New Haven Register (New Haven, CT)
GIRLS SOCCER PREVIEW
25 CIAC PLAYERS TO WATCH
Gianna Angelillo, Glastonbury, Sr., F: Hoping to help lead Glastonbury to another deep run in Class LL. Angelillo is heading to Miami (Fla.) next season.
Colleen Ardolino, Foran, Sr., M/F: Register All-Area and three-time All-SCC selection paced the Lions with 13 goals and seven assists. Committed to play at Bryant.
Julia Bike, St. Joseph, Sr., D: A familiar last name in the Cadets’ history. This Bike helps lead the defense and is committed to play at George Mason next year.
Jess Carr, Southington, Sr., M: UConn-bound midfielder makes things go for the Blue Knights. Spent most of last season recuperating from an ACL/MCL injury, but still scored 12 goals.
Evelyn Chudowsky, Staples, Jr., F: Scored 15 goals last year for the FCIAC champions and Class LL state co-champs.
Natalie Chudowsky, Staples, Fr., M:
A U16 national player will make an immediate impact for the Wreckers.
Samantha DeWitt, Staples, Sr., M: Gabby Gonzalez may have moved on to Cornell, but DeWitt can help anchor another heralded Wreckers’ defense.
Kate Donlan, Mercy, Sr., F: Register All-Area pick last season (23 goals, nine assists) hoping to lead the Tigers to the
SCC championship.
Ava Ferrie, Branford, Sr., M: Riderbound midfielder will run the show again at center-midfielder for the Hornets, an SCC title contender. Ferrie had 13 goals and 12 assists last season.
Melina Ford, Mercy, Sr., GK: GameTimeCT all-state and two-time All-New England selection posted 15 shutouts. Headed to play at Central Connecticut State.
Juliana Garcia, Sacred Heart Academy, Sr., M/F: One of the holdovers from the Sharks’ Class MM state co-championship with Mercy. Garcia scored 20 goals last season.
Diana Jedrychowski, Farmington,
Sr., M: Returning GameTimeCT all-state and All-New England pick helped lead Farmington to the Class LL state quarterfinals last season.
Taylor Jenkins, St. Joseph, C/M, Jr.: Transfer from Hopkins, Jenkins likely to start at center midfield. Has verbally committed to UConn.
Charlotte Kemp, Ridgefield, Sr., D: Helped the Tigers pitch nine shutouts last season.
Lily Kenney, Cromwell, Sr., GK: Reigning Shoreline Conference Player of the Year returning in net for the Panthers.
Rylee McGee, Brookfield, M, Jr. Key part of the Bobcats’ run to the SWC championship in four decades.
Megan Menard, Mercy, Jr., M: Major factor in the middle for the reigning Class M state co-champions.
Macie Mietz, Bethel, Jr., M: Butler commit led the Wildcats with 16 assists last season.
Bella Milburn, Holy Cross, So., F: Made an immediate impact for the Crusaders as a freshman with 23 goals and 14 assists, helping lead them to the Class S state championship.
Riley Powers, Newtown, Sr., M/F: Had 14 goals and 10 assists for the Nighthawks to earn GameTimeCT all-state laurels last season.
Alexa Pino, St. Joseph, So., F: Impressive numbers (26 goals, 11 assists), including goal in the Class L state championship game for the Cadets. An All-New England and GameTimeCT all-state pick.
Sara Rieger, Notre Dame-Fairfield, Jr: F: Transfer from the Wooster School in Danbury, where she scored 44 goals last season. Will miss start of the season due to a back injury.
Veronica Rrapi, Notre Dame-Fairfield, Jr., GK: All-SWC performer hoping to help lead the Lancers to not only a league title, but also a berth in the Class L state final.
Caroline Spengler, Fairfield Ludlowe, C/M Jr.: Coaches all-state and AllFCIAC pick hoping to lead Ludlowe to another deep Class LL state tournament run after reaching the semifinals last season.
Gabby Tirado, Cheshire, Sr., F: Trying to bounce back from a broken tibia suffered last season. Will still command double teams wherever she goes.
THINGS TO LOOK FOR
Continued FCIAC dominance: St. Joseph is favored to repeat in Class L behind Alexa Pino and Jess Bike. Last year, it was an FCIAC party in Class LL with six of the eight in the quarterfinals and all four semifinalists. Staples and Wilton were co-champions after a scoreless tie. Let’s put it this way: for a non-FCIAC team to reach the Class LL final this fall, that team is going to have to earn it.
Changing of the guard?: Mercy won its first outright SCC championship last fall, beating Amity in penalty kicks, then the Tigers shared the Class M state championship with fellow league school Sacred Heart Academy, which lost just one game all season: to Mercy in the SCC tournament semifinals. Mercy is expected to be good again, while SHA will have to overcome significant graduation losses. There is usually plenty of competitive balance in the SCC with Amity, Cheshire, Guilford, Hand and Sheehan normally in contention. Don’t expect that to change too much this fall.
Any unbeatens in 2022? It’s very hard to get through a soccer season unscathed. Yes, there are plenty of ties throughout the regular season, so a number of teams entered last year’s postseason unbeaten. But not one team was unbeaten when the season concluded. Mercy currently has the state’s longest unbeaten streak at 17 games.
No more CIAC co-champions: There are plenty of people in the sport — and even outside it — pleased that the CIAC did away with co-champions in the state finals. There were two last year at Dillon Stadium (now called Trinity Health Stadium) as FCIAC foes Staples and Wilton shared the Class LL title and SCC teams Mercy and Sacred Heart Academy shared the Class M crown — the first appearance for either team — also nil-nil. Now, penalty kicks will determine the champs if two overtime periods can’t decide it.