Wilton Girls Lacrosse Advances To FCIAC Semifinals

Happy birthday,  Maddie Kratz. 

The junior goaltender celebrated her 17th birthday in style, making 11 saves and contributing to a stellar defensive effort that lifted Wilton to a 14-9 victory over Fairfield Ludlowe in the quarterfinals of the FCIAC girls lacrosse tournament Friday evening.

The Warriors (11-5-1) opened the game looking to give their goalie a birthday present, but the Falcons had other ideas, opening a two-goal advantage less than five minutes into the contest. 

Wilton responded to the early deficit with an aggressive defense in front of Kratz,  led by Tegan Helms. 

Helms, a freshman midfielder, scored the Warriors' first goal and was part of a strong midfield whose play forced Ludlowe into several key turnovers that prevented the Falcons from getting into any rhythm. 

 "Oh,  I think they played great," Wilton coach Cindy Wiseman said. "They hustled high and low. What is nice is that we have more midfielders than can play at one time, so we can give them a rest. So we started cycling them in and out so at any one time we could have a girl out there with fresh legs."

After Wilton's three-goal run was answered by another Ludlowe tally, freshman midfielder Casey Pearsan scored her second goal of the day, weaving through defenders for an unassisted goal to give the Warriors a 4-3 lead. 

From then on, Wilton increased its defensive intensity even further, hustling to maintain its goal advantage.

Both teams had their share of first half opportunities, with each goalie benefiting from the iron behind them to keep the score from changing. However, a flurry of goals in the final five minutes of the first half gave the Warriors a  7- 4  edge at halftime

The second half belonged to Wilton's defense and midfield. 

"I think our defense really stepped up," Kratz said. "Everyone was really aggressive and we flowed together."

Senior attackers Alexi Farmakis and Rachel Lowrie each scored four goals,  thanks in large part to a strong transition game. 

"The midfield played very well today in transition from getting us from defense to offense," senior midfielder Tessa Howard said.  "It's really important when we get the ball out of the defense end to find the offensive players. I think that's what worked today."

While the offense was opening up, Wilton's defense was clamping down.  The senior-led trio merged with an equally dominant midfield to stifle the Falcons for much of the game. 

"The defense came together very nicely," Wiseman added. "I was very proud of how they implemented everything they had been working in the past week or so.

"When the defense happened to lapse, Kratz was in position to pick her team up. "She comes up big with those big saves. She doesn't shy away from the ball. She steps up big and she's been phenomenal for us this year."

Coming off the best season in school history,  Ludlowe (11-6) now gets ready for the state tournament that begins in 10 days. The Falcons graduate only five seniors,  suggesting a bright future for the program.

However, experience won the day as the victory for Wilton sets up a match against rival Darien in the FCIAC semifinals Monday.

"These girls can do it,"  Wiseman said, a message that seems to be getting through.

 "If we just stay together and work together as a team I think we can do great things," Pearsan said.