Varsity girls soccer advances to state tournament final

Westhill- 2
Ridgefield- 1
Goals: W—Penny Cote, Julia Busto. R—Kathryn Cholko. Assists: W—Tessa Dunster, Kirsten Eriksen.
Records: W 15-2-2, R 18-2-2.

by Jordan Meyer
Columnist

The stage was set, the lights were turned on, and all eyes were focused on the girl soccer players in the semifinal round of the CIAC Class LL Tournament game on Wednesday night at Norwalk High School. The Westhill Varsity girls soccer team, ranked No. 3 in the state, battled their rivals the Tigers from Ridgefield who were ranked No. 2 in the state—one of the only two teams to defeat Westhill in regular season play. It was evident from last night’s game that the baton was being passed to the Vikings as the powerhouse in this rivalry as they defeated Ridgefield, 2-1.

When asked what this rivalry and win meant to her, senior captain Meghan Caldwell humbly said, “It’s such a fulfilling win. They have been huge rivals [of ours] since freshman year and they have knocked us out of the state tournament before so it was our time to give it to them. There was no way we were going to lose this game.” Caldwell gave a heroic performance, considering that she has been playing on a bad knee all season long. After four years of playing for the Varsity squad, she finally has her chance at a state championship.

The second half of the game is where all the excitement and magic took place. Early in the second half, Westhill sophomore Julia Busto scored the first goal of the game, but it was soon erased due to an offside penalty.

With roughly 25 minutes left to play in the second half, Westhill senior Penny Cote connected on a strike past the goalie’s outstretched hands to give the Vikings a 1-0 lead. But with plenty of time on the clock, Ridgefield knew to keep their heads up because this game was far from over and came out strong. The Tigers answered quickly, scoring a goal only a few minutes later, tying the game at 1-1.

Once again, Busto made noise after she scored her second goal of the game (this time it actually counted), giving the Vikings a 2-1 lead and a victory. In the remaining minutes of the game, the Viking girls played defensively in order to preserve their lead and move on to the final round of the tournament.

After the game, senior captain Sarah Hartford, who is playing in her last game on Friday said, “It’s the state finals, I will be so excited. Just getting to the finals gives me the greatest joy, I don’t even think it’s sunk in yet; it feels unreal.” Despite this incredible victory, the girls know that the battle is not yet over—a state championship is their ultimate goal.

The Vikings’ fate will be decided on Friday, November 20 when they face the No. 1 seeded Glastonbury at West Haven High School at 7:00 p.m.

Photos courtesy of Samantha Cowit