Wilton Battles Darien To Scoreless Tie In Boys Soccer

The Wilton and Darien boys soccer teams battled for 80 minutes Monday on a raw, windy day and when the final horn sounded, neither team had a goal.

Goal scoring continues to a big problem for the Warriors (2-2-3), who have won only two of their seven games this season. Wilton has been blanked in five games this year and has just one goal in its last four contests.

While both teams had good opportunities, Darien had the edge in quality shots, and Warriors' coach Jim Lewicki was unhappy with his team's performance.

"We were helter skelter, especially in the second half when we had no flow and no continuity," he said.

Darien coach  Nicolae Piperea called Monday's contest a possible turning point game for his team, which has a win and tie in its last two games after starting the year with four losses.

"Today's game could determine which way we'll go the rest of the season," he said.

Darien sophomore Brennan Branca was involved in three of the Wave's scoring chances, including a free kick when the ball slid off his foot.

On the second, he took a nice cross from Matthew Collier, with just 40 seconds remaining in the first half but just missed near the left upright. Then on his final scoring chance, his misfired.

"I had some room, but I didn't make solid contact," Branca said. "It was just one of those days."

The main reason the game ended in a tie was the play of Wilton goalkeeer Mike DeSantis, who was quick, sure-handed and displayed a healthy vertical leap.

DeSantis credited the Wave with putting a lot of pressure on the Warriors' defense. After grabbing all balls near the net that were in the air, DeSantis saved the day for Wilton with a diving save on a low ball- a bullet off the foot of Branca.

Darien's Graham Hotchkiss wasn't as busy as DeSantis,  but handled everything that came his way.

Lewicki thought his team lacked flow and continuity in the second half despite having some good chances of its own.

"Darien's back line did an excellent job," he said.  "Darien also handled the wind better than we did."

The Warriors are back in action Friday, when they host Harding at 4:00 p.m.