Expect the Whale Cup men's soccer series between Connecticut College and Coast Guard Academy to resume as early as next season.

The two local programs played 40 straight years before ending the annual meeting in 2016 after Conn College posted a 1-0 win. The Camels lead the overall series, 26-11-3.

The Whale Cup has been a fiercely competitive game throughout the years. Play has turned physical and tempers have flared at times.

COVID forced the cancellation of the 2020 season and also impacted scheduling for this fall. But that obviously had nothing to do with not having the Whale Cup in 2017, 2018 and 2019.

CGA's Chris Parsons, who's in his 20th season, is open to resuming the rivalry.

Since that last meeting, Kenny Murphy, who coached in the 2016 game, left Conn after the 2018 season. His former assistant, Reuben Burk, is now in charge.

"Conn has changed coaches and Reuben has done a great job," Parsons said. "COVID didn't really allow us to change our schedules too much because we just honored what we had in 2020. The hope is that we'll play them in 2022, if we can find a date. Get the Whale Cup back at it."

The sooner, the better.

Too bad the two teams didn't meet this season.

The Bears carried an undefeated record (7-0-1) and No. 14 national ranking into Tuesday night's game against Westfield State while the Camels, who began the season in the top 10 before falling out of the Division III poll, are off to a solid 4-2 start.

Mariners riding a wave

• Mitchell College sophomore Abigail Rasmussen, a Three Rivers Middle College graduate from Montville, repeated as the women's cross country rookie of the week and also won the runner of the week after finishing eighth out of 48 runners at the Blazer Classic last weekend.

• Junior Evan Carney, an NFA graduate, and freshman Liam Robb were named the men's cross country runner and rookie of the week, respectively. It's the second time that Carney has earned that honor this season. Carney was 10th at the Blazer Classic while Robb, the repeat winner of the rookie of the week, placed 13th.

Tracking the Bears

• Senior Amanda Dake helped spark the Coast Guard Academy volleyball team to three wins last week, earning her the New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference offensive athlete of the week in that sport. Dake chipped in 47 kills, 26 digs and 11 aces in the matches for the Bears (9-4, 2-1 in the conference). She is ranked second in the NEWMAC in kills with 158.

• Call junior John Flood "Mr. Clutch." Flood scored his third game-winning goal of the season in a 1-0 shutout of Clark University on Saturday. He's tied with senior Mike Daunt (four goals) for the team lead in points with eight on three goals and two assists. The Bears own five one-goal wins this season.

Camel highlights

• Former Old Lyme star Mya Johnson and Kat Norton, who both played club soccer for Southeast, are a dangerous combination for the Connecticut College women's soccer team. They've combined for four of the team's five goals and two of the four assists through five games.

• The field hockey's top scorer is a freshman. Rowan Galanis leads the Camels with three goals.

Around the region

• Ledyard High School graduate Lexi LaPerle, a sophomore defender from Gales Ferry, scored her first collegiate goal for the Curry College women's soccer team in a 6-0 shutout of Mitchell College on Sunday.

• East Lyme's Sam Whittaker, The Day's 2018 boys' cross country runner of the year, is running for the Bucknell University program. Whittaker, a junior, recently competed in the Father Bede Invite in Loreta, Pa.

• Freshman wide receiver Mike Vincent, a Waterford graduate, had two receptions for 13 yards in the UMass Dartmouth football team's 52-7 rout of Worcester State on Saturday. Griswold graduate Logan Chappell, a sophomore defensive back, had two tackles, including one for a loss, and a pass break-up. New London's Tyler Gmyr started on the offensive line.

• Sophomore linebacker Cameron Belton, an NFA graduate, had two tackles for Southern Connecticut in a 38-9 loss to New Haven on Saturday.

• Fitch graduate Nora Ryan, a sophomore middle blocker for the Plymouth State volleyball team, was named the Little East Conference rookie of the week after averaging 2.8 kills in a pair of 3-0 wins. She is third in the league in hitting percentage.

• Freshman defensive lineman Davin McIver, a Ledyard graduate, had a season-high three tackles for the Castleton (Vt.) football team in a 55-3 loss to St. Lawrence on Saturday.

• Chase Speller of Waterford is a redshirt junior running back for the American International College football team. Through four games, he's had 27 carries for 104 yards and scored a touchdown. He's also had a 16-yard touchdown catch.

• East Lyme graduate Sydney Iannantuono, The Day's 2018 volleyball player of the year, is a junior outside hitter for Simmons University in Boston. She leads the team with 111 kills and ranks third in the Great Northeast Athletic Conference.

• Fitch graduate Kelsi Ursini, a freshman forward for the University of Saint Joseph in West Hartford, has scored three goals in seven games, including two game-winners.

• Andrew Janus, a Bacon Academy graduate, is a junior member of the Stonehill College men's cross country team.

• Stonington graduate RJ Parrilla is a key contributor for the 21st-ranked Babson men's soccer team. A junior back, he's started all eight games and had his first assist of the season in 2-0 win over Emerson Saturday.

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