Late Charge Lifts Girls Lacrosse Into State Tournament

That noise you hear in Ridgefield? That's the sound of the Ridgefield High School girls lacrosse team celebrating after clinching a berth in the state tournament. 

On Friday night, the Tigers won their third straight game, defeating Joel Barlow,  13-9, to secure a spot in the CIAC Division II state tournament.

That, of course, is something that didn't seem possible after Ridgefield dropped to 4-8 following a 14-8 loss to Staples on May 7.

Now, the Tigers (7-8) have a chance to reach .500. They host McMahon on Wednesday in their final regular-season game.   

But the players didn't want to think ahead to Wednesday. Instead, they were savoring their accomplishment on Friday, which also was senior night. Prior to Friday's contest, Ridgefield's nine seniors were honored.

"It's always important to get a win on senior night because these seniors work hard all year," Ridgefield head coach Michelle Ralph said. "Every single person, from the support kids on the sideline to the ones that were on the field, everybody and everything that they did tonight, they wanted to do it for our nine seniors."

And they did. The Tigers scored seven straight goals—the last coming with 0.1 seconds left in the half—to lead, 9-4, at the intermission. 

Sarah Conte keyed the surge with a hat trick in the first half.

Senior Emma Hopkinson started in goal and was sharp through the first 25 minutes, turning away several opportunities and limiting the Falcons to just five goals.

In the second half, she faltered early and was replaced by sophomore goalie Maggie Philbin, who stood on her head for nearly 20 full minutes before allowing a late goal that did not factor in the outcome.

Though the seniors were strong contributors, nine of Ridgefield's 13 goals were scored by players who will be returning next spring, which suggests a bright future for the program.

Ralph thinks that future begins now. 

"Last year, they had a 5-11  record," she said. "Once we hit that 6-8 mark, they finally convinced themselves that, 'Yes, we can.' And I think that propelled us into the next game and the next game, and they have a belief now that is truly going to carry them, I think, through the next game."