New Canaan Sports Digest Aug 30

The New Canaan boys soccer team, which is the defending CIAC , plays the first of two preseason scrimmages on Friday against Rye County Day School at Conner Field at 4 p.m.

The Rams also take on Fairfield Prep in a scrimmage on Sept. 7 at at 4 p.m.

New Canaan opens defense of its state championship at Danbury on Sept. 14 at 4 p.m.

The Rams again will be led by junior goaltender Scott Levene, who made the All-State team as a sophomore last season.

Levene. who was a standout goalie for the U.S. Soccer Development Academy U-16 team this spring, allowed just four goals in five games during the state tournament last year.

Another player to watch is senior midfielder Jon-Luke Ferrandino, who was a first-team all-FCIAC pick a year ago. Levene and Ferrandino were named among the top 20 players in the state by MSG Varsity.

Campbell Competing in World Rowing Championships

New Canaan's Andrew Campbell won his heat Sunday in the lightweight men's sculls to advance to the semifinals at the World Rowing Championships in Bled, Slovakia.

The 19-year-old Campbell, who will be a sophomore at Harvard, crossed the line just ahead of Italy’s Pietro Ruta. That allowed him to move on to Thursday's semifinals and spared him from having to row an extra race.

In the final strokes of his sprint, Campbell pushed his bow in front of the Italian sculler in lane two and finished first with a time of 7:04.01 to Ruta’s 7:04.31.

“I was pleased,” Campbell told USRowing.com. “My plan was just to qualify for the final and take it one step at a time.”

Campbell race was the first of the day and the first of the 15 U.S. crews that went to the line Sunday in the hopes of advancing in their respective events

Also reaching the quarterfinals was the lightweight men’s double sculls team of Rowayton's Brian de Regt and New Haven's Jon Winter.

The pair held second right off of the start and finished in 6:29.25 behind Italy, which measured a 6:24.25. With the top three boats moving on, de Regt and Winter will race next on Wednesday.

The men’s four crew of New Canaan's Charlie Cole, Scott Gault (Piedmont, Calif.), Brett Newlin (Riverton, Wyo.) and Giuseppe Lanzone (Annandale, Va.) did not qualify from its heat, but put in a good fight to the line against winner Belarus.

The U.S. crew chased Belarus the length of the course, made a desperate push in the last 100 meters and fell 0.02 off the mark with a time of 6:50.96 to 6:50.98. They will row again on Wednesday.

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