Connecticut Championship Previews: Soccer, Volleyball, Field Hockey

CONNECTICUT — State championship time has arrived for high school soccer, girls volleyball and field hockey teams across Connecticut, as the CIAC tournaments conclude with 15 title contests slated for Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

All eight soccer finals will be played over the weekend at Trinity Health Stadium (formerly Dillon Stadium) in Hartford, home of the state's only pro soccer team, Hartford Athletic. Three volleyball finals will take place Saturday at East Haven High School, with the Class S crown being decided Friday at Sport and Medical Sciences Academy in Hartford. As usual, the three field hockey title tilts are slated for Saturday at Wethersfield High School.

Tickets for CIAC championship games are only available digitally, and may be purchased at the GoFan website. There will be no paper tickets.

Some interesting facts and tidbits about the upcoming finals:

• Two schools will be represented in a pair of championship contests: Darien (field hockey, volleyball) and St. Joseph (girls soccer, volleyball).
• Three different colored Knights will be competing for titles: Black (Stamford), Blue (Southington) and Green (Notre Dame-West Haven). There will be two sets of Bears (Stonington, Thomaston), Bobcats (Bacon Academy, Brookfield), Rams (New Canaan, Old Saybrook) and Spartans (Lewis Mills, Shepaug Valley).
• Just three matchups - Old Saybrook vs. Shepaug Valley boys soccer, Darien vs. Staples field hockey and North Branford vs. Canton field hockey - feature the top two seeds battling it out for the title.
• Two champions from 2022 will square off against each other on the volleyball court. In Class M, defending champion RHAM faces Joel Barlow, which won the Class L title last year.
• St. Joseph and Notre Dame-Fairfield clash in the Class LL girls soccer finals for the second straight year, the lone rematch from the 2022 championship games.
• Old Saybrook is seeking its fifth straight Class S boys soccer crown, North Branford is after its third consecutive Class S field hockey title, and St. Joseph girls soccer is in pursuit of its third straight championship (Class L in 2022, LL in 2021).
• Six squads - Stamford boys soccer, Notre Dame-West Haven boys soccer, Shepaug Valley boys soccer, Brookfield girls soccer, Bacon Academy girls soccer and Thomaston girls soccer - are seeking their first state titles, with the latter five making their initial appearances in the finals. Stamford boys soccer has just one prior appearance in a title game, falling 2-0 to Wethersfield in 1949.
• Of schools with previous championships, Canton field hockey has endured the longest drought, last winning in 1999. East Lyme boys soccer claimed its only title in 2002.

Here is complete information about each title contest, including championship game histories and links to team rosters and season records. Games are on Saturday unless otherwise indicated.

BOYS SOCCER

Class LL
6:15 p.m.

No. 5 Hall Titans vs. No. 14 Stamford Black Knights
Regular season: HAL 10-3-3; STA 8-4-4
The road to the finals:

• HAL: d. Darien 2-1; d. Brien McMahon 2-1 (OT); d. Hamden 1-0; d. Fairfield Ludlowe 1-0
• STA: d. New Milford 4-0; d. Naugatuck 4-1; d. Westhill 2-0; d. Greenwich 3-0

Title game record: HAL 9-4; STA 0-1
Last state championship: HAL 2019; STA none
Rosters

Class L
12:45 p.m.

No. 3 East Lyme Vikings vs. No. 8 Notre Dame-West Haven Green Knights
Regular season: EL 14-1-1; ND 10-1-3
The road to the finals:

• EL: d. Windsor 2-1; d. Simsbury 2-1 (OT); d. Bethel 3-0; d. Cheshire 2-1
• ND: d. Torrington 5-0; d. Newington 4-1; d. Bunnell 1-0; d. Masuk 2-1

Title game record: EL 1-3; ND 0-0
Last state championship: EL 2002; ND none
Rosters

Class M
11/19, 3:30 p.m.

No. 14 Lewis Mills Spartans vs. No. 17 Stonington Bears
Regular season: LM 8-5-3; STO 9-7
The road to the finals:

• LM: d. Watertown 3-1; d. Notre Dame-Fairfield 5-0; d. New Fairfield 1-0; d. Rocky Hill 4-2
• STO: d. Woodland 3-0; d. Norwich Tech 3-0; d. Northwestern Regional 3-0; d. RHAM 3-2 (OT)

Title game record: LM 2-2; STO 3-2
Last state championship: LM 2017; STO 2021
Rosters

Class S
11/19, 12:45 p.m.

No. 1 Old Saybrook Rams vs. No. 2 Shepaug Valley Spartans
Regular season: OS 14-0-2; SV 14-2
The road to the finals:

• OS: 1st round bye; d. Canton 2-1; d. East Hampton 1-0; d. Holy Cross 2-1 (OT)
• SV: 1st round bye; d. Innovation 6-0; d. St. Bernard 3-0; d. Haddam-Killingworth 1-0

Title game record: OS 8-3; SV 0-0
Last state championship: OS 2022; SV none
Rosters

GIRLS SOCCER

Class LL
10 a.m.

No. 2 St. Joseph Cadets vs. No. 4 Notre Dame-Fairfield Lancers
Regular season: SJ 15-0-1; ND 13-2-1
The road to the finals:

• SJ: 1st round bye; d. E.O. Smith 7-1; d. Ridgefield 3-0; d. Staples 4-3
• ND: 1st round bye; d. Darien 5-1; d. Norwich Free Academy 3-0; d. Mercy 2-1

Title game record: SJ 8-1; ND 2-1
Last state championship: SJ 2022 (L); ND 2016
Rosters

Class L
11/19, 6:15 p.m.

No. 3 Brookfield Bobcats vs. No. 4 Simsbury Trojans
Regular season: BRO 13-3; SIM 11-1-4
The road to the finals:

• BRO: 1st round bye; d. Wethersfield 4-0; d. Guilford 4-1; d. Bethel 3-2 (OT)
• SIM: 1st round bye; d. Woodstock Academy 3-0; d. Sacred Heart Academy 4-0; d. East Catholic 2-1 (OT)

Title game record: BRO 0-0; SIM 7-7
Last state championship: BRO none; SIM 2005
Rosters

Class M
3:30 p.m.

No. 1 Suffield Wildcats vs. No. 11 Bacon Academy Bobcats
Regular season: SUF 16-0; BAC 11-4-1
The road to the finals:

• SUF: 1st round bye; d. Haddam-Killingworth 6-2; d. Nonnewaug 4-0; d. Lewis Mills 3-0
• BAC: d. Oxford 5-1; d. Windham 3-0; d. Granby 3-2; d. Woodland 1-0

Title game record: SUF 6-5; BAC 0-0
Last state championship: SUF 2010; BAC none
Rosters

Class S
11/19, 10 a.m.

No. 1 Thomaston Bears vs. No. 10 Cromwell Panthers
Regular season: THO 14-0-2; CRO 7-3-6
The road to the finals:

• THO: 1st round bye; d. Old Saybrook 2-1; d. Terryville 3-0; d. Lyman Memorial 3-0
• CRO: d. Montville 7-1; d. Windham Tech 6-1; d. Valley Regional 1-0; d. Canton 1-0

Title game record: THO 0-0; CRO 2-0
Last state championship: THO none; CRO 2007
Rosters

GIRLS VOLLEYBALL

Class LL
6 p.m.

No. 1 Darien Blue Wave vs. No. 3 Southington Blue Knights
Regular season: DAR 18-1; SOU 17-1
The road to the finals:

• DAR: 1st round bye; d. Brien McMahon 3-0; d. Cheshire 3-0; d. Trumbull 3-0
• SOU: 1st round bye; d. Staples 3-0; d. Greenwich 3-2; d. Glatsonbury 3-0

Title game record: DAR 18-2; SOU 1-2
Last state championship: DAR 2022; SOU 2009
Rosters

Class L
3 p.m.

No. 3 Farmington River Hawks vs. No. 12 St. Joseph Cadets
Regular season: FAR 16-3; SJ 13-6
The road to the finals:

• FAR: 1st round bye; d. Platt 3-0; d. Simsbury 3-1; d. Bristol Eastern 3-0
• SJ: d. North Haven 3-0; d. Rockville 3-0; d. Woodstock Academy 3-2; d. Bristol Central 3-1

Title game record: FAR 8-4; SJ 6-2
Last state championship: FAR 2014; SJ 2017
Rosters

Class M
noon

No. 1 Joel Barlow Falcons vs. No. 6 RHAM Raptors
Regular season: JB 18-1; RHA 16-3
The road to the finals:

• JB: 1st round bye; d. Lauralton Hall 3-0; d. Granby 3-1; d. East Hampton 3-0
• RHA: d. Sheehan 3-0; d. Nonnewaug 3-0; d. Suffield 3-2; d. Northwestern Regional 3-1

Title game record: JB 2-6; RHA 9-3
Last state championship: JB 2022 (L); RHA 2022
Rosters

Class S
11/17, 7 p.m.

No. 3 Coventry Patriots vs. No. 5 Haddam-Killingworth Cougars
Regular season: COV 13-7; HK 15-5
The road to the finals:

• COV: 1st round bye; d. Aerospace 3-0; d. Hale Ray 3-0; d. Valley Regional 3-2
• HK: 1st round bye; d. SMSA 3-0; d. Wolcott Tech 3-0; d. Holy Cross 3-0

Title game record: COV 11-3; HK 2-6
Last state championship: COV 2017; HK 2014
Rosters

FIELD HOCKEY

Class L
11 a.m.

No. 1 Darien Blue Wave vs. No. 2 Staples Wreckers
Regular season: DAR 15-1; STA 14-2
The road to the finals:

• DAR: d. South Windsor 9-0; d. Norwalk 4-0; d. Wilton 3-2 (OT)
• STA: d. Hamden 10-0; d. Greenwich 2-1; d. Glastonbury 2-0

Title game record: DAR 11-4; STA 4-1
Last state championship: DAR 2022; STA 2019
Rosters

Class M
3:30 p.m.

No. 1 Daniel Hand Tigers vs. No. 6 New Canaan Rams
Regular season: DH 15-0-1; NC 10-6
The road to the finals:

• DH: d. Joel Barlow 4-0;d. Branford 2-0; d. Wethersfield 2-0
• NC; d. Avon 6-1; d. Pomperaug 4-0; d. Guilford 6-2

Title game record: DH 2-5; NC 6-6
Last state championship: DH 2017; NC 2021
Rosters

Class S
1:15 p.m.

No. 1 North Branford Thunderbirds vs. No. 2 Canton Warriors
Regular season: NB 16-0; CAN 16-0
The road to the finals:

• NB: d. New Fairfield 2-0; d. Lauralton Hall 5-4; d. Immaculate 3-2
• CAN: d. Westbrook 2-1 (OT); d. Weston 3-0; d. Stonington 1-0

Title game record: NB 6-2; CAN 8-5
Last state championship: NB 2022; CAN 1999
Rosters