The FCPTL enters its final weekend of play this Saturday. While some of the divisional races and relegations have been decided, the majority of the spots are still undecided as teams prepare for their last match of the year. Who will move up and who will move down? All should be decided by Sunday. Below is a recap of where the divisions stand and the Featured Matches for the Week.
As always, current standings can be found here.
Division 1
Congratulations to Wee Burn for clinching the Division 1 title. All season long, Wee Burn had been the class of the division and this past week faced their last obstacle, Wilton Y 1.2, the second place team. Wilton Y 1.2 needed a sweep to have a chance at the title but Wee Burn left no doubt with a 3-1 win.With the division title decided, the only race left to be decided is the second relegation team.
New Canaan CC needed a victory against Greenwich FC but unfortunately lost 1-3. While not mathematically assured of demotion, New Canaan CC will need a sweep this week against in-town rival New Canaan FC while and a loss by Darien CC have any chance of avoiding the drop to Division 2.
Featured Match of Week 12: New Canaan CC vs New Canaan FC. In-town rivals always make for good matches as often the players know each other well and have pride on the line as well. For New Canaan CC, they will need a sweep to have a shot of avoiding relegation. While New Canaan CC will be missing their pro, Patricio Misitrano, so will New Canaan FC, as Brad Easterbrook will also be participating in the Boston Open. With New Canaan FC playing for nothing and New Canaan CC playing for huge stakes, don’t be surprised to see New Canaan CC pull off the upset.
Division 2
Congratulations to Middlesex Club for securing their first promotion to Division 1 with a 4-0 sweep over Stamford Yacht Club. However, their work is not completely done as they still have the Division 2 title banner to capture. Holding the tie-breaker (sets won) over Patterson Club, Middlesex will need 1 point this weekend against Wilton Y to secure the title. However, Middlesex will be without #1 player, Faycal Rhalzi, who like other area pros will be competing in the Boston Open. Thus with Wilton Y needing points to avoid risking relegation, Middlesex cannot rest on their laurels and take things for granted especially as Patterson faces last place Wee Burn and has a decent shot at a sweep.
Patterson should also be motivated for their match as they need 3 points to secure the 2nd promotion spot to Division 1. Woodway and Round Hill are the only other 2 teams mathematically able to catch Patterson, but they will need victories and Patterson to stumble. At the bottom of the standings, Wee Burn will definitely be moving down to D3. In the race to avoid the 2nd demotion spot, Lake Club failed to make up any ground on Stanwich after their 2-2 tie last week. Lake will need a win against a tough Woodway team this week and hope for big losses by Stanwich and Wilton Y if they are to avoid Wee Burn’s fate.
Featured Match of Week 12: Lake Club vs Woodway CC. Both teams will be looking for sweeps albeit for different reasons. Woodway trails Patterson by 2 points for the 2nd promotion spot and will need a sweep to have any hope of moving up to Division 1. Lake, on the other hand, sits on the 2nd relegation spot and will also need a sweep to have a chance of avoiding the slide to Division 3. In these situations, you often in up with a tie.
Division 3
Very little is settled in Division 3. While New Canaan FC has sat at the top of the standings all season, they have still yet to add that division title banner to the Paul Fowler hut as their magic number is now 2 after last week’s 3-1 win over Darien CC. However, New Canaan FC faces 4th-place New Canaan CC this week and you can be sure that New Canaan CC would love to put a dent in their in-town rival’s plans for a title and promotion.
Darien Town remains 2 points behind New Canaan FC after their 3-1 win over New Canaan CC last week. Greenwich CC is not only 2 points behind New Canaan FC for first place but also tied with Darien Town for the 2nd promotion spot. Unfortunately for Greenwich CC, they will have to pull double duty this week and play both Saturday and Sunday after they failed to play in the snow last week, so a lot is on the line for Greenwich CC this weekend.
At the bottom of the division, Lake can already book their ticket to Division 4. The other relegation spot will go to either Burning Tree or Rowayton 3.1. After sweeping Rowayton 3.1 in a critical match last week, Burning Tree now has a 2 point lead and the tiebreaker on Rowayton 3.1; however, Rowayton 3.1 faces last place Lake Club this week, so Burning Tree will need to secure a few points to avoid demotion.
Featured Match of Week 12: Greenwich CC vs Rowayton 3.2. While technically tied with Darien Town for the 2nd promotion spot, Greenwich CC does not hold the tiebreaker. Thus, Greenwich CC will need a win and probably a sweep over a tough Rowayton 3.2 team if they hope to pass Darien Town and secure a spot in Division 2. Hopefully Roger Knight, Matt Peterson, Bill Sawch and company have cleared their weekend schedule, as everything is on the line for the team.
Division 4
Congratulations to Wilton Y 4.1 for clinching the Division 4 title with a strong 4-0 win over Wilton Riding Club. Wilton Y 4.1 has dominated the division all season and now the only question is whether or not they can finish with the best overall record in the FCPTL. For Wilton Riding Club, last week’s sweep was heartbreaking. In a tight race with New Canaan Town 4.1, Wilton Riding Club, who had hoped to make their stay to D4 a one year visit, now find themselves 3 points behind
New Canaan Town 4.1 going into the final week. In the relegation battle, New Canaan Town 4.2 has unfortunately guaranteed itself a spot in Division 5 after being swept by Wilton Y 4.2 last week. Round Hill is currently the second club in danger of demotion after failing to make up any ground last week with a 2-2 split against New Canaan FC. Round Hill faces a 3-point deficit against New Canaan FC and Patterson Club, which might be too much ground to make up with only 1 match left.
Featured Match of Week 12: New Canaan Town 4.1 vs Wilton Y 4.2. New Canaan Town 4.1 came on strong as the season progressed and now finds itself in position to move up to Division 3. They need a single point against Wilton Y 4.2 which isn’t really playing for much but can be a tough out in any given week.
Division 5
Division 5 is the one division where the top 2 spots have been settled. While Roxbury wrapped up the division title and promotion spot last week, Rowayton 5.1 secured the 2nd promotion spot with a 3-1 victory over Middlesex. Things are still unsettled for the 2nd relegation spot. While Stanwich will definitely be moving down, New Canaan CC 5.1, Middlesex, New Canaan FC and Lake Club are all vying to avoid demotion.
Last week, New Canaan FC was sitting in the 2nd demotion spot but took a 3-1 win over New Canaan CC 5.1 to push Lake Club who were swept by Roxbury to the hot seat. This week, while New Canaan FC and Lake face-off against each other, New Canaan CC 5.1 has a tough challenge against 3rd-place Wilton Y while Middlesex faces the other New Canaan CC 5.2 team, who will most likely be trying to help their brother team avoid demotion. With only 3 points separating the 4 teams, there should be some anxious scoreboard/website watching starting Sunday.
Featured Match of Week 12: New Canaan FC vs Lake Club. New Canaan FC jumped ahead of Lake Club last week, putting Lake at risk for demotion. Lake will be looking to reverse the situation this week. A victory by Lake would secure their position in Division 5 while putting New Canaan FC in the precarious position. Likewise, a New Canaan FC victory would make them safe and send Lake down to Division 6. Of course there is a scenario (Lake def New Canaan FC 3-1, Middlesex loses 3-1 to New Canaan CC 5.2 and New Canaan CC 5.1 is swept by Wilton Y) that would result in a 4-way tie for the relegation position. Now wouldn’t that be fun to see?
Division 6
Division 6 is the most scrambled division at the top and bottom. While Aspetuck Valley CC has been class of league and secured their promotion to Division 5 with a 3-1 win over Roxbury, they have yet to clinch the Charlie Scott Division 6 banner. However, with a magic number of only 1, things look good for Aspetuck. The race for the second promotion spot remains highly contested between Darien Town and Wee Burn.
Darien Town currently has the leg up on Wee Burn as they beat Milbrook 3-1, while Wee Burn could only manage a split with Middlesex and now trails by 1 point. However, all will be settled this week when the two teams face off against each other. At the bottom of the standings, Burning Tree lost 3-1 to Rowayton and thus ensured their trip down to Division 7. However, Tokeneke managed to keep their hopes alive of avoiding relegation when then beat Stamford Yacht 3-1 to close the gap with Stamford Yacht to only two points plus gaining the tiebreaker. Tokeneke will still a win and some help from Roxbury but at least they have hope.
Featured Match of Week 12: Wee Burn vs Darien Town. All that is at stake here is promotion to Division 5. Very simply, winner moves up, loser stays in D6. Darien Town can also advance with a tie. It doesn’t get any better than this, so expect a tightly-fought contest where the nerves will surely be on edge.
Division 7
Despite a 2-2 draw versus Wee Burn, Lake Club 7.1 managed to secure both the division title and promotion to Division 6. In the week’s featured match, Wilton Y took on Weston FC and took a 3-1 win and vault over Weston FC into the second promotion spot. Roxbury and Stamford Italian Center swept Middlesex and Lake Club 7.2 to stay in the hunt for the 2nd promotion. So going into the final week, the four teams are separated by 3 points for the last spot into Division 6. Like the relegation race in Division 5, Division 7 should have a wild finish to see who will join Lake Club 7.1 in moving on up.
Featured Match of Week 12: Wilton Y vs Stamford Italian Center. Hard to chose just one this week for Division 7 but Wilton Y holds the second promotion spot and with a sweep over Stamford Italian Center will definitely be headed to Division 6. However, Stamford with a sweep and some help could take the spot from Wilton Y. Among the other contenders, Roxbury has the tough challenge of playing the division leaders in Lake Club7.1, but may get a break as Lake Club 7.1 won’t be playing for much. 3rd-place Weston FC will face a tough Wee Burn team. Most likely, any of the 4 teams that gets a sweep will advance. However, tiebreakers are looking likely here as the determining factor.
