CIAC to survey members about co-champs
The CIAC soccer committees decided on Tuesday to survey the CIAC membership to determine whether or not to do away with having co-state champions in the tournament finals.
Gregg Simon, the associate executive director of the CIAC, confirmed that there were three proposals given by leagues to do away with co-champions. Two of them
asked for penalty kicks to determine a champion if need be — PKs are used for every other round of the tournament — and the other to “be open to any way to end the game but not co-champions,” according to Simon.
SWC co-commissioner Mark Berkowitz confirmed last week that its league had submitted a proposal to use penalty kicks instead. Simon said Connecticut was the only state in Section I of the National Federation of High Schools (New York, New Jersey and all of New England) to use co-champions.
“The bottom line is that (co-champions) has been in place for so long that it is important to talk to our membership (about) how they feel, to survey the athletic directors and the coaches to bring that information to the next committee meeting in early April,” Simon said.
The CIAC soccer committee has the power to make the change on the current tournament format without a proposal having to be vetted.
These proposals come on the heels of two girls soccer finals last month that ended with co-champions: Class LL between FCIAC rivals Staples and Wilton and Class M between SCC foes Sacred Heart Academy and Mercy. Both games were scoreless ties.
These were the first girls state finals to conclude with co-champions since 2016. The last season a co-championship happened in a boys final was in 2014.
“It is fair to say the committee is certainly leaning toward making the change,” Simon said. “But our committee always wants to be reflective of the member schools. They felt it is in the best interest of the member schools that a change is validated through surveying the coaches and the schools, then the committee can make a final decision.”