Connecticut Championship Previews: Soccer, Volleyball, Field Hockey

CONNECTICUT — State championship time has arrived for high school soccer, girls volleyball and field hockey teams across Connecticut, as the CIAC tournaments conclude with 15 title contests slated for Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

All eight soccer finals will be played over the weekend at Trinity Health Stadium (formerly Dillon Stadium) in Hartford, home of the state's only pro soccer team, Hartford Athletic. Three volleyball finals will take place Saturday at East Haven High School, with the Class S crown being decided Friday at Sport and Medical Sciences Academy in Hartford. As usual, the three field hockey title tilts are slated for Saturday at Wethersfield High School.

Tickets for CIAC championship games are only available digitally, and may be purchased at the GoFan website. There will be no paper tickets.

Some interesting facts and tidbits about the upcoming finals:

• The finals will have Lions (Northwest Catholic), Tigers (Mercy) and Bears (Granby Memorial), oh my! There will be two schools each of Falcons (Xavier, Joel Barlow), Spartans (Shepaug Valley, Lewis Mills) and Rams (New Canaan, Bristol Central).
• St. Joseph girls soccer seeks its fourth straight state championship, and second in a row in Class LL. Darien volleyball is looking to three-peat in LL, while Farmington volleyball (L), Coventry volleyball (S) and Staples field hockey (L) hope to duplicate last year's title success.
• Four schools will be represented in a pair of finals: Farmington (boys soccer, volleyball), Shepaug Valley (boys soccer, field hockey), Sacred Heart Academy (girls soccer, field hockey) and Darien (volleyball, field hockey).
• Five programs in the finals have already claimed more than 10 state titles: Darien volleyball (19), Farmington boys soccer (13), Coventry volleyball(12), Darien field hockey (11) and Branford field hockey (11). St. Joseph girls soccer and Farmington volleyball each have nine state crowns, and are hoping to break into double figures this weekend.
• Of all finals teams with previous state titles under their belts, Glastonbury volleyball has endured the longest drought, last winning a state crown in 1993.
• Shepaug Valley boys soccer, Morgan girls soccer, Bristol Central volleyball and Sacred Heart Academy field hockey seek their first state titles in their second championship appearances. Northwestern Regional boys soccer and Coginchaug girls soccer are making their first trips to a championship game.
• Just three matchups will feature the top two seeds squaring off: St. Joseph-Mercy girls soccer (LL), Staples-Darien field hockey (L) and Branford-Guilford field hockey (M).

Here is complete information about each title contest, including championship game histories and links to team rosters and season records. Games are on Saturday, Nov. 16 unless otherwise indicated.

BOYS SOCCER

Class LL
11/17, 6:15 p.m.

No. 4 Xavier Falcons vs. No. 7 Farmington River Hawks

Regular season: X 13-1-2; FAR 11-1-4
The road to the finals:

• X: d. Harding 9-1; d. Stamford 3-0; d. Glastonbury 3-2; d. Trumbull 2-1
• FAR: d. Hamden 1-0; d. Conard 2-0; d. Fairfield Prep 2-1; d. Greenwich 4-1

Title game record: X 1-1; FAR 13-6
Last state championship: X 1995 (LL); FAR 2021 (LL)
Rosters

Class L
11/16, 3:30 p.m.

No. 8 Pomperaug Panthers vs. No. 18 Brookfield Bobcats

Regular season: POM 10-2-4; BRO 7-3-6
The road to the finals:

• POM: d. Kaynor Tech 10-1; d. North Haven 3-0; d. Bethel 2-1 (OT); d. Cheshire 4-2
• BRO: d. Guilford 1-0 (OT); d. East Lyme 1-0; d. Wethersfield 2-1 (OT); d. Newington 5-2

Title game record: POM 1-0; BRO 3-1
Last state championship: POM 2011 (LL); BRO 2016 (M)
Rosters

Class M
11/16, 12:45 p.m.

No. 6 Tolland Eagles vs. No. 24 Weston Trojans

Regular season: TOL 11-3-2; WES 5-4-7
The road to the finals:

• TOL: d. Montville 6-0; d. Joel Barlow 3-1; d. Daniel Hand 5-0; d. Stonington 3-0
• WES: d. Hartford Public 2-1; d. Waterford 3-0; d. Wolcott 2-1 (OT); d. Ellington 1-0 (OT)

Title game record: TOL 2-1; WES 1-2
Last state championship: TOL 2015 (M); WES 2005 (M)
Rosters

Class S
11/17, 10 a.m.

No. 1 Shepaug Valley Spartans vs. No. 7 Northwestern Regional Highlanders

Regular season: SV 14-1-1; NWR 11-3-2
The road to the finals:

• SV: 1st round bye; d. St. Paul 3-1; d. Immaculate 2-1; d. Morgan 3-1
• NWR: d. Bolton 6-1; d. East Granby 3-1; d. Somers 1-0; d. Granby Memorial 4-3 (OT)

Title game record: SV 0-1; NWR 0-0
Last state championship: SV none; NWR none
Rosters

GIRLS SOCCER

Class LL
11/16, 6:15 p.m.

No. 1 St. Joseph Cadets vs. No. 2 Mercy Tigers

Regular season: SJ 16-0; MER 15-0-1
The road to the finals:

• SJ: 1st round bye; d. Greenwich 1-0; d. Fairfield Warde 5-0; d. Ridgefield 2-1
• MER: 1st round bye; d. Glastonbury 1-0; d. Notre Dame Prep 2-1; d. Amity Regional 4-0

Title game record: SJ 9-1; MER 2-0
Last state championship: SJ 2023 (LL); MER 2022 (M)
Rosters

Class L
11/17, 3:30 p.m.

No. 7 Sacred Heart Academy Sharks vs. No. 9 New Canaan Rams

Regular season: SHA 12-3-1; NC 11-3-1
The road to the finals:

• SHA: d. New Milford 4-0; d. Avon 2-0; d. Waterford 2-1 (OT); d. Woodstock Academy 2-1
• NC: d. Joel Barlow 7-2; d. Pomperaug 2-0; d. North Haven 4-0; d. Guilford 3-1

Title game record: SHA 1-0; NC 7-2
Last state championship: SHA 2021 (M); NC 2009 (L)
Rosters

Class M
11/16, 10 a.m.

No. 4 Lewis Mills Spartans vs. No. 19 Northwest Catholic Lions

Regular season: LM 11-2-3; NWC 8-5-3
The road to the finals:

• LM: d. Sheehan 3-0; d. Stonington 3-1; d. Weston 4-0; d. Tolland 3-0
• NWC: d. Daniel Hand 2-1 (OT); d. Bacon Academy 1-0 (OT); d. East Hampton 4-1; d. Nonnewaug 4-0

Title game record: LM 1-2; NWC 4-2
Last state championship: LM 2018 (M); NWC 2015 (M)
Rosters

Class S
11/17, 12:45 p.m.

No. 5 Coginchaug Blue Devils vs. No. 7 Morgan Huskies

Regular season: COG 11-2-3; MOR 10-3-3
The road to the finals:

• COG: 1st round bye; d. Lyme-Old Lyme 1-0; d. Lauralton Hall 3-2; d. Cromwell 3-1
• MOR: 1st round bye; d. Valley Regional 5-0; d. Coventry 6-0; d. Thomaston 2-0

Title game record: COG 0-0; MOR 0-1
Last state championship: COG none; MOR none
Rosters

GIRLS VOLLEYBALL

Class LL
6 p.m.

No. 3 Darien Blue Wave vs. No. 5 Glastonbury Guardians

Regular season: DAR 17-2; GLA 13-5
The road to the finals:

• DAR: 1st round bye; d. Ridgefield 3-0;d. Staples 3-0; d. Greenwich 3-2
• GLA: 1st round bye; d. Conard 3-1; d. Amity Regional 3-0; d. Southington 3-2

Title game record: DAR 19-2; GLA 1-0
Last state championship: DAR 2023 (LL); GLA 1993 (L)
Rosters

Class L
3 p.m.

No. 1 Farmington River Hawks vs. No. 10 Bristol Central Rams

Regular season: FAR 19-1; BC 12-8
The road to the finals:

• FAR: 1st round bye; d. Avon 3-0; d. Rockville 3-1; d. East Lyme 3-1
• BC: d. Stratford 3-0; d. Masuk 3-0; d. RHAM 3-2; d. Woodstock Academy 3-1

Title game record: FAR 9-4; BC 0-1
Last state championship: FAR 2023 (L); BC none
Rosters

Class M
noon

No. 3 Granby Memorial Bears vs. No. 4 Joel Barlow Falcons

Regular season: GM 19-1; JB 16-2
The road to the finals:

• GM: 1st round bye; d. Weston 3-1; d. Nonnewaug 3-0; d. Sacred Heart Academy 3-0
• JB: d. Notre Dame Prep 3-0; d. Lewis Mills 3-0; d. Griswold 3-0; d. Seymour 3-1

Title game record: GM 1-0; JB 2-7
Last state championship: GM 2014 (M); JB 2022 (L)
Rosters

Class S
11/15, 6 p.m.

No. 2 Valley Regional Warriors vs. No. 5 Coventry Patriots

Regular season: VR 18-2; COV 16-4
The road to the finals:

• VR: 1st round bye; d. Norwich Tech 3-0; d. Canton 3-0; d. Lauralton Hall 3-0
• COV: 1st round bye; d. St. Paul 3-0; d. Haddam-Killingworth 3-0; d. Immaculate 3-1

Title game record: VR 3-2; COV 12-3
Last state championship: VR 1989 (S); COV 2023 (S)
Rosters

FIELD HOCKEY

Class L
1:15 p.m.

No. 1 Staples Wreckers vs. No. 2 Darien Blue Wave

Regular season: STA 15-1; DAR 15-1
The road to the finals:

• STA: d. Stamford 9-1; d. Amity Regional 10-0; d. Fairfield Ludlowe 11-1
• DAR: d. Trumbull 8-0; d. Ridgefield 4-0; d. Wilton 2-1

Title game record: STA 5-1; DAR 11-5
Last state championship: STA 2023 (L); DAR 2022 (L)
Rosters

Class M
11 a.m.

No. 1 Branford Hornets vs. No. 2 Guilford Grizzlies

Regular season: BRN 13-3; GUI 11-5
The road to the finals:

• BRN: d. E.O. Smith 5-0; d. New Canaan 2-0; d. Pomperaug 4-0
• GUI: d. Waterford 8-0; d. East Lyme 3-1; d. Simsbury 2-0

Title game record: BRN 11-4; GUI 5-7
Last state championship: BRN 2022 (M); GUI 2021 (M)
Rosters

Class S
3:30 p.m.

No. 2 Sacred Heart Academy Sharks vs. No. 12 Shepaug Valley Spartans

Regular season: SHA 11-3-2; SV 11-4-1
The road to the finals:

• SHA: d. Sheehan 3-0; d. Lauralton Hall 1-0; d. North Branford 3-2 (OT)
• SV: d. Immaculate 5-3; d. Stonington 2-1 (OT); d. Daniel Hand 2-1

Title game record: SHA 0-1; SV 2-3
Last state championship: SHA none; SV 2002 (S)
Rosters