Freshmen fuel Darien
Trio of newcomers power Blue Wave’s win over Senators
DARIEN — After graduating several key seniors, the big question for the Darien girls soccer team was who would step in and fill those cleats?
The answer has been, in part, a strong group of freshmen.
Colette Quinn and Chloe Humphrey accounted for all the Wave’s scoring, and goalie Jillian Fox pitched a shutout as the three ninthgraders helped lead Darien to a 30 win over Brien McMahon Wednesday at Darien High School. Quinn netted the first two goals about two minutes apart in the first half, with Humphrey putting in the final nail midway through the second half.
“They’ve come in and fit in right from the getgo,” Darien coach Leigh Parsons said of his freshmen. “They’ve felt comfortable and that’s basically because of their ability. There’s a big jump from eighth grade or premier to varsity because these girls are playing against juniors and seniors who are strong and athletic. But they’ve done a good job adjusting to that.”
Darien climbed to 311, while McMahon suffered its first loss and is now 310. The Senators featured solid performances from cocaptains Peyton McNamara and Jocelyn Lister, along with junior Vivian Luna and Victoria Papadopoulos, but couldn’t get anything going after the Wave took the lead.
“In the first half, we came out and matched their intensity,” McMahon coach Angelo Tsingerliotis said. “We knew they’re a team that’s going to run and battle through every loose ball. We had the first couple of chances, but we knew they were a team that was dangerous on set pieces and they executed.”
Darien’s opening goal came after a throwin from sophomore Maggie Ramsay in the 33rd minute. McMahon attempted to clear, but the ball ended up on the foot of Quinn,
whio ripped a shot from just outside the box into the far corner of the net.
About two minutes later, Quinn made it 20 when she scored on a booming free kick from in front of the McMahon bench.
While the Senators put some early pressure on the defense, Darien was up to the challenge, led by Fox and backs Ramsay, Nelle Kniffin and Courtney Ball, among others.
“The defense has come together very well,” Parsons said. “They all complement each other very well and we have two very strong goalies who we’re rotating right now. When you have a solid back line like that, the girls in front of you have more freedom to do what they want to do.”
The Wave maintained the twogoal lead into the second half when Humphrey broke free in the middle of the defense and tapped a shot past goalie Kayla Cocchia and inside the far post for the 30 lead with 27:14 remaining.
For McMahon it’s the first bump in the road after a strong start.
“We attack at a high level and we did a good job of that at the start today,” Tsingerliotis said. “After that first goal, our heads went down, and I just kept trying to tell them to stay in it because one goal and we’re right back in it, but credit to Darien. They held us in check.”
PLAYER OF THE GAME
Colette Quinn, Darien. The game was scoreless until Quinn ripped in a pair of goals late in the first half. Her second goal was a beautiful free kick, as she lofted the ball perfectly inside the near post for a 20 lead.
QUOTABLE
“We had three or four freshmen play today and that’s really good to see. That’s obviously a positive when you have such a strong freshman class. We have a young team for the most part this year and that’s been a good thing. To be where we’re at right now, I couldn’t be happier.” — Darien coach Leigh Parsons