Sports
Boys Soccer Eyes the Back of the Net
Warriors struggled to score last year but hope to build on their first round win in the state tournament.
The back of the net was a foreign place for the Wilton boys soccer team during most of last season, especially early in the year. The Warriors were blanked in their first five games (0-3-2) before rebounding somewhat to finish the year at 5-8-4.
The goal scoring problems were not surprising, as Wilton lost players that accounted for 35 of their 38 goals from the 2008 season to graduation. Nearly half of those (17) were tallied by Scott Brown, who was an all-state player two years ago and now is at Colgate. However, he missed all of last year after undergoing hip surgery.
Even without Brown, the Warriors upset No. 7 seed New Milford, 2-0, in the first round of the CIAC Class L state tournament. The Warriors then fell to FCIAC rival New Canaan, 1-0, in the second round.
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Jim Lewicki, entering his seventh season as Wilton's coach, surmised that whoever won the Wilton-New Canaan game would advance to the state final because of the competitiveness of the FCIAC. He was right, as the Rams made it that far before losing to Brookfield, 3-2.
It's tough to compete in the rugged FCIAC when you can't score, which is why Lewicki's number one task this season is finding some offense. The Warriors open their season Tuesday against Ridgefield at Lilly Field at 4 p.m.
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"We struggled big time (to score last year)," Lewicki said. "I just hope that somehow this year we can find the pieces to put the ball in the net."
Lewicki is hoping that senior striker Evan Roux, one of the team's three captains along with senior goalkeeper Mike DeSantis and junior midfielder Dillon Weed, can provide some desperately needed scoring punch.
"(Evan's) a big body out there," Lewicki said.
When you struggle to score, you better get strong play from your keeper, and DeSantis earned all-FCIAC East honors last season.
Still, the Warriors are inexperienced on the back line, although Lewicki does expect Graham Parsons to be one of the leaders of that unit.
"He feels comfortable with what we're trying to do," Lewicki said. "We're trying to move guys in and out. Only one guy (from the back line) was on the team last year and the other guys are up from the JV, so they are getting to know each other."
