A Pair Of Sleepers
Both the Stamford High School and Westhill field hockey teams advanced today in the CIAC Class L Tournament with a pair of wins in the qualifying round.
Though the Black Knights are seeded 13th and the Vikings 16th, with difficult draws, both teams have to be viewed as solid sleepers.
It might be difficult to consider a defending state champion an underdog, but Stamford is seeded lower because it finished the regular season by going 3-3-1 in its final seven games due to a pair of two-game suspensions to a couple of starters and a knee injury that slowed Madi McLaughlin, who last year set a city scoring record with 26 goals.
But McLaughlin had her burst back today. She and Dani Robustelli scored Stamford’s goals in a 2-0 win over Masuk. It took a hot goaltender and a couple of shots off the posts to deny her of several more goals. The Black Knights are a much more dynamic team with McLaughlin at 100 percent — she said she is currently at “98 percent.”
Stamford has a number of stellar senior starters — forward Katie Pape, center midfielder Laura Dembofsky, defenders Emily Powers and Carmen Petrafesa and goaltender Heather Wilson among them — and though it will have to play fourth-seeded Cheshire on Wednesday, it would not be a surprise if the team made a run at a second straight title.
The Vikings dominated Amity today, 4-0, on goals by Alli Oakes, Lauren Hallett, Courtney Van der Linden and Sarah Benjamin. The team finished the season at 7-7-1 but often played at a higher level than their record would indicate. Oakes is one of the state’s top scorers, while Brittany Longo is a leader at the middle of the field.
Westhill now must travel to play Glastonbury, the No. 1 seed, but it has proved all season it has the talent to play at an elite level.
For those who like to dream, Stamford and Westhill need two more wins apiece and then would face each other in the semifinals.