The Darien Girls Hockey team beat Ridgefield this Saturday (1/18) 3-0. Although the team was slow to start, it adjusted and was able to prevail. After playing all the FCIAC teams, the team is undefeated in FCIAC play and has only let up one goal in the 7 FCIAC games, outscoring opponents 46-1. As senior captain Shannon Hall said, “We’ve… proved every game that we can put points up on the board. I think most of the girls on our team have scored at least once, which goes to show how talented our players really are across the board… We show up to work regardless of who we’re playing.”
After its last five games, which were all won by a margin of 6-0 or greater, the team was a little slow to adjust to the competitiveness of the fast Ridgefield team. Goaltender Hall kept the team in the game until senior captain Ellie Bennett outraced a defender to the puck and picked the lower corner for a 1-0 lead to get the team going.
Although the Tigers had occasional chances, Darien was dominant in the second period. Sophomore defender Katie Zaro scored with a rising wrist shot that glanced off the crossbar and in, making the lead 2-0 eight minutes into the second. The Blue Wave had 18 seconds in the period, taking advantage of power plays to test the Ridgefield goalie.
In the third period, both teams came out strong; Ridgefield was working hard to make it a 2-1 game, and Darien was playing strong defensively and trying to expand its lead to 3-0. Daien’s third goal came about halfway through the period when senior captain Sage Thacher made an aggressive pinch in the offensive zone to gain control of the puck. She took it deep and made a centering pass to junior Sammy Nielsen, who had fought for position in front of the net and shot it home.
Strong Darien defense as a team as well as relentless shooting, 51 shots overall compared to Ridgefield’s 10, led to the shutout. Come support the Girls Hockey team as it takes on rival New Canaan this Monday (1/20) in what should be a competitive game at Darien Ice Rink at 6:20.
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| Darien’s Thacher stops the puck behind the net and centers it to Nielsen, who scores the third goal. |
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