Ian Burgoyne and Darien just had their 34-match winning streak snapped but are poised to make a comeback.
Photo by Jim Sannerud
The conference tournaments are less than two weeks away, and the biggest game of the regular season was played last Saturday (Darien-New Canaan). It's a good time, then, to take a look at 10 teams that should be a factor in the CIAC state tournaments (count how many are from Fairfield County!)
Darien
The first of six teams from the Fairfield County Interscholastic Athletic Conference, the state's home office for the sport. The Blue Wave received a shot of motivation last Saturday as blood rival New Canaan snapped its 34-game winning streak, 9-8, in front of a full house. Darien is among the state's most talented teams, headlined by senior midfielders
Ian Burgoyne (Navy) and
Andrew Pugliese (Boston University) and juniors
Mark Evanchick (defender, Pennsylvania) and
Jack Kniffin (attackman, Brown). An already loaded field in Class L will be even more dangerous this season as Darien, the defending M champion, has joined the fray.
Ludlowe (Fairfield)
The quartet of
Matt Doyle (midfield),
Trevor Demilt (attacker),
Lorin Tobey (midfielder) and
Tim MacDonald (attacker) have provided the bulk of the scoring for the Hawks (10-2). Their two losses were to fellow FCIAC and Class L contenders Ridgefield (15-3) and Darien (13-5). They opened the season with an overtime win over Xavier (6-5) and edged Staples in overtime later in the month (7-6).
Glastonbury
Boys lacrosse may be best played in Fairfield County, but teams such as Glastonbury (11-2) have proven there are quality teams elsewhere. The Tomahawks have a solid interleague win over Class M contender Barlow of Redding (11-5). They also knocked off Newtown last Saturday, 7-6, with
Michael Hawkins scoring his second goal with 1:45 left in overtime.
Andrew Cendana added two goals in the win. Glastonbury closes the regular season May 22 at fellow Central Connecticut Conference foe Simsbury (9-2).
Greenwich
One of the state's other marquee games last Saturday was Greenwich vs. Fairfield Prep in a nonconference rivalry. Greenwich ransacked the Jesuits, 21-12, behind the play of
Will Perry (four goals, three assists),
Montana Larson (four goals) and Michigan-bound senior
Decker Curran (three goals, one assist). The defending Class L champions haven't lost in-state yet and boast wins over fellow FCIAC powerhouses Ridgefield (14-13), New Canaan (13-10) and Staples (7-6, OT). The Cardinals will be involved in the game of the week as they play host to Darien on Saturday.
New Canaan
Virginia-bound senior
Michael Kraus (four goals, three assists),
Kyle Smith (one goal, two assists) and
Drew Morris (11 saves) helped the Rams hand New Canaan its first loss since 2013. New Canaan (9-2) has only one in-state loss (Greenwich) and will be challenged this week with games at Fairfield Ludlow (Tuesday) and St. Anthony's (Melville, N.Y.) on Saturday. The Class M runner-up seeks its fourth CIAC state title and first since 2003. They'll be favored to win M this spring.
North Haven
The Indians may be the hardest team to judge from afar. They're 11-1, but they've played just four winning teams, among them Guilford and Hand. Everyone will have a clearer impression of North Haven after this week, as it lost to Xavier on Monday (13-7) and plays host to four-time Southern Connecticut Conference champion Fairfield Prep on Thursday. Seniors
Cole Pecora and
Colin Uyeki have done the majority of the offensive damage for the Indians.
Ridgefield
Here's the lowdown on the Tigers (10-3) — their two in-state losses were by a goal each. The upside is that Ridgefield was thisclose to knocking off Greenwich (14-13) and Darien (10-9), so one should recognize that it will be a factor in both the FCIAC and Class L races. Seniors
Simon Mathias (Penn) and
Ryan Dunn and sophomore
Schuyler Blair have paced the offense. Blair scored the game-winner with 1:22 left in Saturday's double overtime win over Staples.
St. Joseph (Trumbull)
The defending Class S champions have certainly played the toughest schedule of any team in that division. They knocked off New York Section I power Pleasantville (13-6), and should be toughened up by conference losses to New Canaan (17-5), Greenwich (8-7, OT) and Darien (20-4). The Cadets have two more difficult matches left as they play at Staples (10-3) on Thursday and play host to Ludlowe on May 18.
Staples (Westport)
Yep, the Wreckers are the seventh and final FCIAC team on this list. Staples (10-3) is more than deserving as it has won by at least four goals. And it would rather not play another overtime game, as those are the only times it has lost (to Ludlow, Greenwich and Ridgefield). Senior longstick middie
Isaac Paparo (UMass) leads one of the state's stingiest defenses (5.15 average). You can bet that the Wreckers want another shot at the Ludlowe, Greenwich and Ridgefield in both the conference and Class L tournaments.
Xavier (Middletown)
The Falcons make it seven Class L teams on this list. Monday's win over North Haven was their 10th straight since opening the season with a 6-5 overtime loss at Fairfield Ludlowe. They also have wins over Guilford (10-4) and Hand (9-4). Seniors
John Ford (midfielder),
Zach Odell (goalie) and
Wesley Reid (attackman) and junior
Jameson Kief (defenseman) have been among the team leaders. Xavier plays host to Simsbury this Saturday and plays at SCC kingpin Fairfield Prep next Wednesday.
