CT Championship Game 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 Saturday and Sunday. Champions in fall sports will be crowned for the first time since 2019, as the coronavirus pandemic caused cancellation of state play last autumn.

For the first time, all eight soccer finals will be played at Dillon Stadium in Hartford, home of the state's only pro soccer team, Hartford Athletic. As usual, the four volleyball finals will take place at East Haven High School, and the three field hockey title tilts are slated for Wethersfield High School.

Tickets for CIAC fall tournament games and events will only be available digitally. Tickets may be purchased at the GoFan website.

• There will be Lions, Tigers and Bears - oh my! - as well as relatively new nicknames such as River Hawks, Grizzlies and Raptors. There will be three sets of Rams (Cheshire, Old Saybrook, New Canaan), as well as pairs of Warriors (Canton, Wilton), Falcons (Fitch, Fairfield Ludlowe) and Trojans (Simsbury, Weston).
• Four schools will be represented in a pair of championship contests: Simsbury (girls soccer, volleyball), Stonington (boys soccer, field hockey), Wethersfield (boys soccer, field hockey) and Wilton (field hockey, girls soccer).
• Just two matchups - Weston vs. Seymour volleyball and Guilford vs. Wethersfield field hockey - feature the top two seeds battling it out. Conversely, not a single No. 1 seed made it to the finals of boys soccer.
• With the fall postseason canceled in 2020 due to the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, six teams will seek to duplicate their championship runs from 2019. Stonington and Old Saybrook boys soccer, Holy Cross girls soccer, Seymour and Lyman Memorial volleyball and Guilford field hockey are each in contention for back-to-back state titles.
• Five squads - Simsbury and Weston volleyball, Fitch boys soccer and Mercy and Sacred Heat Academy girls soccer - are seeking their first state titles, with the latter three making their initial appearances in the finals.

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
6:30 p.m.

No. 7 Farmington River Hawks vs. No. 13 Cheshire Rams
Regular season: FAR 12-3-1; CHE 8-4-2
The road to the finals:

• FAR: d. Southington 2-1; d. Fairfield Warde 1-0; def. Hall 2-1 (PK); d. Staples 1-0
• CHE: d. Brien McMahon 1-0; d. Greenwich 2-1; d. Norwalk 2-0 (OT); d. Xavier 2-1 (PK)

Title game record: FAR 12-6; CHE 1-0
Last state championship: FAR 2016; CHE 1988
Rosters

Class L
Sunday, 1:30 p.m.

No. 12 Wethersfield Eagles vs. No. 14 Fitch Falcons
Regular season: WET 10-3-3; FIT 10-5
The road to the finals:

• WET: d. Torrington 6-0; d. Woodstock Academy 4-0; d. Notre Dame-West Haven 2-0; d. Guilford 1-0
• FIT: d. Prince/University 7-0; d. Middletown 2-1 (OT); d. Avon 2-0; d. Watertown 2-1

Title game record: WET 15-4; FIT 0-0
Last state championship: WET 2008; FIT none
Rosters

Class M
11 a.m.

No. 3 Stonington Bears vs. No. 12 Ellington Knights
Regular season: STO 14-1; ELL 10-4-2
The road to the finals:

• STO: d. Tolland 2-0; d. Plainville 4-0; d. Bacon Academy 2-1; d. Suffield 4-0
• ELL: d. Lewis Mills 3-1; d. Woodland 3-0; d. Jonathan Law 2-1 (PK); d. Ledyard 3-2 (OT)

Title game record: STO 2-2; ELL 5-7
Last state championship: STO 2019; ELL 2014
Rosters

Class S
Sunday, 6:30 p.m.

No. 2 Old Saybrook Rams vs. No. 8 Canton Warriors
Regular season: OS 14-0-2; CAN 12-4
The road to the finals:

• OS: 1st round bye; d. Portland 1-0; d. Valley Regional 4-3 (OT); d. Somers 5-3 (OT)
• CAN: d. Classical Magnet 7-0; d. Oxford 4-1; d. Holy Cross 2-0; d. Griswold 1-0 (PK)

Title game record: OS 6-3; CAN 4-2
Last state championship: OS 2019; CAN 2003
Rosters

GIRLS SOCCER

Class LL
4 p.m.

No. 9 Staples Wreckers vs. No. 10 Wilton Warriors
Regular season: STA 9-2-4; WIL 8-1-6
The road to the finals:

• STA: d. Norwich Free Academy 3-2; d. Darien 3-2; d. Farmington 1-0 (OT); d. Fairfield Warde 1-0
• WIL: d. Enfield 2-0; d. Manchester 3-1; d. Danbury 2-1; d. Fairfield Ludlowe 2-1 (PK)

Title game record: STA 1-3; WIL 11-3
Last state championship: STA 1989; WIL 2008
Rosters

Class L
Sunday, 4 p.m.

No. 1 St. Joseph Cadets vs. No. 10 Simsbury Trojans
Regular season: STJ 15-0-1; SIM 8-2-6
The road to the finals:

• STJ: 1st round bye; d. Guilford 7-0; d. Branford 2-1; d. Waterford 4-0
• SIM: d. Joel Barlow 4-1; d. Masuk 1-0; d. Daniel Hand 1-0; d. E.O. Smith 1-0 (PK)

Title game record: STJ 6-1; SIM 7-6
Last state championship: STJ 2017; SIM 2005
Rosters

Class M
1:30 p.m.

No. 3 Sacred Heart Academy Sharks vs. No. 4 Mercy Tigers
Regular season: SHA 13-0-3; MER 12-2-2
The road to the finals:

• SHA: 1st round bye; d. Rocky Hill 5-0; d. Cromwell 1-0; d. Notre Dame-Fairfield 1-0
• MER: d. Valley Regional 3-1; d. Plainfield 2-1; d. Weston 2-1; d. Granby 3-0

Title game record: SHA 0-0; MER 0-0
Last state championship: SHA none; MER none
Rosters

Class S
Sunday, 11 a.m.

No. 2 Holy Cross Crusaders vs. No. 24 Northwest Catholic Lions
Regular season: HC 13-2-1; NWC 6-8-2
The road to the finals:

• HC: 1st round bye; d. East Granby 2-0; d. Thomaston 5-1; d. Somers 3-0
• NWC: d. Immaculate 2-1; d. Housatonic Regional 4-1; d. Lyman Memorial 3-0; d. Coginchaug 4-0

Title game record: HC 1-4; NWC 4-0
Last state championship: HC 2019; NWC 2015
Rosters

GIRLS VOLLEYBALL

Class LL
7 p.m.

No. 2 Greenwich Cardinals vs. No. 12 Fairfield Ludlowe Falcons
Regular season: GRE 19-1; FFL 14-5
The road to the finals:

• GRE: 1st round bye; d. Bristol Central 3-0; d. Wilton 3-0; d. Darien 3-1
• FFL: d. New Britain 3-0; d. Naugatuck 3-1; d. Conard 3-2; d. Cheshire 3-1

Title game record: GRE 2-1; FFL 1-2
Last state championship: GRE 2017; FFL 2015
Rosters

Class L
4 p.m.

No. 1 RHAM Raptors vs. No. 11 Simsbury Trojans
Regular season: RHA 18-1; SIM 14-5
The road to the finals:

• RHA: 1st round bye; d. New Milford 3-0; d. South Windsor 3-1; d. North Haven 3-0
• SIM: d. Newington 3-0; d. Suffield 3-1; d. East Lyme 3-2; d. Bristol Eastern 3-0

Title game record: RHA 7-3; SIM 0-1
Last state championship: RHSA 2017; SIM none
Rosters

Class M
1 p.m.

No. 1 Weston Trojans vs. No. 2 Seymour Wildcats
Regular season: WES 20-0; SEY 18-0
The road to the finals:

• WES: 1st round bye; d. Joel Barlow 3-2; d. Woodland 3-1; d. Ledyard 3-0
• SEY: 1st round bye; d. Sheehan 3-0; d. Haddam-Killingworth 3-1; d. Mercy 3-0

Title game record: WES 0-4; SEY 3-2
Last state championship: WES none; SEY 2019
Rosters

Class S
10 a.m.

No. 3 Lyman Memorial Bulldogs vs. No. 18 Coventry Patriots
Regular season: LM 16-2; COV 14-6
The road to the finals:

• LM: 1st round bye; d. East Catholic 3-0; d. Hale-Ray 3-0; d. Granby 3-0
• COV: d. Northwest Catholic 3-0; d. Coginchaug 3-1; d. Wolcott Tech 3-0; d. Griswold 3-0

Title game record: LM 3-3; COV 11-2
Last state championship: LM 2019; COV 2017
Rosters

FIELD HOCKEY

Class L
noon

No. 1 New Canaan Rams vs. No. 11 Wilton Warriors
Regular season: NC 16-0; WIL 9-3-4
The road to the finals:

• NC: d. Norwalk 3-0; d. Greenwich 1-0 (2OT); d. Glastonbury 2-1
• WIL: d. Staples 1-0; d. Hall 3-0; d. Darien 1-0 (SHO)

Title game record: NC 5-6; WIL 6-3
Last state championship: NC 2016; WIL 2015
Rosters

Class M
10 a.m.

No. 1 Guilford Grizzlies vs. No. 2 Wethersfield Eagles
Regular season: GUI 15-1; WET 15-1
The road to the finals:

• GUI: d. New Milford 7-0; d. Avon 6-0; d. Pomperaug 6-0
• WET: d. Brookfield 2-0; d. East Lyme 2-0; d. Joel Barlow 2-1 (SHO)

Title game record: GUI 4-7; WET 1-0
Last state championship: GUI 2019; WET 1980
Rosters

Class S
2 p.m.

No. 2 Stonington Bears vs. No. 4 North Branford Thunderbirds
Regular season: STO 14-2; NB 12-2-2
The road to the finals:

• STO: d. Stafford 2-0; d. Lauralton Hall 2-1 (OT); d. Thomaston 1-0
• NB: d. Immaculate 5-0; d. Sacred Heart Academy 3-2; d. Granby 3-2

Title game record: STO 2-3; NB 4-2
Last state championship: STO 2013; NB 2017
Rosters

Don't miss local and statewide news from all across Connecticut. Register for free Patch alerts and daily newsletters.