Girls Soccer Upsets Ridgefield in FCIAC (3-2)

Girls soccer with a huge upset in the first round of the fciac tournament, with a 3-2 victory, over #1 ridgefield.

Marieke bravo with the equalizer

Marieke bravo with the equalizer off a beautiful corner kick to tie #1 ranked ridgefield in the first round of the fciac tournament

Wavecast Sports Radio Episode 2

Wavecast Sports Radio Episode 2

Jay Alter, Kyle Marion, James Burgoyne Special Guest James Shanley.

MP4 Video: AM Wavecast Ep 2
MP3 Audio: Am Wavecast Ep 2

A Look Forward to the End of the Blue Wave Football Season

By Kevin Cassidy:

After a come from behind win against Red Lion Christian Academy from Delaware, the Blue Wave Varsity Football team has a clear path to an undefeated regular season and a spot in the FCIAC championship game. The Blue Wave has three games left in the regular season: they face Bassick, Westhill, and Norwalk. These three teams all have losing records and should be easy games for Darien. The Blue Wave will be looking for its first FCIAC championship since 1998. First up is Bassick of Bridgeport on Saturday (10/30) at 1:30 at the DHS Stadium.

Blue Wave Girls’ Soccer Drowns the Bears

-By: Samantha Wood-

Girls’ varsity soccer team beat the Norwalk Bears 5-1 at home on Friday. (10/22) With posters of the DHS seniors blowing in the wind to celebrate its Senior Day, the Wave got off to a quick start, with two goals within the first 15 minutes. Senior Georgie Highton dominated the Bears, scoring three goals of the game. Norwalk was only able to get one goal past freshman goalie Phoebe Taylor. This breaks the team’s streak after narrowly losing three games in a row against St Joe’s, New Canaan, and Fairfield Warde. The team’s record is now 8 wins, 4 losses, and 1 tie. Come support the girls when they play Stamford High School in Stamford at 4 pm on Tuesday. (10/26)

(photo: junior Sara Shaker in front and sophomore Parker Hamill coming up behind)

Blue wave holds off red

Blue wave holds off red christian lion and david sills to improve to 6-0. They won 21-20.

Graham Maybell 7 yard touchdown

Graham Maybell 7 yard touchdown and chris smith with the pat to give the wave a 21-20 lead with 4:45 to go in 4th quarter.

Chris Allam running touchdown making

Chris Allam running touchdown making it 7-6 blue wave over red christian lion.

Red christian lion 6-0 lead

Red christian lion 6-0 lead over wave in 1st quarter. David sills, the usc verbal comitt scored over the darien D, missed pat.

Blue Wave Field Hockey Notches a Win on Senior Day

-By: Taiki Miki-

The undefeated Darien Blue Wave field hockey has come away with another victory, this time against the Greenwich Cardinals. The game started off back-and-forth. However, Darien quickly showed why they are the number one team in Connecticut. The Wave rarely let Greenwich into their side of the field at all in the first half. The first goal came seven minutes into the game as senior captain Sam Johnston scored off the deflection of a shot by fellow senior Ellie Riegel. Darien had numerous opportunities to score on penalty shots but they could not capitalize until Riegel scored with a scorching shot into the corner of the net. Senior Perrin Brown preserved the shutout with a fantastic save late in the first half. The second half was much of the same. Darien’s smothering defense led by senior Sophie Doering shut down the Cardinals the entire game. Darien scored its third and final goal late in the second half with an excellent goal from senior captain Sophie Waters.
However, this was not the dominating performance we had been seeing from the team this year. “We definitely didn’t play our best today,” senior Maddie Gill said. Senior Leslie Gill agreed. “Passing wasn’t fast enough. However, we put the ball in the net, “she said.
Nevertheless, the team has had extraordinary success this year. “We have great communication and we give 100% every game. We’re always ready to play, “Johnston said. The Blue Wave Field Hockey team has its final regular season game at Staples High School at 4pm next Wednesday. (10/27)

Picture: excellent teamwork on the offense. Taken by Jamie Muhering.

Darien Girls Cross Country Runner Up in FCIACs

By Katherine Minion:
Girls' cross country had a stellar performance in the FCIAC championship on Oct. 21, finishing in second place, just behind Wilton.
Darien's first finisher was senior captain Amanda Dobler, who came in 14th place overall and made the first all-FCIAC team. Several of Darien's girls made the second all-FCIAC team, finishing within the top 30 places, including sophomores Grace Loh (16th place), Sarah Colon (17th place), Ellen Bauer (24th place), and Katie Farren (25th place).
"It seemed like a lot of people ran their best races and it was a really good way to end the season," senior Kendall Kyritz said.
The FCIAC championship marks the end of the season for the junior varsity cross country runners, but the varsity girls, the top eight runners on the team, are preparing for a race next Saturday (10/30) in the CIAC Class L Meet at Wickham Park.

Cross Country scores 2nd in FCIACs

By McKinley Stauffer
Darien Boy’s Cross Country Team kicked its way to the finish line at Waveny Park, taking second place at the 2010 FCIAC’s. Senior John Conley came in 4th place overall, the first finisher from Darien. Not far behind was junior Charlie Baird, who was soon followed by his fellow classmate, Michael Johnston, finishing 2nd and 3rd for Darien. Danbury took first place in FCIAC’s but “it was close”, junior and varsity runner Michael Coe said. Coe took 16th place in the Boy’s Varsity race and six out of the eight varsity runners finished in the top 30. “I’m proud of everyone’s performance,” Coe said, “We did even better than what I’d expected, and we’ll do even better in States.” Come cheer these Blue Wave runners to victory as they take on the Wickham course next Saturday in Manchester, Conn (time TBA).

Picture Caption: Michael Johnston, junior

BREAKING NEWS

Reported by Insider Jay Alter

Junior Defenseman, Ben Hall, has guaranteed a victory for the Boys Soccer team against Westhill this afternoon. (10/21) The game is a must win for the team, they need two wins in three games to qualify for states and Hall is sure that the team can triumph today and leading into states.


Ben's quotes during press conference:
"We thrive in the poor weather"

Rugby Starts Training for Spring Season

-By: Allison Wetterauw-

Senior Captains Michael Sawitsky and Sam McCarthy of the DHS Rugby club team are already training for the spring season. They have a lot of strong seniors returning including, Andrew McGarey, James Shanley, Mason Barron, Evan Burns, Ashwin Basu, Taiga Soejima, Jared Murphy, Will Weinstock, Peter McDonough, Chris Brook, Andrew Noujaim and Luke and Jordan Washer.

“I’m excited, we are gonna have a good season, we have a strong senior class” Sawitsky said. They also hope to make up for the loss Class of ’10 grads with new freshmen talent that includes Remy Parsons.

Now that the guys have gotten the unique challenges of the game down it will be a big step forward. “It is hard to learn all the really complex rules and get them down but when you do it is like the funniest sport ever,” Murphy said.

The season starts in March, but they are having weekly practices to make sure they have game for the spring. The schedule is still up in the air with the exception of the Yale tournament, which has been confirmed. “I have no idea who else we will be playing,” Sawitsky said.

There practices now are focusing on conditioning, basic ball handing, tackling and scrimmaging. They hope to be in really good shape for the next couple of months. The goal is to win the Division II state championships again this year. According to Murphy, the Darien team is most concerned about Greenwich because they win national competitions.

Another key concern continues to be avoiding injuries, in particular concussions because of the lack of protection with the uniforms. They were lucky to have none last year and hope that their healthy streak stays strong.

Wavecast Sports Radio

Wavecast Sports Radio
Jay Alter, Kyle Marion, James Burgoyne
Special Guest: Sophie Watters
AM Wavecast mp3

States for Boys’ Soccer?

-By: Ian Sullivan-

After a disappointing finish last year, the Blue Wave Boys’ soccer squad hopes to make an appearance this year in the state tournament. With a 3-6-5 record, the team needs to win two out of the next four games to have a postseason. Although the team’s dreams at an FCIAC title are now impossible, senior captain Rupert Hansford knows the importance of the final four games. “These last few games are going to prove what we are really about,” Hansford said. The remaining schedule consists of Trinity, Westhill, New Canaan, and Trumbull. “Trinity should be a win, while Westhill and Trumbull are very tough opponents. As for our arch rivals of New Canaan, we hope to upset them on the teams home field,” Hansford told Neirad. Come support the Blue Wave on Tuesday (10/19) at 4:00pm against Trinity Catholic at Catholic's home field.

Photo: caption: Senior captain Alex McGuire carries the ball down midfield
(Credited to Kara Glover Billhardt)

Wave Football Continues Win Streak

-By: Doug Wells-

Blue Wave football beat Trinity Catholic 32-14 on Saturday. (10/16) Strong defense set the tone. A series of picks and fourth down stops helped the Wave keep the Crusaders out of the end zone. A strong running game resulted in 32 points. Sophomore Peter Gesualdi had two running touchdowns and one catching touchdown. The other points were from runs by seniors Chris Allam and Jake Weil. Despite having a breakdown in the last minute of the game, Wave defense stood strong and limited the Crusaders to 14 points. The cold windy conditions proved to be no obstacle. “We want to continue the winning and finish the season undefeated,” Allam said. This brings the team record to 5-0. Come support the boys’ game against Red Lion Christian Academy of Bear, Del. at 2pm at home next Saturday. (10/23)

JV Volleyball Beats Bassick

-By: Doug Phipps-

The girls' JV volleyball team defeated the Bassick Girls' JV Volleyball in straight sets, 3-0 on Friday. (10/15) The Blue Wave dominated the first set, as they blew out the Bridgeport girls 25-3. The next sets were more competitive, as DHS took the last two sets 25-8 and 25-12, respectively. The match was a brilliant display of teamwork and dominance for Darien, and may be a sign of things to come for the Blue Wave Girls' JV squad
It was another win for varsity who kept its undefeated status at the game on Friday also against Bassick. The game ended with a score of 3-0. "I think the game went really well and the team did a really good job and stuck together throughout the whole game," sophomore manager Sammy Hampton said.
The JV girls' next match is at 4pm at Wilton Field House against the Wilton Warriors on Wednesday. (10/20) Varsity will also play Wilton later that night at 5:30pm.

Darien holding off Wilton

Darien holding off Wilton at half for field hockey game. 1-0.

Volleyball Beats Brien McMahon

-By: Kevin Cassidy-

Girls' volleyball won in straight sets against Brien McMahon on Wednesday (10/12) at home. The Girls won 3-0 in decisive fashion lead by senior captain Mackenzie Begley. The girls next face off at 4pm against Bassick of Bridgeport Friday (10/13) at home. The Girls will try to continue their perfect season, as they put their 12-0 season on the line. We wish the girls the best of luck with the remainder of the season!

Georgie Highton with the equalizer

Georgie Highton with the equalizer to tie the girls soccer game up at 1 against St. Joe's right before the half.

Wave Football Tops Warriors in Wilton’s Home Opener

By Jessica DeMaio:

It was a beautiful October night for Friday night football as the Wave defeated the Warriors 14-2 under the lights in Wilton’s home opener. Darien’s win on Friday (10/8) propelled the Wave to a 4-0 record, the best start since the 2008 season. Darien got on the board early in the first half with a pass from senior quarterback Chris Allam to senior Will Weinstock for a touchdown. The extra point kick was good, and the Blue Wave took a quick 7-0 lead.
The second half was filled with controversial calls, penalties, and fumbles for both teams. After a controversial call over possession and a false start, Darien was inside the 10-yard line. After three attempted passes for a touchdown, sophomore kicker CJ Raia was brought in, but the kick was blocked by the Warriors’ defense and Darien found themselves with no bigger lead over Wilton after the third quarter. With 5:39 left in the fourth, Allam passed to junior Clay Barker in the end zone and with the extra point Darien took a 14-0 lead. However, Wilton continued to threaten, and with 4:06 left on the clock junior kicker Chris Smith rolled in the end zone to give Wilton a safety of two points. Darien caught a break in the last four minutes when a penalty was called against Wilton for unsportsmanlike conduct. Excellent defense was played throughout the game and especially to hold Wilton in the last two minutes by seniors Peter McDonough, Jake Weil, Scotty Waters, Charlie Kunze, and Tucker Morehouse. Sophomore Peter Gesualdi and senior Graham Maybell helped to contribute to the Wave’s spectacular offense. The Blue Wave will next take on Trinity Catholic at Trinity at 1pm on Saturday (10/16)
Photo: Darien teammates celebrate after a fourth quarter touchdown while the Wave players prepare for the extra point kick.

Slow and Steady Wins the Race

By Jay Alter and Katrina Vassell:

Boys Varsity Soccer defeated Fairfield Ludlowe this Friday (10-8) on the turf field. Darien scored two goals, claiming its second victory of the season.

Neither team scored any goals during the first half. However, Darien managed to put pressure on Ludlowe.

Darien’s captain, senior Rupert Hansford, brought excitement to the field by scoring the first goal. The second goal was scored by senior J.J. Holmgren, leading the team to victory. Senior goalie Graham Hotchkiss only allowed one goal to hit the back of Darien’s net.

The team’s next game is at 4pm on Tuesday (10/12) at Bassick in Bridgeport.

Pictured: Senior captain Alex McGuire takes the ball up to midfield.

Field hockey wins 7-0

Field hockey wins 7-0, beats danbury in honor of breast cancer awareness month.

Blue wave field hockey winning

Blue wave field hockey won 5-0. Sophie Doering, Leslie Gill, Madeline Gill all with one goal. Ellie Riegel with two goals.

The blue wave sports blog

The blue wave sports blog is now mobile!

Field Hockey Allows First Goal of Season In Win over Westhill

By Jay Alter:
Darien Field Hockey triumphed over Westhill 9-1, to improve to 7-0 on the season. (10/5) The Blue Wave were led by junior Lilly Cassidy, who scored three goals. Darien was leading 8-0, when Westhill was able to strike a ball past senior goalie Claire Dickson. The tenacious Darien defense have only allowed three shots on goal seven games into the season. "Despite letting in our first goal of the season our team looks really solid and if we keep up the high level of play it'll be a strong season," said senior captain Sam Johnston.

Come see the Blue Wave take on Danbury this Friday (10/8) at 4pm at Darien High School.

Pictured: Sam Johnston putting some moves on Westhill defense. (right)
Pictured: Claire Dickson lets in first goal of season.

Girls’ Varsity Soccer Encounters First Loss

-By: Shelby Penfield-

The Darien Girls’ Varsity Soccer team went up against Ridgefield on Tuesday, (10/5) where they were defeated 3-1 on the DHS turf field. The game began with the first goal scored by Ridgefield. Towards the middle senior captain Georgie Highton scored a goal. Highton had an assist from sophomore Phoebe Wong and was able to score a header into the opposing team’s goal. Wong and junior Marieke Bravo showed talent on the field with good defensive skills.
Although Darien’s defense was spot on, Ridgefield’s attack was able to score another two goals by the end. The girls definitely were not expecting the loss, this being the first loss of the season. However with Ridgefield’s ability to quickly pass the ball from player to player, they were able to beat Darien by two goals. The team believes this game didn’t show its true potential. Be sure to catch the next game at 4pm on Thursday (10/7) against Bridgeport Central here on the DHS turf. Go Blue Wave!
Pictured: Junior India Tibbetts shows good defensive skills courtesy of DHS homepage.

Phillips Helps Lead Soccer to Victory

-By: Allison Wetterauw -

Senior Charlotte Phillips started playing soccer in third grade, but she didn't start playing goalie until fifth. “I was absolutely horrible in the field, but thankfully I found my niche!” Phillips said.

Today Phillips is a highly-valued member of the varsity girls’ soccer team. She tied #1 ranked Westhill 0-0 and saved 22 shots. She helped lead the Blue Wave to victory over Greenwich 3-0 after a rough loss to the Cardinals last fall. She has had around 35 stops over the course of those two games.

The girls soccer team also beat Trinity Catholic 11-1 and tied Westhill (the #1 team in the state) 0-0. “All of us are so excited about this start; it's going to give us a lot of confidence going into the rest of the season. When we play well, there shouldn't be any team in the FCIAC we're afraid of,” Phillips said.
The team will put get that challenge when they face Wilton and Fairfield Ludlowe this week.

“It’s going to be a challenging season, but that's what makes it exciting! I'm so proud of this team and i know we're capable of going far,” Phillips said.

Cheerleaders Rev Up Homecoming Spirit

-By: Annabel Schneider-
The Darien cheerleaders cheered DHS into the Homecoming weekend at the pep-rally on Friday and through a 13-10 win at the DHS stadium against St Joseph’s High school on Saturday. (10/9)
The team closed the Homecoming week at the pep-rally with a routine to songs including “Pump It” by the Black Eyed Peas, “Waka Waka” by Shakira, and “Magic” by B.o.B.
The music was picked by a team’s senior captain Ally Reis, and it was choreographed by new coach, Lauren Mailhot with the help of Ally and senior co-captain Michele DeCarlo.
Reis had a bit of a tumble in her back handspring during warm up before the pep-rally, but she still pushed through and did the routine.
The team has more power featuring a much bigger team this year with four seniors, four juniors, six sophomores, and six freshmen.
Sophomore Emily Greene said about the performance, “It went pretty good, but there is always room for improvement.” The team struggled with one of the stunts in the pep-rally on Friday, but they proved themselves at halftime on Saturday.
The team will be cheering the football team at 6pm in Wilton next Thursday. (10/7)

Girls Volleyball Continues Undefeated Season

By: Melanie Tzenova

The weather cancelled some games this week, yet the first place Blue Wave varsity and JV volleyball teams continued its undefeated streak with a win against Fairfield Warde on Friday (10/01) at home. Varsity quickly ended its first two sets, with powerful blocks made from middle junior Katie Stueber and kills from sophomores Riley Sousa and Kelly Kosnik. Captain Mackenzie Begley made several assists and seniors Emma Getsinger and Bella Cararra wracked up service points.
The third and final set started out similarly, aside from the nerve-wracking tie of 23-23 near the end of the game. They came out victorious, finishing 25-23.

The JV girls won two games (25-15 and 25-9). The girls caught up with the Fairfield Warde Mustangs to win the game. “I felt that on JV we worked really hard and did a good job playing against Warde. We started off playing well but I think by the end of the second set we were playing even stronger because of all of our teamwork,” junior Lexy Ashburne said.

The girls next game is at 4pm against Westhill of Stamford at DHS on Monday (10/04).

Wave Scores Homecoming Victory

By Kevin Cassidy -
The Blue Wave successfully faced off against St. Joes in the Homecoming game on a beautiful Saturday afternoon. (10/2) The Blue Wave was able to walk away with a 13-10 victory. Varsity football has also now improved its 3-0 record.
The first quarter ended with little offensive action tied in a 0-0 deadlock. Darien had many impressive plays to stop St. Joes star quarterback, Joe Della Vecchia. Most notably were defensive efforts by senior defensive end Tucker Morehouse. Morehouse had a few tackles for loss, sacks, and was able to continuously put pressure on St. Joes.
Just over halfway through the second quarter, Darien started to put on a long drive. It started well inside the Darien 20-yard line, and was able to march down the field. It looks as though Darien would be the first to get on the board. However, on the 17-yard line, the Wave coughed up the ball. Then the ball was returned by St. Joes, 83 yards for a touchdown. Following the extra point, the Wave trailed 7-0 with 3:43 left to play in the half.
On the next play from scrimmage, senior quarterback Chris Allam had his pass intercepted. St. Joes, then marched down the field and managed to put 3 more points on the board just as the first half expired. Darien went into the locker rooms at the half, trailing 10-0.
The Blue Wave came out firing in the second half. On 4th and 11 from the 20-yard line, Allam hit senior captain Graham Maybell with a beautiful pass on the side. Maybell then did what he does best, he made a guy miss, and then walked into the end zone for 6 points. Darien was unable to convert on the point after attempt. The 3rd quarter ended with a 10-6 St. Joes lead.
The Wave was able to pull ahead late in the 4th quarter, with only 4:54 seconds left on the clock. The Wave marched down the field, with numerous nice passes by Allam. Darien capped off the drive with a beautiful sweep play by Maybell. The Wave pulled ahead 13-10. Darien’s defense was able to successfully hold off St. Joes final attempt to walk away with a 13-10 victory.
The Wave faces off against Wilton at 6pm in Wilton on Friday. (10/8) Pictured: Coach Rob Trifone.

New Canaan Beat Girls’ Swimming & Diving

-By: Doug Phipps-

The girls swimming and diving team took a dive to arch-rival New Canaan at the Darien YMCA on Friday. (10/1) It was a tight match-up with a final score of 96-90. It was the first loss for Darien, as they crushed Staples by 27 and Trumbull by 38 i in the first two meets. This meet against New Canaan, however, was an extremely close back-and-forth. Halfway through Darien led New Canaan by six, only to see its lead fade away in the second half. Darien senior swimmer Lindsay Tyler swam well in both of her individual and relay races. In diving, senior Alexandra Ashcraft placed first among all divers, while her sophomore sister Caroline Ashcraft placed 3rd. The team swims again against Greenwich at 3pm next Friday. (10/8)