and my employer, The Stamford Advocate, for all their support so that we can give the winning teams plaques, T-shirts and make the award more special for them. Their backing has been tremendous.

As for the Winter Team of the Week, we are still finalizing the plans but there will be one big change from the fall: this won’t be sport-specific. We are going to open it up to every winter sport and see how that works out. And the winners will still receive plaques and T-shirts. Definite details will be forthcoming.

And don’t forget to be on the lookout in about two weeks as we hold the vote for the overall Overtime Fall Team of the Year.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Become a fan of the Overtime Facebook page.

Follow Dave Ruden on Twitter.

Jake Weil of the Darien High School football team and Kaylin Moss of the Wilton swim team are the final winners this fall of the BlueStreak-Overtime FCIAC Player of the Week awards.

Weil and Moss will receive plaques and T-shirts from BlueStreak.

Weil was the most influential player in the Blue Wave’s 17-7 win over Trumbull in the FCIAC championship game, finishing with 10 solo tackles, a fumble recovery and two big stops on fourth-down plays.

Moss had outstanding performances to lead the Warriors to the CIAC Class M title. She won both the 100 breaststroke and 200 IM in meet-record times, and was a member of winning 200 medley and 200 free relay teams that set school records. At the State Open meet Moss won the 100 breaststroke and was third in the 200 IM.

The Player of the Week award will resume at the start of the winter sports season.

Nominations are now open, until Sunday at 7 p.m., for the BlueStreak-Overtime FCIAC Male and Female Players of the Year. The two winners will receive a trophy from BlueStreak and a quarter-zip Player of the Year sweatshirt from The Stamford Advocate.

To nominate an athlete, click on the replica of the T-shirt the winners receive on the right-hand side of this blog, below the BlueStreak ad. Then email in the name of the person you are nominating. Please include ALL statistics and accomplishments by the athlete for us to consider. Because of the gap in schedules, we will evaluate football players based on their performances through the Thanksgiving games.

We will then select five finalists in each category, and starting a week from today you can vote to pick the winners.

Become a fan of the Overtime Facebook page.

Follow Dave Ruden on Twitter.

One school won the FCIAC championship last Friday night.

The other thinks it is the best team in the FCIAC.

All of which begs a rather simple question: Which team is going to win Thursday’s annual Turkey Bowl: Darien or New Canaan?

You can vote until 10 Thanksgiving morning.

Become a fan of the Overtime Facebook page.

Follow Dave Ruden on Twitter.

With the fall season completed except for high school football, it is time to recognize the most outstanding male and female athlete in the FCIAC over the past two months.

Starting a week from Tuesday, and running until the following Monday, we will be conducting a vote to honor the BlueStreak-Overtime FCIAC Male and Female Players of the Year. The two winners will receive a trophy from BlueStreak and a quarter-zip Player of the Year sweatshirt from The Stamford Advocate.

And readers can take part in the process and determine the winner. Until next Sunday at 7 p.m., we will be accepting nominations. All coaches and athletic directors have been contacted, but the general public can also put players up for consideration.

To nominate an athlete, click on the replica of the T-shirt the winners receive on the right-hand side of this blog, below the BlueStreak ad. Then email in the name of the person you are nominating. Please include ALL statistics and accomplishments by the athlete for us to consider. Because of the gap in schedules, we will evaluate football players based on their performances through the Thanksgiving games.

We will then select five finalists in each category, and starting a week from Tuesday you all can vote to pick the winners.

So start sending in your nominations and prepare to vote for the BlueStreak-Overtime FCIAC Male and Female Players of the Year.

We will also hold our final vote for the Overtime Football Team of the Week next weekend. And then we will announce one final vote, to pick the overall Overtime FCIAC Fall Team of the Year.

Become a fan of the Overtime Facebook page.

Follow Dave Ruden on Twitter.

Fans who cannot make it to Trumbull for tonight’s FCIAC football championship game between the Eagles and Darien, and are Cablevision subscribers, can tune in to Channel 14 tonight to watch the broadcast live on MSG Varsity.

Then there are the people like me! For the second year in a row, the FCIAC final and CIAC Class LL girls soccer championships are on the same night, so I will be on an assignment elsewhere. So I will be going to the Hearst Connecticut Newspapers live running blog throughout the evening for updates and you can too.

Just come back here later tonight to follow all the action from pregame to postgame.

Become a fan, by hitting “like,” of the new Overtime Facebook page.

Follow Dave Ruden on Twitter.

Exactly 30 years ago after a Major League Baseball team rode the song “We Are Family” to a World Series title, last fall a group of high school soccer players who referred to themselves as “The Family” because of their close bond became the first team from the city of Stamford to win a state title in the sport.

That may be the only time the Pittsburgh Pirates and Westhill High School girls soccer team are mentioned in the same sentence. But now The Family, with a few different members, is one win away from winning back to back Class LL championships. The Vikings will accomplish that feat tonight with a win over Shelton at Norwalk High School.

It is an incredible story for a program that went into last year’s state tournament with very little on its postseason resume.

Right now the team is playing at an extremely high level — arguably better than at any time during this two-year run. They put 11 strong starters on the field and can bring in quality off the bench.

But the Vikings’ biggest strength is probably their most overlooked commodity: an unyielding defense that features a back row of four players that could be the anchors for many teams in the state.

Behind center backs Nicole Eriksen and Claire Mahoney, and outside backs Haley Hilsenrath and Whitney Mantel — along with outstanding goalkeeper Jenn Osher — the Vikings have not allowed a goal in four state playoff games and just seven overall during a 13-1-2 streak following a sluggish 2-2-2 start.

How close is the unit? In talking to the four today during separate interviews, each one used the word chemistry.

So here is what the four players had to say about the reasons for their success:

Nicole Eriksen

NICOLE ERIKSEN: “On the field we all think alike. We all get along. If we didn’t have the chemistry we wouldn’t play as well. I think that chemistry shows not just on the field but off of it as well. And I think we all have strong individual skills.”

Haley Hilsenrath

HALEY HILSENRATH: “I think it is because of our chemistry on the field. We work really well together and have good communication skills. Claire and I are like a unit and Whitney and Nicole are paired off, and together we are one strong defense. There is always room for improvement, always one or two things that can go wrong, but right now we are in a really good place.”

Whitney Mantel

WHITNEY MANTEL: “I think we know each other really well and know what the others are going to do on the field. We are extremely close. We know how to back each other up in difficult situations. We are always there for each other.”

Claire Mahoney

CLAIRE MAHONEY: “I think our biggest strength is the way we communicate. If one player steps up, another steps back. It’s a a natural process. And we all really want to win. Our level of determination really helps. I think how we play as a defense is also how we play as a team.”

While the question of whether the Vikings will defend their state title will remain up in the air until tomorrow night, the level of excellence of their defense is unquestionable.

Become a fan, by hitting “like,” of the new Overtime Facebook page.

Follow Dave Ruden on Twitter.

The Westhill girls soccer team, which last year became the first from the city of Stamford to win a state title in the sport, will now get the chance to make it two in a row following tonight’s dominating 2-0 CIAC Class LL semifinal win over Hamden.

The Vikings will meet Shelton in the final.

Here is Westhill coach Dave Flower’s postgame talk with his players.

Become a fan, by hitting “like,” of the new Overtime Facebook page.

Follow Dave Ruden on Twitter.

We needed another tiebreaker, but Trinity Catholic High School, coming off a 42-28 win over Stamford to clinch the city title for the first time in five years, is this week’s Overtime Team of the Week.

The award is sponsored by BlueStreak Sports Training, Garden Catering and The Stamford Advocate. The Crusaders will receive a plaque and 60 T-shirts with their team helmet and lettering in school colors.

Trinity easily won the voting portion, which counts 50 percent, with 647 of the 1,091 votes cast, or 59 percent. Trumbull was second with 400 votes, while St. Joseph came in third with 44 votes.

Trumbull was the unanimous choice of our selection committee, which consists of Sean Patrick Bowley, the online sports producer for Hearst Connecticut Newspapers; Pat Pickens, the sports editor of the Fairfield Citizen-News; and Tim Parry, who runs the FCIAC Football Blog. That accounts for the other 50 percent.

While not discounting the importance of the Eagles’ win over Staples, which clinched a berth in the conference championship game, we decided to go with the emotional impact of the Crusaders’ win to settle the tie.

We will be taking this coming week off for the award, then hold the last vote starting the weekend after the Thanksgiving games. We will also be holding a final vote for the overall Overtime Fall Team of the Year, which will include all sports but will have at least one football team involved.

Thanks to everyone who took the time to vote.

Become a fan, by hitting “like,” of the new Overtime Facebook page.

Follow Dave Ruden on Twitter.