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Two of the most highly anticipated soccer games of the year kick off Wednesday at Norwalk High School -- the boys and girls championships of the Fairfield County Interscholastic Athletic Conference tournament.
The girls begin at 5 p.m. as No. 5 Westhill meets No. 2 Greenwich. In the boys game, No. 2 Staples meets No. 4 Fairfield Warde at 7 p.m.
Westhill (11-2-4) has won both its previous playoff games on penalty kicks. Goalkeeper Jenn Osher delivered the game-winning penalty kicks for the Vikings in wins over St. Joseph and Darien. Greenwich (12-1-3) defeated Fairfield Warde and Staples to reach the championship game. Greenwich and Westhill battled to a 1-1 tie on Oct. 26.
The boys championship features two streaking teams. Fourth-seeded Warde (11-3-3) has won eight straight games, including tournament victories over Ridgefield and New Canaan. The Wreckers (14-2-1) are riding a 13-game unbeaten streak into the final. Staples defeated Warde, 2-1, in a regular season game on Sept. 14. It was the first league game of the season for both teams.
Staples is the two-time defending league champion. Fairfield won the league title in 1999, before it split into Warde and Ludlowe. Fairfield also lost in the 2001 title game to Westhill. "I don't think we'll be intimidated,'' Warde coach Justin Ottavio said. "They're a great program with a tremendous legacy. We're trying to create our own legacy."
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