GREENWICH, Conn. — Scott Bulkley has had plenty of trips to the winner’s circle as part of the Darien Blue Wave boys lacrosse program during the past decade.
But last Tuesday’s win, with Bulkley at the helm for the Greenwich (Greenwich, Conn.) Cardinals, may have topped them all.
The Cardinals nailed down their first victory of the season when freshman midfielder Alex Moeser fired a low shot into the Wilton net with 2:09 remaining in overtime for an 11-10 decision at GHS.
The win was a first for Bulkley, who took over as the Cardinals’ head coach this season. Greenwich began the season with two losses — first to New Canaan, 10-4, and then to New Fairfield in overtime, 8-7.
"We had a huge talk about teamwork after last week’s loss," Bulkley told the Wilton Bulletin. "The guys took it to heart and it showed in their hard work throughout the entire game. I’m proud of them."
The game was a wild affair, as Wilton (Wilton, Conn.) led 3-1 after one quarter and Greenwich didn’t gain its first lead until 3:05 remained in regulation. Ten players scored for GHS, as only Stephen Dodd, who scored twice, found the back of the net more than once. Wilton, which fell to 2-1, received a four-goal effort from senior Jon Andrews.
After the Warriors had the early lead, Greenwich fought back and tied the game at 7-7 in the fourth quarter. With 8:41 remaining, Andrews drilled one home for an 8-7 edge for Wilton, but Daniel Palmer answered for the Cardinals moments later. Palmer’s goal began a three-goal rally which put Greenwich in front at 10-8 with 1:27 to play. Midfielder Eric Foote’s goal with 3:05 remaining gave the Cards their first lead, while Andrew Feeney scored the 10th goal with an assist from Palmer.
Wilton fought back as Mike Francia scored with an assist from Connor Melillo with 1:16 to play. Andrews then sent the game into overtime when he scored with just six seconds remaining. Mosier snapped the tie with his dramatic goal in OT and made Bulkley and the Cardinals winners for the first time this year.
In addition to the two tallies from Dodd, Greenwich received goals from Feeney, Foote, Palmer, Mosier, Daniel Noskin, David Dickson, Woody Waesche, Connor Wasson and Colin Dunster. Wilton received goals from Melillo, Francia, Joe Reardon, Mike Serpa, Gavin Woolard and Matt Kobyra.
2. Darien girls roll past Wilton in battle of last two FCIAC champs: It hasn’t taken long for the Darien Blue Wave girls lacrosse team to stake its claim to the title of Connecticut’s team to beat in 2010.
The Blue Wave steamrolled the Wilton Warriors, 16-9 Thursday, giving Darien a perfect record of 4-0. The win featured the last two FCIAC champions, as Wilton won in 2008, while Darien regained the title last spring. Darien has now beaten two of the FCIAC’s "Big Four," as the Wave also topped New Canaan, 12-7, on April 9. Darien will face the Greenwich Cardinals (3-0), at Cardinal Stadium at 6 p.m., Tuesday.
The Wave actually trailed early on when the Warriors gained a 3-1 lead, but Darien stormed back with a 9-2 run and closed the half ahead, 10-5. The rally continued in the second half, as the Wave outscored the Warriors, 6-4, to win by seven.
Senior co-captains Liz Calby and Cali Ceglarski combined for 11 points as Calby had three goals and three assists and Ceglarski had two goals and three assists. Ann Fucigna had a game-high four goals and one assist, while Paige Gasparino had a hat trick and one assist. Lanning McDonald added two goals and Ellie Bullitt had one goal and three assists. Wilton, which fell to 3-1, had two goals and an assist from Casey Pearsall and two goals from Amy Drummond.
3. New Canaan tops Glastonbury again: The New Canaan Rams and Glastonbury Tomahawks girls lacrosse teams have gotten to know each other very well during the past couple of seasons.
In 2008, the Rams took a double overtime war at New Canaan’s Dunning Field and last year, they won twice, beating Glastonbury by two goals during the regular season and then by one in the State D1 semifinals. Thursday night at Dunning Field, the cross-state rivals battled once again and the result was another New Canaan victory.
Senior tri-captain Anjalie Christie tallied four goals as the Rams bolted out to a 6-1 advantage in the first half en route to a 10-6 decision. New Canaan led 9-3 early in the second half before fending off a late Glastonbury charge.
The win was a marked turnaround for New Canaan (2-1), which lost to Darien, 12-7, in its season-opener less than a week earlier.
"We’ve been working so hard since we played Darien," Christie said. "We focused on our offense, we’ve gotten our shooting percentage up and most importantly, we’ve been working on our motion. We lost a lot from last year and it was expected it would be a little tough at the beginning, but the amount of progress we’ve made in a week is so positive for the rest of our season."
Sophomore Sarah Mannelly also delivered a big game for the Rams, collecting two goals and two assists. Elizabeth Detour scored twice and freshmen Olivia Hompe and Beatrix Eppler scored one apiece. For Glastonbury (2-1), Lauren Pierce had a hat trick, and Leah Zavalick, Jess Searl and Janine L’Heaureaux also scored.
4. Norwalk’s Kelley commits to Sacred Heart: Evan Kelley, a senior with the Norwalk Bears boys basketball team, charted his collegiate course last week when he signed a National Letter of Intent to play at Sacred Heart University next year.
The 6-4 Kelley played guard for the Bears and led the Fairfield County Interscholastic Athletic Conference in scoring this winter. Kelley was also named to the All-FCIAC First Team last month. Kelley will join an SHU team which went 14-15 this winter. He chose SHU over several suitors, including Central Connecticut State University and Fairfield University.
5. Staples’ Speer aces McMahon: Columbia-bound pitcher David Speer already had a career’s worth of memorable performances when he began his senior season with the Staples (Westport) baseball team earlier this month. On April 14 at Brien McMahon High School in Norwalk, Speer delivered one of his best.
The Staples ace fired a complete game one-hitter at the Senators as the Wreckers (4-1) posted a 10-1 decision. Speer was on top of his game from start to finish as he struck out 15 batters, including seven in a row at one point. He also retired the final 13 batters of the game, including 10 via K’s.
The only hit Speer allowed was a slow roller on the infield grass by Nick Cafero. That led to an unearned run, as Cafero later scored when Chris Holomokoff’s fly ball to the outfield fell in for a three-base error. Designated hitter Danny Carbone was the game’s batting star, going 3-for-4 with a home run, a triple, three RBI and two runs scored. Carbone’s round-tripper in the top of the first staked the Wreckers to a 2-0 lead, more than enough for Speer to work with.
Staples also received RBI hits from Brendan Bernstein, Ryan Burke and Colin McCarthy during a four-run sixth inning. Burke had a triple. Speer, who is 17-3 during his high school career, headlines a Staples team which is seeking a third consecutive FCIAC championship.
Dave Stewart, the Sports Editor of the New Canaan (Conn.) Advertiser, is a MaxPreps.com writer and photographer. He may be reached at 203-966-9541 or at sports@ncadvertiser.com.