Darien Prevails Over Wilton Warriors in the Class L Semifinals of the State Tourney

by Sophia Bender

The day finally arriveD for Darien Blue Wave varsity girls lacrosse to compete against Wilton Warriors on Monday, May 3rd at 5pm at Brien McMahon High School in Norwalk. The intensity to win the semifinals class L state tournament was running through the veins of each athlete from Darien High School. Wilton began with possession of the ball. Right away, Darien understood they needed to gain possession of the ball once again. However, after a quick turnover, Wilton possessed the ball once again. To prevent the Wilton Warriors from scoring a point on starting goalie Shea Dolce, Darien defense surrounded and collapsed on Wilton junior, #9 Sophia Sudano. Darien continued to do a nice job on defense as the first half continued. A turnover occurred, Darien had possession of the ball, with 21:44 left in the half. Freshman #1 Morgan Lebek, possessed the ball once again, shot, and scored against Dolce. After the Warriors scored, Darien was ready to score as well. The Blue Wave had the ability to even out the score with a free shot, but Wilton defense interferes. Finally junior #17 Sarah Jaques, took the ball to goal and scores, game tied 1-1 within minutes of the game commencing. Senior #2 Ashley Humphrey, scored an impressive two points within two minutes. With the score being 3-2, Darien began to have an advantage. Darien got another opportunity to score on the Warriors due to violation. With no success on scoring, Darien continued to stay ahead with a score 5-2 Darien's Coach Ms. Lisa Lindley called a time out with 6:32 remaining in the half. The half ended with Darien in the lead with a score of 6-3. The team credits its dedication with respect to Monday's win. Junior Brianna Lyons explained, “The only way to beat your opponent is with practice. We spend an average of two hours and 30 minutes practicing a day and that is the reason we are a strong team,” she said. Back to the draw control circle, senior Mason Maloney, went against the Warriors and succeeded at giving Darien possession of the ball. Darien's defense continued to be successful by pressing on Wilton's offense. With 14:26 remaining in the game, Darien definitely wanted to win, but Wilton senior Carly Sullivan scored on Dolce changing score 10-4. The final score was 16-9; the Blue Wave will be playing rival, the New Canaan Rams, for the third time this season on Saturday, May 8th at Johnathan Law High School.