Two of the FCIACs top teams will knock sticks on Monday when the Wilton High field hockey team hosts Staples at Wilton’s Fujitani Field.
Both teams enter the game undefeated. Staples (4-0-1) is coming off a 3-3 tie against New Canaan on Thursday. The Wreckers have outscored their opposition 18-3. Wilton (4-0), which has won its games by a combined score of 23-1, held off Greenwich on Thursday, 2-1.
The 4 p.m. game on Monday will be broadcast live on the HAN.Network, and its affiliate websites — including WiltonBulletin.com and FCIAC.net. All regular season Connecticut sports contests on HAN.Network are broadcast for free. You can see the initial fall schedule here.
Wilton has won the last four meetings between the two teams by a combined score of 18-1, including a 6-0 victory last year. The last time the Wreckers beat the Warriors was in the 2011 FCIAC championship game, a 2-1 win.
Wilton has been on a roll at late, reaching the Class M state championship game four straight years, and winning state titles in 2011, 2012 and 2013.
The Warriors return 15 varsity players, and seven starters, from last year’s 17-4-1 team, which earned the top seed for both the FCIAC and state playoffs. Head Coach Deirdre Hynes’s team has loads of experience, depth, and talent.
The team has many weapons to go to. Leading the way is senior midfielder and captain Jillian Mahon, a Michigan State commit who currently leads the Warriors with six goals. Juniors Delaney Chase (four goals), Bridget Ward (two goals) and Caroline Ferro (three goals), and sophomore Emma Rosen (three goals) are also among the team’s scoring leaders.
Wilton’s defense has one of the best goalies in the country in North Carolina-bound senior captain Amanda Hendry, a first-team all-state pick last year who played for the U-17 national team.
Junior center back Meredith Rappaport was also first-team all-state, while sophomore Jess Hendry is a returning starter.
https://youtu.be/H-DGktXPyl4
Staples is coming off a 13-5-1 season that saw the Wreckers reach the FCIAC semifinals. The team graduated 10 seniors, including a pair of all-FCIAC players in Meg Fay and Elizabeth Bennewitz.
The Wreckers are led by their senior captains, midfielder Jordan Ragland, goalie Jodi Baris and midfielder Gillian Rozynek.
Ragland, a University of New Hampshire commit, leads the offense. Baris is in her fourth year as starter in goal. The forward line also features junior Chloe Deveney and sophomore Meghan Johnson, while junior Colleen Bannon is a key defender and sophomore Christine Taylor joins Ragland in the midfield.
Staples Head Coach Ian Tapsall, in his first season, was a member of the 2014 United States Men’s Master’s National Team. He is a coach in the Fairfield County United field hockey program, which features many Wilton players. Last year, Tapsall coached the FCU U-19 team to first place at the prestigious National Field Hockey Festival. The included Mahon from Wilton and Baris and Ragland from Staples.
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