WESTPORT, Conn. — The Staples (Westport) Wreckers’ season-long pursuit of perfection came to an end in the blink of an eye as they were knocked off by the St. Joseph (Trumbull) Cadets, 10-7, in the FCIAC boys lacrosse quarterfinals Saturday in Westport.
The Cadets opened the fourth quarter with three consecutive goals scored by Mike Marini, Brian Bacarella and Bob Ciotti to break open what had been a close game. The loss was a heartbreaker for head coach Paul McNulty’s Staples squad, which had gone 16-0 during the regular season and earned the No. 2 seed in the FCIAC tournament. Staples will get another shot at a title when it begins the State Class L tournament as the No. 1 seed next week.
St. Joe’s (12-5) came into the quarterfinals as the No. 7 seed, but was no stranger to big games, having won the State Class S championship over Weston last spring. The contest was close throughout, as the score was tied 1-1 after one quarter and 3-3 at halftime before the Cadets went ahead 7-6 heading into the fourth quarter.
Goalie Tim Izzo was outstanding for St. Joseph, collecting 17 saves to help overcome a huge disadvantage in shots on goal. The Wreckers had the better of the play in the first half, but Izzo and the Cadet defense held strong to keep the score tied.
Staples scored first when Charlie Ross nailed in a goal, but the Cadets’ Pat Corcoran answered moments later with an assist coming from L.J. Hunt. In the second quarter, Corcoran again scored, but this time Staples responded as Brendan Waiter went end-to-end for the equalizer. The Cadets regained the lead with five minutes remaining in the half when Tom Dellamarggio bounced a shot past goalie Austin Waiter. With 20 seconds on the clock, Nate Greenberg knotted the score again.
Staples’ Kip Orban scored three minutes into the second half to give the Wreckers their final lead at 4-3. Marini then scored off a feed from Tyler Hardy to tie the score 30 seconds later. Bacarella and Corcoran followed with a pair of goals during a half-minute span to give the Cadets a three-goal run and a 6-4 lead. Ross pulled Staples back to within a goal, 6-5, after a pass from Jack Ambrose.
The teams then traded a pair of goals as the Cadets carried the 7-6 lead into the fourth. Marini scored to put the Cadets back up by two, and Bacarella and Ciotti followed with goals 28 seconds apart to put St. Joesph in firm control at 10-6 with 6:16 remaining. Ross, who led the Wreckers with three goals, scored the final tally with 3:27 left, but the Cadets held on for the 10-7 upset.
Bacarella led the Cadets with a hat trick, with all three goals coming in the second half. Corcoran also had a hat trick, while Marini scored twice.
2. New Canaan tops Wilton in latest chapter of historic rivalry: While Darien has dominated Connecticut lacrosse for the past decade, the state’s oldest rivalry belongs to the Darien Rams and Wilton Warriors, who have combined to win 20 of the FCIAC’s 33 championships.
Saturday in the FCIAC quarterfinals at Dunning Field, the two teams added another dramatic chapter to their storied history. In a game which was similar to the regular-season meeting between the two clubs, Wilton had the edge for the first three quarters before New Canaan pulled away with a 4-0 fourth quarter to earn a 12-8 victory.
The Rams (14-3) came in as the No. 3 seed, while Wilton (11-6) was the No. 6 seed. The Warriors led 8-6 with 5:41 remaining, but the New Canaan defense, led by Kevin Campbell, Ian Knechtle, Bobby Femia and James Cody, clamped down and held Wilton scoreless for the final 17:41, allowing for the comeback.
With 2:51 on the third-quarter clock, Todd Bratches set up Oliver Norton for a low goal to close the gap to one at 8-7. Bratches then chased down a loose ball along the sidelines, carried it to the back of the Wilton net and tossed it in front to Joe Costigan for a goal to tie the game at 8-8 heading to the fourth frame.
Three minutes into the fourth, the defense knocked the ball free from a Wilton stick and Ron Balzano scooped it up for a breakaway. The senior charged up the middle to the cage and flipped a pass to Henry Eschricht on the left post for the score, giving New Canaan its first lead at 9-8 with 9:08 remaining.
Cody Newton then netted consecutive goals 43 seconds apart for an 11-8 lead with 7:41 remaining. New Canaan dominated the field for much of the final eight minutes, scoring the final goal when Sam Stanton picked up his fourth with 37 seconds to play. Stanton led New Canaan with a four-goal performance, while Bratches dished out four assists. Norton, Newton and Costigan scored two goals each.
3. Darien looks strong in playoff opener: Darien barely broke a sweat in its first postseason game Saturday, as the Blue Wave rolled out to an 12-0 lead in the first quarter and defeated the Trumbull Golden Eagles, 21-1, in the FCIAC quarterfinals.
The top-seeded Wave (15-2) fired on all cylinders, as 14 different players scored, 18 had points and the defense racked up five goals and five assists.
Case Matheis and Brian Gleason led the barrage with three goals each and Matheis added one assist. Henry West had two goals and two assists; Alden Frelinghuysen and Jon Magnusson had two goals apiece; and J.P. Walsh and Eric Parnon had one goal and one assist each.
Also scoring were Bobby Nolan, Wyatt Keith, Richard Gregory, Ben Preston, Bobby Weaver, Robbie Winter and Alex Brown. Assists were registered by George Benitez, Bayliss Treen, Justin Shaw and Scott Waters. For No. 8 Trumbull (11-6), Dan Milhalko scored the only goal, while Jordan DeGeorge had one assist.
4. Greenwich Cards roll past Ridgefield in quarterfinals: The FCIAC will crown a new boys lacrosse champion this week, as the Ridgefield Tigers were upset by the Greenwich Cardinals, 8-5, in the quarterfinals at Tiger Hollow on Saturday.
Greenwich opened the second half with a 4-0 run to turn a 3-2 deficit into a 6-3 lead and the Cardinals held the advantage the rest of the way. The Cardinal victory came just a few weeks after Greenwich was routed by Ridgefield, 16-9, in the teams’ regular-season meeting.
Greenwich (9-4) came into the tournament as the No. 5 seed, while Ridgefield (12-5) was seeded No. 4. With Greenwich trailing by one goal in the third quarter, Dan Palmer scored to knot the score 1:20 after the faceoff. Todd Stafford followed with a goal at 1:59, and Colin Dunster added another score at 2:06 to make it 5-3 for the Cards.
Palmer then added his second goal to give Greenwich a three-goal bulge at 3:04. Ridgefield closed the gap with back-to-back goals from Aaron Mathias and Andrew Buckanavage early in the fourth frame, but the Greenwich defense held tough the rest of the way.
Palmer finished with two goals and an assist, while David Dickson added one goal and two assists. David Fraser, Stafford, Dunster, Pete Cabrera and Eric Foote also scored. Goalie Daniel Feeney collected 10 saves in the win.
For Ridgefield, Mathias scored twice, Buckanavage had a goal and an assist, and Mike Galione and Aiden Scott each scored once.
5. FCIAC tournaments in full swing: The FCIAC will crown its baseball, softball and girls and boys lacrosse champions this week.
The softball tournament begins with 20-0 Westhill leading the way to the playoffs. Monday’s quarterfinals games feature No. 8 Stamford at No. 1 Westhill; No. 7 Trinity Catholic at No. 2 St. Joseph; No. 6 Fairfield-Ludlowe at No. 3 Trumbull; and No. 5 Fairfield-Warde at No. 4 Darien. All game start at 4 p.m.
The softball semifinals will begin at 3 p.m. Tuesday at Sacred Heart University, with the final set for 4 p.m. Thursday at SHU. The girls lacrosse semifinals will be held Monday night at New Canaan’s Dunning Field, with No. 3 Greenwich taking on No. 2 New Canaan at 5:15 p.m., and No. 4 Wilton facing No. 1 Darien at 7 p.m.
The boys lacrosse semifinals will face off at Brien McMahon Nigh School in Norwalk beginning at 5 p.m. Tuesday. No. 7 St. Joseph will clash with No. 3 New Canaan in the early game, with No. 5 Greenwich facing No. 1 Darien in the later game at approximately 7:30 p.m.
The FCIAC girls and boys lacrosse finals will take place on either Friday, May 28, or Saturday, May 29, at BMHS.
On Tuesday, the baseball tournament hits the diamond for the quarterfinals. Matchups include No. 8 Westhill at No. 1 Staples; No. 7 Ridgefield at No. 2 Greenwich; and No. 6 St. Joseph at No. 3 Norwalk at 4 p.m., with No. 5 Fairfield-Ludlowe playing at No. 4 Wilton, 4:15 p.m.
The baseball semifinals will be held Tuesday at The Ballpark at Harbor Yard in Bridgeport beginning at 5 p.m., with the final at 7:30 p.m. Thursday at Harbor Yard.
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.
