State championship weekend: A look at the teams in the boys and girls soccer, field hockey and volleyball finals
It’s state championship weekend for fall high school sports in Connecticut and eight boys and girls soccer games, three field hockey games and four volleyball finals and the State Open swimming championships will take place at various sites around the state.
The soccer championships will all be held at Trinity Health Stadium in Hartford Saturday and Sunday, while the field hockey finals will be at Wethersfield High Saturday and the volleyball finals at East Haven High Saturday. The State Open swim meet will be Sunday at 2 p.m. at Yale.
Boys soccer
at Trinity Health Stadium
Class LL
No. 16 Greenwich (14-6-2) vs. No. 2 Hall (20-0-2), Saturday, 6:30 p.m.
Of note: After losing last year in the quarterfinals on penalty kicks, Hall made it through a snowstorm Tuesday night and beat Norwalk 4-3 on penalty kicks to advance to its first championship game since 2019 when the Titans beat Greenwich and they also beat Greenwich 5-0 earlier in the season. Greenwich won its semifinal 2-1 on penalty kicks, over Fairfield Prep. The Cardinals haven’t won a state title in 61 years.
Class L
No. 2 Xavier (18-2-2) vs. No. 1 Cheshire (15-3-1), Sunday, 6:30 p.m.
Of note: Xavier was the SCC tournament champion but the two SCC teams did not play each other in the regular season or the tournament. They did face each other last year in the Class LL semifinal, which Cheshire won on penalty kicks to advance to the championship game, but the Rams lost to Farmington 4-3 in the final.
Class M
No. 7 Weston (16-3) vs. No. 1 Ellington (19-1), Saturday, 1:30 p.m.
Of note: Nathan Beturne scored on a penalty kick to boost the Purple Knights into their fourth final since 2018 with a 2-1 overtime win (4-3 in PKs) over Tolland. Ellington has lost in the last four championship games – 3-1 to Stonington last year, 1-0 to Stonington in 2019 and 1-0 to Plainville in 2018.
Class S
No. 5 Old Saybrook (17-1-2) vs. No. 3 East Hampton (14-1-1), Sunday, 11 a.m.
Of note: Old Saybrook coach Steve Waters won his 600th career game in the tournament quarterfinals over Litchfield but it took penalty kicks for the defending Class S champion Rams to beat top-seeded Oxford in the semifinals. Old Saybrook’s last loss: to East Hampton in a Shoreline Conference game on Oct. 28, 3-2.
Girls soccer
Class LL
No. 3 Staples (15-2-4) vs. No. 1 Cheshire (21-0-1), Sunday, 4 p.m.
Of note: Cheshire beat Ridgefield 2-1 to get to the final while Staples knocked off Glastonbury 3-0 behind three goals from the Chudowsky sisters, freshman Natalie (2) and Evelyn, a junior. Cheshire is led by Gabby Tirado, who was the Most Outstanding Player in the SCC Tournament.
Class L
No. 4 Notre Dame-Fairfield (16-1-2) vs. No. 2 St. Joseph (20-1-1), Saturday, 11 a.m.
Of note: St. Joseph is the defending Class L champion and advanced to the final with a 4-1 win over Wethersfield.
Class M
No. 13 Northwest Catholic (13-5-2) vs. No. 3 Mercy (19-3-1), Saturday, 4 p.m.
Of note: Mercy, the Class M co-champ last year, lost to Cheshire in the SCC tournament championship game. Senior goalkeeper Melina Ford, an All-American last year, has given up one goal in the state tournament. Northwest Catholic lost its last two regular season games, to Simsbury and Southington.
Class S
No. 2 East Catholic (17-1-1) vs. No. 1 Lyman Memorial (17-1-1), Sunday, 1:30 p.m.
Of note: Even though the Bulldogs were the top seed, Lyman Memorial did not cruise through the tournament to the final. They beat Bolton 2-1 on penalty kicks in the quarterfinals and Portland 3-1 in double OT in the semifinals. East Catholic lost its first game to Tolland but ended the regular season on an eight-game win streak.
Field hockey
Saturday at Wethersfield High
Class L
No. 2 Wilton (18-2-1-0) vs. No. 1 Darien (22-0-0-0), 2 p.m.
Of note: Darien, which has won 10 state championships, hasn’t won a title since 2016. Darien beat Wilton 4-1 on Oct. 4.
Class M
No. 9 Branford (15-5-1-1) vs. No. 6 New Milford (13-4-3-0), noon
Of note: This is Branford’s first appearance in the state championship game since 2011 and New Milford’s first since 1983. Branford, which lost to Cheshire in the SCC tournament championship, has won 10 state titles.
Class S
No. 3 Stonington (15-2-1-0) vs. No. 1 North Branford (18-1-0-0), 10 a.m.
Of note: The two teams played each other in a non-conference game Oct. 22 and Stonington won 1-0. North Branford beat Stonington last year to win the Class S title.
Volleyball
All games Saturday at East Haven High
Class LL
No. 14 Trumbull (20-7) vs. No. 1 Darien (24-0), 10 a.m.
Of note: Darien defeated Trumbull 3-0 on Sept. 29 and again in the FCIAC tournament championship but Trumbull got hot in the state stournament, beating No. 3 Simsbury in the second round and No. 7 Amity in the semifinals. Trumbull won Class LL in 2019; Darien hasn’t won a title since 2014.
Class L
No. 7 Bristol Central (18-6) vs. No. 1 Barlow (20-0), 1 p.m.
Of note: Barlow’s closest match of the regular season was a 3-2 win over Fairfield Ludlowe. Bristol Central is in its first state championship game.
Class M
No. 4 RHAM (20-2) vs. No. 2 Woodland (21-2), 7 p.m.
Of note: RHAM is the 2021 Class L champion and has won eight state titles.
Class S
No. 4 East Hampton (19-2) vs. No. 2 Hale Ray (21-1), 4 p.m.
Of note: The two Shoreline teams played each other twice this season and split, with East Hampton winning 3-1 on Sept. 14 and Hale Ray winning 3-0 Oct. 10.
Lori Riley can be reached at lriley@courant.com.
