Ridgefield Girls Soccer Stunned By Warde In Season Opener

Sophomore forward Emile Pullen scored in each half after finding open space as the Fairfield Warde girls soccer team stunned Ridgefield, 2-0, Thursday in a contest called early because of thunderstorms.

Both goals came just after Ridgefield mounted pressure in the Mustangs'  end of the field.  Still,  the Lady Tigers had a hard time connecting on more than one pass at a time.

In the first half,  Ridgefield managed only one shot on goal and had another golden opportunity negated because of an offside call.

This was not the way Ridgefield coach Robb Banyai envisioned that his  team would open defense of the FCIAC championship it shared last season with New Canaan.

"That is obviously not the way we like to play," he said. 

By the time the second half started,  the steady rain made the ball and field slick and play became even more disjointed.

Pullen scored her second goal 10 minutes into the second half shortly after the Lady Tigers appeared to be finding their legs. 

Led by captains DD Caravelli and Jaclyn Giordano, Ridgefield created a couple close calls around the Mustangs' net just before Pullen's goal effectively ended any hope of a Lady Tigers' comeback.

The game was halted just over 18 minutes into the second half after  lightning was seen nearby. Twenty minutes later,  the referees called the game.

"We took advantage of the few opportunities we had and scored," said Warde coach Tom Cunningham, whose team also was playing its opener . "We played aggressive on defense with two players attacking the ball and it just seemed we wanted it more.  

Ridgefield is back in action on Friday at Norwalk at 4 p.m.