The Fall Season in Review

By Jay Alter - As the fall season turns to Winter, I reflect on the season that passes us by…

Girls Field Hockey – They lost 14 seniors and only returned 1 starter, but they beat the #1 team in the country earlier in the season, Lakeland, and finished the regular season undefeated. It looked like the genius of nationally recognized coach, Mo Minicus, was clicking on all cylinders as they kept getting wins heading into the postseason. They were looking for their 5th consecutive FCIAC and State title, but the drive for five ended when they fell to Staples in the FCIAC semi-final and Wilton in the state semi-final. The team had a lot to overcome, losing a lot of key players and trying to play with an entirely new team, but they found success in the regular season with an undefeated record, it is unfortunate they were not able to bring home a postseason trophy. MVP: Galen Rohn; Most Improved: Kat Huber
Boys XC – The Boys Cross Country team beat Danbury in the regular season for the first time since 2004 as they went 17-0 in the regular season. However, they fell to Danbury in the FCIAC finals and came in 2nd place. They went on to win the state tournament and place 9th in New England’s, which is an amazing feat. MVP: Charlie Baird Most Improved: Marshall Huffman
Girls Soccer – The Girls Soccer team had a lot to overcome this season. They lost their longtime head coach, Jon Bradley, to the guys team and lost superstar goalie, Charlotte Phillips, and striker, Georgie Highton. Fortunately, they overcame the losses with a great season. They qualified for both FCIAC and State tournaments, but did not bring home any hardware. MVP: Leslie Yuen/Marieke Bravo Most Improved: Dillon Schoen
Boys Football – They only returned 3 starters from a team that won the FCIAC championship last season and had a lot of attention and pressure coming from the amazing season last year. Junior QB, Henry Baldwin, and the Darien tenacious defense silenced all the doubters early as the Boys finished with an outstanding 8-1 record as they prepare for the Turkey Bowl against New Canaan. The winner of the games season will continue to the state tournament while the loser will be done for the season. MVP: Henry Baldwin Most Improved: Harlan Smith
Girls Volleyball: After going undefeated the entire season, Darien Volleyball was not able to come up with the State title for the second year in a row. They still captured the FCIAC crown and were dominant all the regular season, it is just unfortunate they could not have their “perfect season”. MVP: Katie Stueber Most Improved: Nina Preston
Girls Swimming: I am still trying to figure out how this team could lose to New Canaan in the regular season, then lose to them again in FCIACs and then BEAT them in States. The reason on how they beat the rams in states really doesn’t matter, what matters is Darien Swimming did take home the state title this year after finishing tied for 5th in FCIACs. MVP: Olivia Leunis Most Improved: Caroline Orem
Girls XC: The girls went 15-2 in the regular season and were FCIAC In-season Champions. Besides qualifying for State and State Opens, the team had one All FCIAC runner, junior Grace Loh, and two 2nd FCIAC Team runners, junior Ellen Bauer and senior McKinley Stauffer. At the banquet, Coach Steve Norris expressed how proud he was of all members of the team, from Varsity to J.V. to Freshmen. The Varsity top seven will only be losing three seniors for the 2012 season, Stauffer, Alex Pear and Meredith Ott, so Darien High School can expect another great year from Girls Cross Country next Fall. MVP: Grace Loh Most Improved: McKinley Stauffer
Boys Soccer: This team had 2 wins last year and now with a new coach and a new motivated team they were able to record 14. They made it to the FCIAC semi-finals and the State quarterfinals and won the FCIAC east regular season division. This team defied all odds and made a name for themselves in the FCIAC and State this season. Darien Boys Soccer is not only not a “mockery” anymore, but now they are bordering a powerhouse as they look to return FCIAC player’s of the year, Spencer McMullin and Brennan Branca, as well as Goalkeeper Jack Fisher. MVP: Elliott Helgans Most Improved: Jack Fisher