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Sports

Darien Repeats Championship Performance Over Rams

Darien girls lacrosse beat New Canaan 13-7 behind balanced attack.

The Darien and New Canaan girls lacrosse teams met Friday afternoon for the first time since the Blue Wave beat the Rams in last year's Division I state championship game, and the result was the same. 

Darien, which has won three straight state crowns, posted a 12-7 win, nearly doubling New Canaan's score, as the team did with its 16-8 win in the title game.

It was the season opener for the Rams, and the second game for the Wave, which beat Trumbull, 21-5, in its first game. Darien displayed athleticism, crisp passing, poise and the ability to finish, scoring six goals on its  first seven shots.

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Darien co-captain Cali Ceglarski got things rolling with a goal less than five minutes in after making some nice moves to find room. Liz Calby scored to make it 2-0 a minute later, as the Wave was able to close in with some near point blank opportunities.

"I was ecstatic because we played well today," said Calby, who had three goals.

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Darien opened a five-goal lead by halftime, scoring four unanswered goals, and leading 6-1, at the intermission. Corrine Sommi scored two of her four oals during the stretch and was helped out by Ann Fucigna and Calby.

Freshman goalie Caylee Waters stopped eight shots for Darien, while Rams goalie Charlotte Spitzfaden had only one save.

"We didn't communicate very well in the first half, but I think we'll get it together after a few more practices," said the Rams' Anjalie Christie. "We gave them too many easy shots."

New Canaan made a run at the start of the second half. Christie scored her second of the game three minutes in, and Kacey Pippitt tallied a short time later to pull the Rams within three.

But Darien continued to score in bunches, as  it did in the opening 25 minutes. Fucigna made it 7-3, Sommi got her third goal to make it 8-3, and after Christie scored again for New Canaan, Sommi's fourth staked the Wave to a 9-4 lead.

"I really felt it was a total team effort today with everyone contributing", Sommi said

Darien's next goal was the result of some hard work and soft hands when Taylor Hardison scooped up a ground ball in a crowd and scored for a 10-4 cushion.

The Rams' best work of the day resulted in their fifth goal. It started behind the Wave's goal when Hannah Femia passed across field to Shelby Barrada, who in full sprint outran defenders as she was closing in Waters. Barada then passed to Sarah Manelly, who scored with four minutes remaining.

Olivia Hompe pulled the Rams within four on a free-position shot, but New Canaan got no closer. 

"You can't go 7-for-28 on shots and expect to win," New Canaam coach Kristin Wood added. "We'll be devoting a lot of time next week addressing that problem.

New Canaan's next game is at Trumbull on Tuesday, while Darien hosts Stamford the same day.

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