GOOD Morning Wilton is fortunate to feature Wilton High School sports photos taken by Gretchen McMahon Photography, who shot all images unless otherwise noted. (This week there are additional images from Drew Gumins who contributed pictures from the WHS Homecoming football game. GMW is now teaming up with the WHS Athletic Department for results and updates, including write-ups from coaches, teams and boosters (special thanks to Chris MacDougal and Lynne Prescott). Additional materials of interest can be submitted to GMW for consideration submitted via our “Submit a Story” link. Scores and results are also compiled from CIAC and FCIAC when available.
News/Updates Summary of the Week
The WHS regular season has come to an end and many of the teams will continue to play in the FCIAC and CIAC Tournaments. Check the schedules for the times and locations.
There were big historic wins: WHS varsity volleyball defeated Greenwich, the state’s number one team, in a straight set victory at Greenwich High School, which sent the Warriors to the FCIAC quarterfinals; and the varsity football team beat New Canaan for the first time in 26 years, and followed that by defeating Ridgefield for the first time in 28 years at Wilton’s Homecoming game.
The WHS girls soccer team is playing tonight, Thursday Nov. 4, in the FCIAC Championship game. Wilton will play Staples at 7 p.m. at Fairfield Warde High School.
The game will also be streamed on Wilton High School TV’s YouTube channel.
At 4:30 p.m. the Soccer Booster Program is sponsoring a send-off for the girls as they leave Wilton High School en route to Fairfield Warde. They invite fans to gather at the corner of Catalpa Rd. and Kristine Lilly Way (the intersection just south of the high school) to cheer them on.
Message from the Athletic Director, Chris McDougal
Hello Warrior Nation! The regular season wrapped up last week for all sports except football, which still has four more weeks. All teams qualified for the CIAC tournament and most qualified for the FCIAC tournament, which is currently underway.
As I mentioned in a previous newsletter, Boys Golf finished second in the FCIAC and fourth in the CIAC Tournament. The Boys and Girls Cross Country Teams finished sixth and seventh respectively and ran in the CIAC Class L Championships on Monday, Nov. 1.
The Field Hockey Team played in the FCIAC quarterfinals last Saturday morning at Staples High School, and fell to Westport in a close match, 4-5.
Girls Soccer beat Fairfield Warde in the semifinals 1-0, on Monday Nov. 1.
WHS Swimmers and Divers started the FCIAC Tournament this week as well, traveling to Greenwich on Wednesday, Nov. 3 for Swimming, and to Westhill for Diving on Thursday, Nov. 4.
Volleyball beat undefeated Greenwich last week to give them a FCIAC playoff berth, but fell in the quarterfinals to Trumbull, 0-3.
Football had the Homecoming Game last Saturday, defeating longtime rivals, the Ridgefield Tigers.
As we cheer on all of our teams, please remember sportsmanship should take priority.
Go Warriors!
Editor’s note: These updates below are as of Friday, Oct. 29.
Field Hockey
On Monday, Oct. 25, the Wilton Warriors celebrated Senior Night with a win over Branford. The game was close, with possessions going back and forth and play largely contained in the midfield for the first two quarters. The Warriors were determined to win. In the second half, with speed and intensity, they were able to get the ball in front of the Branford goalie, allowing for Hannah Fitzgerald to send in a shot, assisted by Nola Ryder. The Warriors kept up the pressure, holding Branford in the defensive end. Finally, a corner was called. After a pass from Sammy Slough, Charlotte Casiraghi sent the ball right by the Branford goalie. Wilton controlled the Hornets for the remainder of the game to win.
A special shout-out and thanks to the team’s 13 amazing seniors: Katie Umphred (Capt.), Megan Hanny (Capt.), Kathryn Stein (Capt.), Kaylie Berghaus, Aislynn Conway, Halley Costello, Abby Dolan, Julia Elmasry, Sophie Essig, Cady Ferguson, Emily Johnson, Ria Raniwala, Natasha Ring, and Talia Matik (Manager).
On Wednesday, Oct. 27, Wilton faced Greenwich for the final game of the regular season. Despite dominating the first half of the game and close opportunities, Wilton couldn’t find the back of the goal. However, any offensive momentum by the Greenwich Cardinals was shut down by the Warriors defensive unit, Eva Filipponi, Megan Hanny, Casiraghi and Ashleigh Masterson. After a perplexing call in the third quarter, the Cardinals were awarded a penalty stroke, which they capitalized on. Within minutes Greenwich found the back of the goal for a second time. The Warriors reset and were ready to start the fourth quarter strong. Fouls and corners were called in the Warriors’ favor but ultimately couldn’t be capitalized on. Wilton lost 0-2.
The Warriors headed into the postseason with a record of 9-3-4.
Football
Wilton Varsity Football turned heads on Saturday, Oct. 23, with a nail-biting 20-17 win against New Canaan, who headed into the game with a 5-0 record. Wilton was coming off two straight heartbreaking losses and had something to prove.
The Warriors jumped out to a quick 14-0 lead but New Canaan came roaring back tying up the game 17-17 in the third quarter. Jackson Duncan came up with a beautiful diving interception in the red zone, stopping New Canaan from taking the lead. Grant Masterson and Parker Woodring connected on a spectacular sideline throw and catch as Wilton marched down the field, and finished with a game-winning field goal by Michael Cooper. Copper was two-for-two for field goals on the day, earning himself a picture on many newspaper covers. New Canaan lost on its homecoming for the Rams’ first loss to Wilton since 1995. It was a full team effort supported by defense that stepped up after being criticized for weeks.
Coach Dinunzio had the team prepared for last Saturday, Oct. 30, as they took on their rivals, Ridgefield, for Homecoming, in another historic and exciting game. The Warriors won 14-7. (Homecoming photos: Drew Gumins/ATG Visuals)
Golf
The Boys Golf Team had finished their season previously, but Alex Elia played in the 2021 New England Golf Championship, sponsored by the Council of New England Secondary Schools Principals’ Associations, on Monday, Nov. 1. Elia qualified by coming in second in the CT State Tournament. While the win was nabbed by a Massachusetts player, Elia was the best-scoring golfer from Connecticut, finishing 3-over 75.
Girls Soccer
The Wilton Varsity Girls Soccer Team fought an incredibly tough 80 minutes to win its first FCIAC playoff game at Fairfield Warde last week. Making adjustments from their tough 0-1 loss (the only one of their 8-1-6 regular season) at St. Joe’s, the Warriors played hard through a 0-0 score for most of the game, until a game-winning goal and fantastic composure for the remaining three minutes of play. Wilton’s victory was the only upset in the first round of FCIAC Playoffs.
Monday, Nov. 1, the girls hosted Fairfield Ludlowe for FCIAC Semifinals, keeping the game scoreless until a penalty kick won the game. They move on to the finals tonight.
The Junior Varsity Girls finished the season with a loss and a win versus Darien (0-2) and St Joe’s (2-0). They finished their season with 9 wins, 3 losses, and 2 ties.
Wilton Freshman Girls Soccer Team ended its season with a 1-0 win over Ridgefield. The team recognized before the game that they had gotten much better and that they had fun doing so (their coach eavesdrops). The girls should be proud of their hard work and improvement. On the ride home, the girls serenaded the season with a sing-along to Mariah Carey’s Christmas album.
Boys Soccer
Wilton Boys Varsity Soccer finished the regular season with a win against St. Joseph, but it wasn’t enough to bounce Wilton into FCIAC contention. The team finished the regular season in ninth place. Varsity moves to its next game in the state tournament with an overall record of 6-6-4.
The JV Boys Team wrapped up its season with another strong defensive performance against Darien at home on Friday, Oct. 22. The team fell 0-1 to Darien but generated numerous scoring opportunities. Mathew Whitman and Francesco Tomas combined to provide the Warriors strong play in the net. The Warriors finish 2-8-2 on the season.
Wilton Freshman boys soccer finished its season with a tie against Ridgefield 2-2. The team finished the season 3-5-4.
Girls Swim and Dive
The Girls Swim and Dive Teams competed on Wednesday, Nov. 3 in the FCIAC Swim trials in Greenwich. We’ll have more on that next week.
Volleyball
After dropping consecutive matches, the WHS Varsity Volleyball team rebounded with an impressive 3-0 victory against Fairfield Ludlowe on Friday, Oct. 22. Junior captain Kendall Scholz dominated at the service line with 21 service points and 5 aces. In addition the team had strong attacking performances by Caitlin Allen and Brooke Bohacs.
On Wednesday night, Oct. 27, the Varsity volleyball team defeated Greenwich, the state’s number one team, in a straight set 3-0 victory away at Greenwich High School. It was a historic moment for the team and the Wilton Volleyball program. The team’s defense and serve receive led the way with excellent passing from everyone on the court. The team had strong performances by Scholz, Allen, Ruth Briglin and Aly Rappaport. With the victory over Greenwich, the team qualified for FCIAC playoffs for the first time since 2007.
Varsity closed out the regular season with back-to-back home matches against Darien (Thursday, Oct. 28, L 1-3) and St. Joseph’s (Friday, Oct. 29, W 3-0).
The girls fell to Trumbull (0-3) in the first round of the FCIAC’s on Tuesday, Nov. 2.
The Junior Varsity Volleyball Team moved to 12-6 after defeating Ludlowe and a loss against Greenwich, but ended the season with consecutive losses against Darien and St. Joe’s.
The Wilton Freshman Volleyball Team advanced its record to 9-3 with a 3-0 win over Stamford and an exciting five-set victory over Trumbull on Dig Pink night.