With “Messi Mania” circling the country and a recent Women’s World Cup captivating fans around the world, Wilton soccer players of all ages are excited to get back to the fields.
They’ve been honing their skills all summer long by way of weekly pick-up games, bi-weekly fitness sessions, skills training and more — all looking forward to right now.
The fall 2023 Wilton soccer campaign for Wilton Soccer Association’s (WSA) youth program and the Wilton High School (WHS) boys and girls teams launched last week with pre-season activities.
Connections Between WHS and Youth
At the end of June, the WHS girls varsity soccer team partnered with WSA to design and offer a one-week soccer camp for WSA’s 3- to 8-year-old players, which in turn raised funds to support the WHS program.
The WHS and youth connections continue into the fall season as WHS players volunteer to lead and support WSA’s TOPSoccer, WHS’ Unified Sports programs, and the WSA recreational programs, which serve Wilton athletes of all ages and abilities.
WHS Athletic Director Bobby Rushton celebrated the collaborations.
“We are proud to see our high school athletes give back, that effort always results in a win-win outcome for all,” Ruston said.
Participation in Wilton’s Youth Programs “Strong and Rising”
The WSA has more than 1,000 participants annually and its competitive program is 20-plus teams strong. Teams compete among 400 others in the highly competitive Connecticut Junior Soccer Association’s Southwest District league which canvases Fairfield County.
Burgeoning classes of youth players are matriculating through the WSA K-second grade and the parallel third-eighth grade recreational and competitive offerings.
That involvement is supported by a renaissance in multi-sport participation in Wilton, and a “one town, one team” culture that creates camaraderie and pride among classmates, teammates and the community, driving growth in youth soccer in Wilton.
WSA President Jason Partenza, a parent volunteer like the other members on the organization’s board, explained the “one town, one team” philosophy that has led to what he said are “strong and rising” participation levels in Wilton’s not-for-profit youth sports programs.
“Collaboration among Wilton’s volunteer youth sports leaders to the benefit of Wilton children is tremendous right now. Our collective objective as a team of volunteers and a broader community is to provide accessible, local and high quality opportunities for sports and recreation through programs and supporting infrastructure that contributes to the positive development of our youth,” Partenza said, adding, “When we all stay focused on that higher level objective, really great things happen.”
On-field WSA programs are led by what Partenza called “some of the best in our area.”
Wilton’s Tots, Pre-K, and K-2nd programs are directed by Mickey Kydes, a former professional player and 40-year veteran of soccer at the recreational to elite levels.
Wilton’s recreational 3rd-8th and competitive teams are led by David Nuttall, the current girls varsity coach at John Jay High School in South Salem, NY, and a former collegiate level coach who is experienced at all levels of youth soccer. Nuttall holds a prestigious UEFA B coaching license and recently earned his B Training License after time studying abroad with the DFB (German Soccer Federation).
“We have never been more excited for the future of Wilton soccer. We are nurturing an environment that is positive and fun while inspiring players and our teams to dream big and to grow on and off the field,” Nuttall said.
Strong Youth Program Leads to Strong High School Program
As the youth programs grow and strengthen, so do the high school programs. This formula has proven successful for all sports in town.
The WHS girls varsity soccer team has a storied history of competing for league and state titles. Looking back, the girls participated in eight of 10 state championship games from 1985-1995, winning a remarkable six of them. The first half of this golden 10-year period featured global soccer legend and Wilton hometown hero Kristine Lilly, for whom Wilton’s home field is named.
As she has done for years, Lilly returned home this past July to host the Kristine Lilly Soccer Academy Camp, a unique opportunity for Wilton youth to learn from an NCAA, Olympic and World Cup champion right in town.
Since 1995, the varsity girls have participated in another seven state championship games winning six of those; most recently they were co-champions in 2021.
Two WHS 2023 grads and WSA alums have gone on to pursue collegiate soccer careers this fall — Heather Plowright at Lafayette College and Reagan VonLoeser at Southern Connecticut State University. In addition to their outstanding playing careers, both were active supporters of WSA through their high school years as youth referees and volunteer coaches for recreational and TOPSoccer programs. Each obtained recognition for their efforts, Plowright as recipient of the Arthur J. Wall Jr. Scholarship, and both Plowright and VonLoeser as four-year scholar-athletes.
Two other players, both from the Class of 2022, are playing in college too, Erynn Floyd at Louisville and Abby Kyle at Kenyon College.
The Warriors are excited to welcome Lyndsay Groves back to Lilly Field as a member of the WHS coaching staff this fall. Groves captained the WHS varsity team in 2019 and was a three-time All-FCIAC and two-time All-State selection in her four-year varsity career.
The Wilton High School boys varsity team similarly has a strong history of competing at a high level, most recently reaching the state championship game in 2019 in what many consider the greatest high school boys soccer game ever played, a 4-3 overtime heartbreaker that just didn’t go Wilton’s way. The boys won the State Championships in 1988 and 1998 and finished runner-up in 1986, 1992, 2004 and, as mentioned, 2019.
The WHS boys’ side has seen a number of players advance to the next level in recent years including Zarius Eusebe (WHS 2022) at Denison, Michael Zizzadoro (WHS 2020) to Bentley, Owen Lillis (WHS 2020) at St. Lawrence University, Nathan Bennett (WHS 2020) at NYU, Jake Lash (WHS 2020) at Ohio Wesleyan, and Max Andrews (WHS 2021) at Boston College after a year at Army where he was named Patriot League Rookie of the Year.
In addition, a pair of now professionals, Ian Hoffmann and Nico Benalcazar started their careers right here in Wilton.
Hoffmann quickly ascended to elite levels with call-ups to the US Youth National team, multiple seasons in Germany’s professional league, time with the Houston Dynamo of Major League Soccer, and currently with Moss FK of the Norwegian 1st Division. Hoffmann’s father, Andy, was a long-time volunteer board member for WSA and an accomplished collegiate soccer player himself.
Benalcazar successfully navigated his way to national power Wake Forest University, where he led the defensive line and was an All-ACC selection during multiple seasons before signing with NYCFC of Major League Soccer in 2022 where he is an active player today.
In another great connection, Benalcazar’s sister, Andrea, a key player on the WHS girls varsity team from 2014-2018, is now a coach in Wilton’s girls youth program.
Similarly, Elizabeth Lamond (WHS 2023) is another WSA alum and recent WHS grad who is coaching Wilton youth while simultaneously pursuing her college degree.
And of course, the WHS varsity boys are led by Head Coach Edwin Carvahal, a WHS grad (2010) and WSA alumnus.
Not only will youth teams be supporting the WHS teams as fans, but in addition, selected youth teams will serve as ball boys and girls for each of the varsity matches.
“[The youth/WHS connection] is special for the youth players to see what their future in Wilton soccer could be, and just as special for the high school players to be reminded of how far they have come,” WHS girls varsity Head Coach Jennifer Gros said.
The boys open their season on Friday, Sept. 8 at Fairfield Warde; the girls begin their season on Saturday, Sept. 9 at 11:30 a.m. on Lilly Field as they take on Masuk from Monroe. Both the Fall 2023 WHS girls and boys varsity soccer schedules are available online.
WSA Recreational Program Set to Begin
While Wilton’s competitive youth and high school teams are readying for their seasons, the WSA recreational youth program is gearing up to get started.
The first WSA recreational clinics for ages 3-15 begin the week of Monday, Sept. 4 and the first in-town games are on Saturday, Sept. 9.
This season, WSA is excited to “re-open” the Merwin Meadows fields for play, which will host second-grade recreational games each Saturday.
Access to Merwin’s fields has been greatly enhanced via the new pedestrian footbridge from the Wilton train station, making parking (at the train station) for weekend games much more abundant and convenient.
First Selectwoman Lynne Vanderslice had hoped the bridge would reinvigorate activity in Wilton Center.
“Merwin Meadows is a fantastic place for Wilton families. We are excited that Wilton Soccer has returned to this location, which will bring even more positive energy and activity to Town Center each Saturday,” Vanderslice said.
Other important locations for WSA include the Hurlbutt Fields adjacent to Ambler Farm, Allen’s Meadows, Comstock Field, Middlebrook’s Madaras Field and, of course, Lilly Field, the state-of-the-art home field turf venue for Wilton Soccer in the fall and Wilton girls lacrosse in the spring.
The Hurlbutt Fields adjacent to Ambler Farm are especially important to Wilton Soccer, given the volume of youth teams that use them. More than 350 players out of WSA’s 1,000 athletes annually will use Ambler Field for practices and games over six to seven days per week.
Players, families and opposing teams love the Hurlbutt Fields (particularly for their accessibility by school bus for weekday practices), but also for the added bonus of the adjacent Ambler Farm, which many visit before and after practices and games for walks, Saturday Farm Stands, visits to see the animals, and of course, Ambler Farm Day, scheduled for Sunday, Oct. 1 this year.
Keeping Up with Soccer News
Optimism abounds as Wilton players of every age hit the soccer fields these next few weeks.
Recaps of the WSA and WHS varsity games will be reported to GMW throughout the season along with action photos by Gretchen McMahon Photography. For more information on the Wilton Soccer Association visit the WSA website or follow the WSA on Facebook or Instagram.