A fall weekend for champions
It’s fall high school sports championship weekend and eight soccer championships, three field hockey championships and three volleyball championships will be contested over Saturday and Sunday.
The boys and girls soccer finals will be held at Trinity Health Stadium in Hartford on Saturday and Sunday, while field hockey will be at Wethersfield on Saturday and volleyball at East Haven High on Saturday. The Class S volleyball final between Coventry and Haddam-killingworth was held Friday at 7 p.m. at SMSA.
Here’s a quick look at the finals:
Boys soccer At Trinity Health Stadium, Hartford Class LL No. 14 Stamford (14-5-4) vs. No. 5 Hall (13-3-3), Saturday, 6:15 p.m.:
Hall didn’t make it into the CCC tournament but is back in the Class LL final after losing last year on PKS to Greenwich. Hall knocked out three FCIAC teams (Darien, Mcmahon and Fairfield Ludlowe) and Hamden in the quarters. Stamford, which outscored its opponents 13-3 in the state tournament, lost to Trumbull 3-2 in overtime in the FCIAC final and hasn’t lost since.
Class L No. 5 Notre Dame-west Haven (14-2-3) vs. No. 3 East Lyme (201-1) Saturday, 12:45 p.m.:
East
Lyme knocked off defending Class L champion Cheshire in the semifinal,
2-1. Notre Dame-west Haven advanced to the final with a 2-1 win over Masuk.
Class M No. 17 Stonington (13-7) vs. No. 14 Lewis Mills (12-5-3), Sunday, 3:30 p.m.:
Stonington had a tough semifinal game against RHAM but won 3-2 in penalty kicks (7-6) and last won the title in 2021. Lewis Mills last won a
Class M title in 2017.
Class S No. 2 Shepaug Valley (17-2) vs. No. 1 Old Saybrook (17-0-2) Sunday, 12:45 p.m.:
Old Saybrook, coached by the state’s winningest boys soccer coach, Steve Waters, is the three-time defending Class S champion. The Rams went to PKS in the semis against Holy Cross, winning 2-1 (4-3 in PKS). Shepaug advanced to the final with a 1-0 win over Haddam-killingworth.
Girls soccer Class LL No. 4 Notre Dame-fairfield (162-1) vs. No. 2 St. Joseph (21-0-1), Saturday, 10 a.m.:
This was the Class L championship game last year, which
St. Joseph won, but both teams have moved up to Class LL. Notre Damefairfield knocked off last year’s Class M champion Mercy in the semifinal 2-1 (6-5 on PKS).
Class L No. 4 Simsbury (17-1-4) vs. No. 3 Brookfield (18-4), Sunday, 6:15 p.m.:
Simsbury last was in the Class L final in 2021, when the Trojans lost to St. Joseph and hasn’t won a title since 2005. They advanced to the championship game with a 2-1 win over last year’s Class S champion East Catholic on penalty kicks. Brookfield is in its first final and is led by senior Rylee Mcgee, who has scored over 100 career goals.
Class M No. 11 Bacon Academy (15-5-1) vs. No. 1 Suffield (19-0), Saturday, 3:30 p.m.:
Suffield is going for its first championship since 2010, when the Wildcats won Class M. They are led by the high-scoring duo of Liv Matthews (40 goals) and Kayleigh Mahannah (33 assists). Bacon Academy beat Suffield’s NCCC foe Granby in the quarterfinals on PKS and Woodland in the semifinals to advance to its first trip to the finals.
Class S No. 10 Cromwell (12-4-6) vs. No. 1 Thomaston (17-0-2), Sunday, 10 a.m.:
Cromwell lost to Old Lyme in the Shoreline Conference semifinals but bounced back to make a run through the Class S tournament to the final. Thomaston won its last 11 regularseason games.
Field hockey Saturday at Wethersfield High Class L No. 2 Staples (19-2-0-1) vs. No. 1 Darien (21-1-0-0), 11 a.m.:
Darien is the defending Class L champion; Staples won three titles from 2016-19. Darien beat Staples 3-0 for the FCIAC title and beat Staples 3-2 in overtime in the regular season.
Class M No. 6 New Canaan (13-7) vs. No. 1 Hand (21-0-1), 3:30 p.m.:
Hand, the SCC champion, last won a title in 2017 and was in the final in 2019 but lost to Guilford. New Canaan last won a championship in Class L in 2021 and has outscored opponents 16-3 in the tournament.
Class S No. 2 Canton (19-0) vs. No. 1 North Branford (21-0), 1:15 p.m.:
Unbeaten Canton had a big semifinal win over Stonington after losing to the Bears on penalty strokes in the snow last year and is in its first championship game since 2007. North Branford is also undefeated and the two-time defending Class S champion.
Volleyball Saturday at East Haven Class LL No. 3 Southington (24-1) vs. No. 1 Darien (24-0), 6 p.m.:
Southington hasn’t been in the finals since
2011, when the Blue Knights lost to Newtown. The Blue Knights’ only loss came to Trumbull this season and they won the CCC championship. Darien is the defending Class LL champion and won the FCIAC title.
Class L No. 12 St. Joseph (17-7) vs. No. 3 Farmington (21-4), 3 p.m.:
This is Farmington’s first appearance in a championship game since 2016. The River Hawks advanced to the CCC tournament semifinal, where they lost to Bristol Central, but haven’t lost since. St. Joseph last won a title in Class M in 2017.
Class M No. 6 RHAM (22-4) vs. No. 1 Barlow (21-1), noon:
Barlow won the Class L title last year and RHAM won the Class M championship last year. The two teams met in the regular season and Barlow beat RHAM 3-1. Barlow’s only regular-season loss came to Fairfield Warde.