Fairfield Ludlowe Wins Division II Girls Lacrosse State Title

"Now is the time to step it up."

So said Fairfield Ludlowe head coach Amy Alvord during a consequential timeout 12 minutes into the championship game when the Falcons trailed by four goals. 

And "step it up" is exactly what the Falcons did at Bunnell High School on Saturday on their way to a dominant 15-9 victory over the Staples Wreckers to claim the CIAC girls lacrosse Division II state championship.

Ludlowe won all three meetings against Staples this season and claimed the town's first girls' lacrosse state championship since the former Fairfield High School won it all in 2002.

"This is great!" beamed a jubilant Sarah Nesi, who tallied five goals in the game for the Falcons (15-6).

"We've grown so much as a team," Nesi added. "We really pushed ourselves to what we knew we could achieve. We started the season not necessarily expecting this, but once we realized we actually could achieve this, it was great to follow through."

The game did not start out Ludlowe's way. 

Staples (14-7) scored the first two goals and was in a solid offensive rhythm for the first 11 minutes of the game.

Senior Tierney Larson was the first Falcon to score when she cut behind two defenders and found the back of the net at the 16:54 mark.

But Staples kept pounding way and when the Wreckers scored with 11:30 remaining in the first half ,  they had built a 5-1 lead.

It was at that point that coach Alvord called the timeout.  She explained, "We needed that moment to calm down, to come together, and to let go of some things."

It seemed to work.  The Falcons reeled off four unanswered goals before the half, from senior Haley Welke, Nesi, and Larson, who went on to register a hat trick for the day.

At halftime the score was knotted 5-5,  and the Falcons were playing with poise and patience.

Ludlowe then made a statement right out of the gate in the second half when Kristy Barre's goal gave the Falcons the lead just 43 seconds in.

The Wreckers were forced play catch-up for the remainder of the half and never regained the lead.

Ludlowe's Jill Moffett was solid in goal, and defender Julia Tomeo cleared the ball well, setting up several fast breaks for the Falcons.

The scoring pace accelerated in the second half for the Falcons' offense as their shots on goal increased by a two-to-one margin

Kathleen McAuliffe, Elizabeth Pratt, and Ashley Kirby joined Nesi, Larson, and Welke for the Falcons' second half goal tally. 

And as the clock ticked down in the final minute, it was obvious that the Falcons had the game – and the state championship – in hand.

When asked what she wants her team to take away from their championship season, coach Alvord responded, "I want these girls to know that they are really talented and that you can push your limits.  All season I wanted these girls to believe in themselves, commit, and focus – and really go for it.  Little by little I think they learned that."   

In reflecting on the championship game, Alvord added, "Staples is a fabulous team, they have a great zone defense and I really respect how they play.  I think our conference is the hardest in the state from what I've seen, so this was a fun finale."