Ridgefield Boys Soccer Battles Wilton To Scoreless Tie In Season Opener

Despite outplaying Wilton, the Ridgefield boys' soccer team settled for a frustrating scoreless tie against the archrival Warriors in the season opener for both teams Tuesday afternoon at Lilly Field.

The Tigers hit two crossbars and a goalpost and had numerous other opportunities but couldn't find the back of the net.

Ridgefield coach Phil Bergen called it a case of first-game jitters while Wilton coach  Jim Lewicki credited the outstanding play of his netminder Mike DeSantis, who was an all-FCIAC pick last season.

Ridgefield peppered DeSantis with five shots in a three-minute span midway through the second half. The first half saw a lot of back and forth play and scrum around the midfield. 

"I am proud of our guys, especially our sophomores forwards Sean Avelini, Joe DeVivo, and Connor Findley," Bergen said.  "We really settled down in the second half and took control, creating space and a lot of opportunities. 

"Last year, we only had one guy that we could depend to be creative and score.  Now we appear to have three guys making us much more dangerous. Now I just have to figure out a way to create an in-game atmosphere to get them used to getting of their shots more effectively."

DeVivo was excited about playing in his first varsity game.

"It was great to get over the initial jitters and play well, now I just have to figure out how to get my shot off faster," he said.

Ridgefield midfielder Connor Findley managed to twice hit the crossbar in the first half.

In the second half,  Ridgefield seemed to settle down, spread out and create space for itself while controlling the ball effectively in the Wilton end of the field for most of the period. 

"Our midfielders seemed to start watching the ball and not getting back to help out and Ridgefield just seemed to beat us to the ball," Lewicki said.

Despite Ridgefield's hustle, however, DeSantis and center back Graham Parson formed an in penetrable force field that Ridgefield was never quite able to solve.

"We are still trying to get use to the new guys,  but I like their skills," Ridgefield captain Andrew Carlson added.

Wilton's Marc Godin appeared to suffer an arm injury and was taken to a hospital for further evaluation.

"I will take the one point," Lewicki added. "Our rivalry is always intense and physical with Ridgefield but clean.  Both teams respect each other."  

No cards were issued during the game for dirty play.

"Our  defense played physical, but if the 'D' was perfect there wouldn't be a need for a goalie," DeSantis  said.