Wave Field Hockey Coasts Past Ludlowe, 6-0

The Darien field hockey team remained undefeated Tuesday evening with a 6-0 thumping of Fairfield Ludlowe on the road.

The Blue Wave improved to 9-0—with eight of those wins coming via shutouts—and have now outscored their opponents this season by a staggering margin of 59-1.

"They had fresh legs tonight and played a terrific all-around game," Darien coach Mo Minicus said. "They started the game ready to play and everything that followed was excellent."

The Wave featured a balanced attack as five different players scored goals. Senior Leslie Gill opened the barrage just over seven minutes in.

"I got a pass on the left wing and usually I center the ball since I didn't have a great angle," Gill said. "But the goalie [Jillian Moffett] gave me a bit of an angle and some room so I shot and scored."

The next two scores came in rapid succession. Maddie Gill followed her twin sister with a goal at 16:58 on an assist from Ellie Riegel. Just 14 seconds later, Sam Johnston, with a helper from Maddie Gill, made it 3-0.

The Wave continued to press the action and control the play when Courtney Wynne's shot from dead center beat Moffett for Wynne's first goal of the season.

Some good goalie play by Moffett—including 11 first-half saves—kept Darien from pulling away even more. Darien's Perrin Brown was less busy in goal with just one save. The Wave settled for a 5-0 lead at halftime.

Minicus started substituting freely and removed Brown early in the second half for Claire Dixon, who made a terrific save when it appeared Darien might surrender its second goal of the season.

Speedy Ludlowe forward Samantha Green moved in alone on Dixon, who came out of her cage. Just when Green lifted her stick to shoot, Dixon fell to her knees and judged the attempt perfectly with a block.

Lilly Cassidy, assisted by freshman Hollis Perticone, registered Darien's final goal with 4:39 left in the game.

"We were driving down the field when Hollis had the ball but no angle," Cassidy said. "She passed it to me where I had an angle and was able to score."

The Wave's next game is on Friday at Wilton (4 p.m.).