By Dave Stewart
MaxPreps.com
A smiling Spenser Parnell was drenched in sweat and the senior said he felt as if he weighed 15 pounds heavier in his soaked Fairfield Prep lacrosse jersey. But after Parnell set up Chase Bailey’s game-winning goal in the third overtime of the State Class L championship game, the hot and humid day must have seemed just a bit cooler for the Jesuits.
Bailey’s fifth goal of the game came 56 seconds into the third OT, ending a marathon game with Fairfield Prep on top, 15-14 over Ridgefield, in the State final at Brien McMahon High School in Norwalk.
This was a true classic, complete with numerous lead changes, big goals and dramatic defensive stands. With the 90-plus heat bearing down on the players on the field for nearly 57 minutes of game time, the thought of winning a third straight title was what carried the Jesuits through.
“Just being able to get that three-peat,” Parnell said. “No other Prep team has ever done that and we didn’t want to be remembered as the team that didn’t get it done. There was an expectation there at the beginning of the season and we had a lot of guys step up. (Goalie Ryan) Langano stepped up and we had a lot of young kids step up like Mike Carey and Brendan Nizolek. It was just a team effort.
“Three overtimes is crazy. (Ridgefield) played an amazing game. They kept us on our toes and we were going back and forth the whole game.”
The winning sequence came after two scoreless overtime periods in which both goalies — Brad DePrima of Ridgefield and Langano of Prep — made terrific saves on what seemed like sure goals.
Parnell scooped up a ground ball near midfield and charged up the right side toward the goal. As Bailey, a junior, trailed him, the Ridgefield defense took a fatal step and Parnell saw the opening.
“I made the dodge and I was thinking I was going to go to the cage, but Bailey’s kid slid up and he got right in the gap. I just put it there and he did the rest,” Parnell said.
Bailey nailed in the goal and with that, the Jesuits began their celebration, tossing their sticks to the sky and piling up on Bailey near the far sidelines.
“It’s incredible, this was the biggest game of the year for us and we were able to come out on top,” Bailey said.
“This season, we had really high expectations and we got off to a slower start than we wanted to, but we picked it up towards the end and this is where we ultimately wanted to be.”
Each team finished the season with a 19-4 record. The Jesuits were also SWC champs, while Ridgefield reached the FCIAC final for the first time in school history, falling to Darien in the title tilt.
Prep received points from eight players, with Bailey scoring a game-high five goals to go along with three assists. Sophomore Brendan Rotanz (3 goals, 1 assist), Parnell (2 goals, 1 assist), senior Paul Finlay (2 goals, 1 assist), senior Rob Rotanz (1 goals, 2 assists), senior Ward Gruppo (2 assists), junior Brendan Nizolek (1 goal, 1 assist) and senior John Cunningham (1 goals) all got on the board.
Langano made nine saves, including three in OT, and the defense featured senior Jimmy Doyle, Cunningham, sophomore Darric White and junior Harley Brown.
Ridgefield received offense from junior Colin Scott (4 goals, 3 assists), sophomore MIke Galione (3 goals, 2 assists), junior Brendan Walsh (3 goals), junior Matt White (2 goals, 2 assists), senior Jordan Tiger (1 goals, 2 assists), and junior Matt Baker (1 goal). DePrima made 16 saves.
The Tigers got the early drop on the Jesuits by scoring the first three goals, including two in the first two minutes. In the second quarter, Ridgefield led by scores of 5-2, 6-3, and then 7-4 with 8:33 to play.
Prep came back with goals from Bailey, and Rob and Brendan Rotanz to tie the game 7-7 with 3:14 on the clock and Finlay gave the Jesuits their first lead at 8-7 heading to halftime.
But White tied it with a quick goal in the third quarter and that began a back-and-forth second half. Ridgefield took three leads in the third quarter but the Jesuits answered each time and eventually took a 13-11 lead with 10:42 remaining.
Goals by Scott and Galione tied the score yet again, but the Jesuits went back up on a goal by Finlay, assisted by Gruppo, with 3:09 left. The lead was still 14-13 two minutes later, but Scott deadlocked the teams again with 56 seconds remaining.
That set up overtime, with the Jesuits eventually getting the three-peat they sought.
“I think this was the best game of our season,” Parnell said. “We ended on the winning side. It would have been a shame to have my final game at Prep be a loss, but we were able to step up and get the three-peat.”
Class M: Darien Routs Rival Rams
The Darien Blue Wave is no stranger to the winner’s circle, but coming up nearly perfect in a year in which they weren’t favorites and then beat rival New Canaan 11-4 in the final to boot? Now that was Blue Wave heaven.
“It’s the team-bonding and the team camaraderie and how everybody on this team is so close — we’re all like brothers,” goalie Jameson Love said. “We have a four-peat and we went out beating our rival team in the State championship. There’s no better feeling.”
For Darien (22-1), the victory in the Class M championship game marked their fourth straight state title and their third consecutive win over the Rams (14-7) since last year’s state semifinals.
Despite the score, New Canaan actually had an early two-goal lead, as senior Max Shaw scored twice and senior Chip Murray scored once during the first eight minutes of play.
After that, it was all Darien, which went on an 8-0 run to take control on offense while the defense allowed just one goal during the final 40-plus minutes.
“The key is we didn’t panic,” senior Colin Delaney said. “We’ve been here before and we knew this was going to be a battle. We weren’t surprised with the way they came out. The difference was we responded right away, our defense tightened up and offensively, we possessed the ball a little more. We put a stranglehold on the game and didn’t let them get back in it.”
The Wave was nearly unbreakable after the first eight minutes, as Love (9 saves) and the defense which featured Tim Clinton shut down the Rams and their lead scorer Teddy Citrin.
“They made my season easy,” Love said of the Wave defensemen. “They didn’t let one shot inside 10 yards and that’s my comfort zone. They pressured New Canaan and didn’t give up anything. They made me look good.”
Junior Nikki Dysenchuk led the Darien offense with five goals and an assist. Junior Chas Brickman (2 goals, 3 assists), junior Tyler Foley (1 goal, 2 assists), Delaney (1 goal, 1 assist), senior Mike Ryan (1 goal) and senior Kevin Joy (1 goal) also got in on the scoring.
New Canaan’s final goal came from senior Luke House, with senior goalie Fergus Campbell making a dozen saves.
The contest was a far cry from the teams’ first meeting, when New Canaan nearly pulled off the upset before falling, 7-6, at Darien High School.
“Whenever it’s Darien and New Canaan, it’s the rivalry and you kind of throw everything out the window in terms of expectations,” Delaney said. “The last game was a perfect example of that. We didn’t play as well as we could have and they had a good game plan that they executed well against us. That definitely carried over for us. We knew they have the ability to play with us, but we didn’t want to leave any doubt that we’re the best team in the state.”
And with the victory, the Wave had proven their preseason naysayers wrong with yet another double championship in the FCIAC and States this spring
“We always expected to be here,” Delaney said. “People can say whatever they want in the preseason, but it’s how it ends up at the end. We have the experience of being here. We always expect to be here in the end, and we’re thankful that we were able to come together and do it again.”
Class S: New Fairfield Simply Perfect
In Saturday’s final state championship game, the New Fairfield Rebels wrapped up a perfect 23-0 season with a 17-7 victory over the Weston Trojans for the Class S crown. It was the Rebels’ 18th win by 10 or more goals this spring.
Andrew Fiamengo, C.J. Costabile, Sean Macey and Mike Hopkins all had hat tricks for New Fairfield, while Pat Cassidy scored twice and Ryan Harro, Chris Mallon and Matt Murphy each scored once. Costabile also had four assists.
Goalie Nick Costabile made nine saves for the Rebels, who outscored Weston 13-4 in the final three quarters.
For the Trojans (14-8), goalie Josh Briskman made 22 saves, Jeff Ledwick had a hat trick, Robbie Cordisco scored twice and Sean Ledwick and Nick Figliola each scored once.
