By Dave Stewart
MaxPreps.com
GREENWICH, Conn. - One year ago, at just about this time, the Greenwich Cardinals weren’t viewed by many as a good pick to win the FCIAC boys’ lacrosse championship.
The Cards were certainly in the mix to contend, but with perennial conference favorite Darien and a strong senior-laden New Canaan squad in the hunt, Greenwich kind of slipped into the shadows.
So much for predictions.
Greenwich wound up going 18-4 and beat New Canaan, 12-8, to win the school’s first FCIAC title in boys’ lacrosse.
One year later, there has been a big change in perceptions when it comes to the Cardinals, who feature a star-studded lineup of veterans and now carry the tag of the team to beat in the FCIAC.
“Last year, no one thought we’d go anywhere, that we’d have a .500 record, and we ended up winning the FCIACs,” senior co-captain Jim Dunster said. “This year it’s completely different. Everyone has us at the top of their lists. Now we have to show everyone that we belong up there.
“Coach says the target’s on our backs this year and we don’t have a problem wearing it," Dunster added, "as long as we keep playing like we are.”
Greenwich’s starters include three All-Americans — the junior Jared Horowitz on attack, Dunster at midfield, and senior co-captain Jonathan Meyers on defense — and five other returning starters, including senior Ryan Benincasa, a superstar on face-offs.
Having such an experienced lineup is a luxury in terms of knowing technical aspects and the approach of the program and the confidence of having been in the winner’s circle before.
“It’s nice because we know we’re going to be able to generate goals,” coach Paul Burke said. “We tell them all the time, teams aren’t going to have a third or fourth pole to match up against some of our guys. We have guys that would be getting long poles if they played on a different offense, but our fifth or sixth offensive player can score, so that’s a problem for defenses.”
With technical aspects and strategies of the game in order, Burke’s most important message to the team this preseason had to do with attitude.
“I said it in a preseason article...it’s about complacency and a lack of concentration when you’re dealing with 15- to 18-year-old kids,” he said. “They start believing some of the press clippings before they start to play.”
So far, things have worked out for the Cards, who have opened the season at 2-0. They defeated Norwalk, 16-8, in the season opener last Thursday on the road and then upended New Canaan, 12-7, on Saturday at home in a rematch of last year’s FCIAC final.
The many facets of the offense were on display against the Rams, as six players scored goals for Greenwich. Horowitz scored four, Dunster had three goals and an assist and senior Tucker Stafford had two goals and an assist.
There were some stumbles, as the Cards failed to capitalize on a three-minute man-up advantage and allowed New Canaan to score on a few fast breaks off Greenwich mistakes, but overall, a victory is a victory.
“Our offense played all right but we’ve got to start finishing our shots and our defense has to get our second slides down,” Dunster said. “But as a whole, it’s a win, and we need about 14 more by the end of the season to go 16-0. We’ll keep working. Coach Burke will keep working us, all of our coaches will, and we’ll just continue to keep getting better and better.”
It’s a scary thought for the rest of the FCIAC that Greenwich could get better this season. The only thing which eluded the Cardinals’ grasp last year was the State Class L championship, as they lost a heartbreaker to Fairfield Prep, 10-9, in the final.
The Jesuits have beaten the Cards three out of four games during the past two seasons, and Greenwich is looking forward to the next match-up on Saturday, April 12.
“The whole thing is beat Prep,” Dunster said. “It was a heartbreaker last year by one goal and now we want to go out, win FCIACs again and win that State final. They have a lot of people going great places, they have a great offense, but we think we can match up with them. We know that we’re just as good as them if not better and we’ve got to show that.”
Greenwich has plenty of firepower itself, with an offensive-minded group led by Dunster and Horowitz.
Dunster, who had 48 goals and 18 assists as a junior, will play for North Carolina next season.
“He’s difficult for anybody to guard,” Burke said. “I don’t think there’s too many kids in the state who can guard him and prevent him from getting shots off. He may not win every single 1-on-1 match-up, but he’s going to get opportunities. Either he’s going to put a reasonable shot on (goal) or he’s going to find somebody. That’s why he was an All-American last year and why I think he’s a viable candidate for player of the year.”
Horowitz had an outstanding season last year, scoring an FCIAC-leading 66 goals to go along with 30 assists. Those numbers are even more astounding considering Horowitz was only a sophomore at the time.
“Jared is just incredible because he plays with an awful lot of poise,” Burke said. “He never seems to be going too fast, never seems to be going out of control, but yet he seems to end up with a lot of goals every game. He just creates opportunities — he’s great at controlling his body and that kind of stuff.”
Horowitz is joined on attack by Stafford and junior Matt Feeney, while the midfield features Dunster, senior Sean Sutton and Benincasa.
The Virginia-bound Benincasa is a huge factor for the Cards, as the senior seldom loses a face-off.
“We’ve been working a lot on Ryan and we know he’s going to win the face-off,” Burke said. “Prep showed us three long poles on the line to kind of offset what he does. We’ve been working a lot on him getting the ball and moving it and everything else. He’s improving and it’s a matter of confidence.”
The defense includes four senior long poles in Meyers, Brian Milazzo, Tyler Gwozdz and Bob Sullivan, and junior goalie Kyle Feeney.
Meyers, a standout running back for the Greenwich High football team, will be playing football and lacrosse for Princeton next year.
“When Jon is concentrating and playing the way he’s capable of, he’s just incredible,” Burke said. “He’s bigger and faster and stronger than most other kids out there. It’s great for us to be able to say our No. 1 guy on defense can offset your No. 1 guy on offense most times.”
It’s certainly a far cry from the way things used to be for Greenwich, which was on the outside looking into the FCIAC bubble of New Canaan, Wilton and Darien. In a span of five years with Burke at the helm, and with consistency in the coaching — Frank Wells with the junior varsity and Joe Vrtiak with the freshmen — Greenwich has become one of the class programs in the conference and the State.
Burke also pointed out perhaps the biggest factor in the change at GHS.
“Honestly, it’s been the commitment of the players and their willingness to work offseason,” the coach said. “They’ve dedicated themselves to improving their lacrosse game.”
Blue Wave Rolls Past New York Champs
Playing its typical powerhouse schedule, the Darien Blue Wave received a six-goal performance from Tyler Foley and rolled to a surprisingly easy 19-6 road win over defending New York Class B State champion Jamesville-DeWitt on Saturday
Colin Delaney and Mike Ryan each scored five goals for Darien, which improved to 2-0. John Bolton added two goals, Brendan Eppley scored once, and Nikki Dysenchuk had four assists.
For Jamesville-DeWitt, which is based in the Syracuse area, Nick Marshall had a hat trick; Mike Edwards scored twice and John Clark scored once.
Darien had opened the season last Wednesday with a 15-3 romp over the Staples Wreckers. Ryan scored seven goals in that game, while Dysenchuk had three goals and three assists.
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.
