Fairfield Ludlowe Girls' Lacrosse Reaches State Title Game

Get ready for Fairfield Ludlowe-Staples III in the CIAC Division II girls' lacrosse state championship game.

The Falcons completed a dominating night for the FCIAC amid the steady rain and unseasonably cool temperatures at Bunnell High School, routing Haddam-Killingworth, 18-7, on Monday evening.

The Falcons and Wreckers will meet in an all-FCIAC final on Saturday - also at Bunnell - at 10:45 a.m.

 Haley Welke and Sarah Nesi each scored four goals on Wednesday for Ludlowe, which posted a pair of one-goal wins over Staples during the regular season, although the Wreckers were not at full strength for either game.

"(Saturday) is probably the toughest game of the season, but we're going to just leave our hearts on the field," said Welke, who has been playing with plantar fasciitis in her ankle for the past week. "There is no better way to end the season than being in the state finals."

The score of Ludlowe's win on Wednesday was almost identical to Staples' 19-8 victory over St. Bernard in the first game of Monday's twinbill - although it seemed to rain harder - and feel colder - during the nightcap.

"The rain is no one's favorite condition," said Welke, who scored three of her goals from the free position. "But we really worked well with it and really played as a team."

Ludlowe's game was a virtual carbon copy of Monday's opener, when Staples held only a 4-3 lead midway through the first half.

Emily Anderson scored with 2:21 left in the first half, pulling Haddam-Killingworth within 5-4, but Tierney Larson and Elizabeth Pratt answered to give Ludlowe (15-6) a 7-4 halftime lead.

As the conditioned worsened, the Falcons scored at will in the second half, outscoring the Cougars by a 11-3 margin.

"We're a second-half team," added Welke, who scored her fourth with still 20 minutes left in the contest. "One of the things we're trying to do is bring our intensity in the first half, but it always helps to pick it up in the second half and that's what we did today. We ended pretty strong."

The Falcons spread the wealth as seven different players found the back of the net. Mary Diliberti contributed three goals, including two in a span of 54 seconds that extended the Falcons' cushion to 11-4 with 17:05 remaining.

"I have to say I haven't seen them play that well since almost the beginning of the season, so it's really nice to see them peaking and playing at their best," Ludlowe coach Amy Alvord said. "They're excited."

Dominating time of possession and field position in the second half, the Falcons gained their first double-figure lead when Pratt registered her second to make it 15-5 with 12:22 to go.

Kathleen McAuliffe and Larson also chipped in with a pair of goals and Ashley Kirby scored once for the Falcons.

"At halftime, our goal was to really put it away," Alvord said. "It was a little close at halftime, so we wanted to finish it off."

For the record, Larson registered the Falcons' final goal with 21 seconds remaining.

Haddam-Killingworth goalie Teagen Ferguson kept the Cougars close with 10 saves in the first half. Eventually, however, the Falcons wore down their opponent with superior depth, finishing with a 32-20 edge in shots.

Alvord continued her season-long pattern of using Jill Moffett in goal in the first half and Charlotte O'Donnell in the second. They each finished with five saves.

Then it was time to look ahead to a familiar foe, as no one was shocked that two FCIAC squads made it to the final game.

"It's tough to play a team three times with such close games," Alvord said. "We know that's it going to be a very good game. We'll see who comes to play."