Connecticut 2023

[fritz44]

Seems like the refs wanted to see it too! What an embarrassingly bad call at 50 seconds left. Too bad for the refs that the game was taped with replay. Showed the replay at least 3 times and Anderson wasn't within 18" of the crease. Even the Darien announcers were befuddled. Count that goal, when the faceoff and game over in the other direction.

Like clockwork. Every time a NE west team loses OOC a post like this shows up.

[LI13]

Seems like the refs wanted to see it too! What an embarrassingly bad call at 50 seconds left. Too bad for the refs that the game was taped with replay. Showed the replay at least 3 times and Anderson wasn't within 18" of the crease. Even the Darien announcers were befuddled. Count that goal, when the faceoff and game over in the other direction.

Like clockwork. Every time a NE west team loses OOC a post like this shows up.

Yup. Bad calls are part of the game. It seems like us public schoolers are better at handling them.

[NEWestFan]

I’m Sorry. There are tough calls. There are bad calls and then there is this. As a former ref I will tell you that in that place and time , you simply cant make that call without being sure. Ask the Darien announcers and Dan Arestia. You certainly cant overrule your partner who is closer to the goal mouth and has already called it a goal. No one should want to see that game end that way...regardless of the outcome.

[FC_YAK]

Bad call or not, Darien proved they are for real.

The fact that a public HS beat the #1 team in the country, with a roster loaded with holdbacks recruited to play lacrosse, is a testament to Coach B.

They shouldn't be in the game, yet there they are, once again. Brunswick should dominate ANY public school team - period.

Chalk another one up for the FCIAC (I"ll even throw Prep in there)!!!!

Darien was clearly up for this game. I still don't think they go undefeated in the FCIAC and their OOC schedule is still a murderers row.

For tonight, they get the spoils and they deserve them.

Hagen stood on his head. Best goalie performance I've seen in a while.

[Laxxal22]

The in the crease call was brutal and the final goal a prayer, but if you don't do enough to put a team away in first 47 minutes then crazy things can happen in the final one. Hats off to Darien on the tremendous win. It looks like somebody forgot to tell them that they're not supposed to be very good this season.

[b1w7o9y7h]

West I fanboy here. That crease violation travesty call disrespected both teams and marred a great game. Two excellent teams deserved better, and blatant ref interference really effed things up. We’ll never know what the last 50 seconds would have been, but it should have rightly started with Wick ahead by one.

[random observer]

Time for me to eat crow. I still think that the past couple of Darien teams were stronger, but clearly this team is much much better than I gave them credit for. FCIACs and states are still wide open to my eyes with Prep, Staples, NC, and Wilton all starting off positively, but it's fair to put the target back on Darien as at minimum co-favorites. Still honestly stunned that in this burgeoning rivalry, it was *this* Darien team against *this* Brunswick team that got the Wave off the schneid. Truly impressive that this program could graduate so many really talented seniors and just get right back off the mat (I think it also highlights that talented as last year's team was, the program experienced a tragedy right before the season started, and it undoubtedly weighed on them).

As for the game itself, we have to start with the fact that the call to wave off the Anderson goal with a minute left was really bad. A minute is too much time to say that the game was put to bed, even with Greenspan winning every F/O, but you would've definitely loved the Bruins' chances of closing the game out. Still, even with the brutal call and the flukey nature of Pokorny's winner, Darien definitely were worthy winners. They overcame a severe FO disparity and played a really clean game. The last time these two played at Darien (a game that Darien really should've closed out even though Brunswick were the better team), the Wave were physically manhandled. But last night Darien handled Brunswick's physicality a lot better, even with a lot of smaller and younger players on the field. They punished Wick every time they had a lapse in communication in transition, and their shooting was lights out. Hagen was phenomenal again, and one has to wonder why he wasn't starting last year given what he has shown so far. The two freshmen seeing time have both played beyond their years, with Bilodeau getting his first two varsity points, and McBride already looking like the most explosive player on the team; he had a dodge early in the first quarter where he blew right past Tomas Delgado like he wasn't even there, and Delgado is as athletic a middie as you'll find anywhere. Brunswick's own freshman middie Giordano was also excellent, finishing with 2 goals on the night (ironically enough Giordano was on the Darien varsity last year as a freshman, and likely would be the Wave's top middie this year had he not transferred to Brunswick).

[b1w7o9y7h]

Time for me to eat crow. I still think that the past couple of Darien teams were stronger, but clearly this team is much much better than I gave them credit for. FCIACs and states are still wide open to my eyes with Prep, Staples, NC, and Wilton all starting off positively, but it's fair to put the target back on Darien as at minimum co-favorites. Still honestly stunned that in this burgeoning rivalry, it was *this* Darien team against *this* Brunswick team that got the Wave off the schneid. Truly impressive that this program could graduate so many really talented seniors and just get right back off the mat (I think it also highlights that talented as last year's team was, the program experienced a tragedy right before the season started, and it undoubtedly weighed on them).

As for the game itself, we have to start with the fact that the call to wave off the Anderson goal with a minute left was really bad. A minute is too much time to say that the game was put to bed, even with Greenspan winning every F/O, but you would've definitely loved the Bruins' chances of closing the game out. Still, even with the brutal call and the flukey nature of Pokorny's winner, Darien definitely were worthy winners. They overcame a severe FO disparity and played a really clean game. The last time these two played at Darien (a game that Darien really should've closed out even though Brunswick were the better team), the Wave were physically manhandled. But last night Darien handled Brunswick's physicality a lot better, even with a lot of smaller and younger players on the field. They punished Wick every time they had a lapse in communication in transition, and their shooting was lights out. Hagen was phenomenal again, and one has to wonder why he wasn't starting last year given what he has shown so far. The two freshmen seeing time have both played beyond their years, with Bilodeau getting his first two varsity points, and McBride already looking like the most explosive player on the team; he had a dodge early in the first quarter where he blew right past Tomas Delgado like he wasn't even there, and Delgado is as athletic a middie as you'll find anywhere. Brunswick's own freshman middie Giordano was also excellent, finishing with 2 goals on the night (ironically enough Giordano was on the Darien varsity last year as a freshman, and likely would be the Wave's top middie this year had he not transferred to Brunswick).

Great report. Selfishly, I wonder if either Darien or Wick have any studs who are Dartmouth commits. Big Green clawing their way up from the deep dark depths.

[Bystanders]

Zero for Brunswick and the Big Green. Callahan hates the school, which has worked out really well for him. Princeton on the other hand has 13% of their roster filled by Brunswick Alums.

[b1w7o9y7h]

Zero for Brunswick and the Big Green. Callahan hates the school, which has worked out really well for him. Princeton on the other hand has 13% of their roster filled by Brunswick Alums.

I’m afraid to ask why that would be? Okay, enough thread drift.

[SlingtheRock7]

Darien comes crashing back down to earth with an 11-2 loss at Manhasset on Saturday. This game was 6-0 at the half, and Darien didn't score until 1:55 left in 3rd quarter during a man-up opportunity. Very tough turnaround for the Blue Wave, having played such a tough/emotional game Thursday night. However, Manhasset deserves a ton of credit. They completely dominated at the X, with Cal Girard (Duke) winning seemingly every draw. Junior defender Jack Mulholland (Dartmouth) also did a very solid job on Pokorny all game. He didn't have any easy opportunities, and Manhasset was great at communicating/getting through on the 2-man action with Pokorny. Granted, the Blue Wave offense really didn't have an abundance of offensive opportunities due to the face-off disadvantage. The Darien O-mids struggled to create any real separation, and Barnet played an uncharacteristically sloppy game. He's not an unbelievable player, but he made some stick work and finishing mistakes that seemed out of the norm. Hagen played alright in the cage, but not at the level he did vs. Prep/Wick. Manhasset got a number of good looks inside with cutters and mental lapses on off-ball defense, so he was left out to dry on a number of occasions. Overall, Manhasset appeared to be by far the better team Saturday.

I'm intrigued to see how Darien will stack up against Chaminade this Thursday. Chaminade has been starting sophomore Quinn Ball at FOGO, and hopefully, Darien can be a bit more competitive there to even out possessions. The Blue Wave are @ Ludlowe tomorrow night and should be able to get up big in order to rest starters by the 2nd half.

[Kismet]

LaxNumbers ratings are live for 20203 (These will provide the seedings for the state tournament this year). Expect they will bounce around a bit until more scores are recorded.

https://www.laxnumbers.com/ratings.php?y=2023&v=3082

You can click on the ratings by class to see how the tournament will be shaping up.

[FC_YAK]

Some observations now that we are a few games in.

1) Darien: still the class of the FCIAC and probably the best team in the state. I think Prep will be there in the end with them and I can see these two trading the 1 & 2 spots in the state polls all year long. They are capable of great play (see Brunswick game) but have a monster of a schedule that is going to expose that they are very good, but probably not great. The L to Manhassett is in some ways shocking and in some ways not - young team riding high with a target on their backs. The will lose more this year but expect them to be there at the end.

2) Prep: Again, they will be there at the end. In my view these are the two best teams in the state and I think they are a level above everyone else. What this Prep team did to Wilton was somewhat shocking but clearly showed they are on a different level. Now, I think Wilton is down significantly this year (more below), but that was a demolishing like they were playing a team from upstate. This is another team that will have some L's on their record because they are testing themselves against the best around.

3) Staples: This team has reloaded and will be tough. They play with a different edge than Staples teams of the past. They have a confidence being the defending Class L champs and it shows in how they play. I think this might be the finest coached team in the league (hard to argue against Coach B) but Koshansky has taken a good program and made them great. I think he's brought a different energy to program in Westport and it's showing now and will continue for years to come. The destruction of Massapequa was eye opening. I wouldn't look to hard at Massapequa's record, they have already played some very tough games and played Chaminade as close as anyone not named St. Anthony's.

4) New Canaan: Another team that is coming of age. This team has played some great non-league games (Mamaroneck, Rumson Fair-Haven) and has managed to stay undefeated. Always well-coached, this team is capable of beating anyone but is probably a notch below the top 3. As always, through out all analysis for the Darien game(s) but I think this team has a real shot to surprise people this year. They are playing great team ball and seem to be in synch.

5) Ridgefield: Always well coached and still has some studs on the field but don't think they are in the Darien/Prep class. The loss to Stepinac is a bit shocking but Stepanic has a strong team this year. They are about to enter the heart of their schedule so we will see where they are. You can always count on Ridgefield getting stronger as the year goes on assuming they stay healthy - which has been a challenge the last few years. As always, Colsey will have them ready to go for league play and they are capable of beating anyone.

6) WIlton: This is not a good Wilton team. I watched the Prep game and they were so outclassed it was hard to believe this team has a chance this year, let alone in class L. Have watched FCIAC lacrosse for 20 years and this is the worst Wilton team I have seen. They couldn't complete passes against Prep and then had the same issues against Stepinac. I had to watch their game against Stepinac because I couldn't believe my eyes against prep. They we so sloppy, I wanted to see if it was just an off night - it wasn't, they are sloppy. Seems like a bunch of new faces on the sideline so maybe it's taking some time to get adjusted to a new staff?? Either way, this looks like a down year.

[random observer]

Would definitely throw Cheshire in their above Wilton and probably Ridgefield as well. Ridgefield sort of let the Stepinac game get away, as they allowed 7 goals in the 4th quarter; they could become more of a factor as the season goes on but I don't think they have enough depth to go all the way. I still think when all is said and done that Fairfield Prep is the team to beat. Tons of experience and loaded with weapons on offense.

Staples is the #2 contender at this point IMO; they just seem more solid and experienced, and they've taken care of business so far. I think they beat the Wave today. Darien has potential and is definitely still in the mix, but since the Brunswick game they've looked more like the down team that I anticipated them being. They just got handed the two biggest beatdowns the program has experienced maybe ever (at least dating back to the early days of the program); Manhasset and Chaminade are excellent but even the 2013 Wave team was never this uncompetitive in a game.

New Canaan has looked exactly as anticipated to my eyes. Tough defense with great face-off play (Darien needs to seriously take notes from the Rams on developing FOGOs), and a workmanlike offense. That's a team that no one is going to enjoy playing in the postseason because they can just frustrate you and take you out of your rhythm on their day even when their offense isn't clicking.

[Kismet]

Would definitely throw Cheshire in their above Wilton and probably Ridgefield as well. Ridgefield sort of let the Stepinac game get away, as they allowed 7 goals in the 4th quarter; they could become more of a factor as the season goes on but I don't think they have enough depth to go all the way. I still think when all is said and done that Fairfield Prep is the team to beat. Tons of experience and loaded with weapons on offense.

Staples is the #2 contender at this point IMO; they just seem more solid and experienced, and they've taken care of business so far. I think they beat the Wave today. Darien has potential and is definitely still in the mix, but since the Brunswick game they've looked more like the down team that I anticipated them being. They just got handed the two biggest beatdowns the program has experienced maybe ever (at least dating back to the early days of the program); Manhasset and Chaminade are excellent but even the 2013 Wave team was never this uncompetitive in a game.

New Canaan has looked exactly as anticipated to my eyes. Tough defense with great face-off play (Darien needs to seriously take notes from the Rams on developing FOGOs), and a workmanlike offense. That's a team that no one is going to enjoy playing in the postseason because they can just frustrate you and take you out of your rhythm on their day even when their offense isn't clicking.

Looking at their schedule they are going to be sweating 7 wins to qualify for the tournament- required no matter what LN rating is. That said they are easily upon Greenwich Saturday

Prep beat Chaminade on the island 13-12 Saturday

[FC_YAK]

Well, let the crazy continue!

Prep takes down Chaminade, who just waxed Darien. Darien loses to Staples after being up 8-1 and Staples missing multiple starters. NC with a 10-4 win over Ridgefield. Wilton beats Greenwich (much needed). An already fun year is only going to get more interesting.

To the poster above mentioning Wilton potentially struggling to get 7 wins - you are right. I just looked at their schedule and see 3 games they "should" win a bunch they shouldn't and a few toss-ups.

[FC_YAK]

Would definitely throw Cheshire in their above Wilton and probably Ridgefield as well. Ridgefield sort of let the Stepinac game get away, as they allowed 7 goals in the 4th quarter; they could become more of a factor as the season goes on but I don't think they have enough depth to go all the way. I still think when all is said and done that Fairfield Prep is the team to beat. Tons of experience and loaded with weapons on offense.

Staples is the #2 contender at this point IMO; they just seem more solid and experienced, and they've taken care of business so far. I think they beat the Wave today. Darien has potential and is definitely still in the mix, but since the Brunswick game they've looked more like the down team that I anticipated them being. They just got handed the two biggest beatdowns the program has experienced maybe ever (at least dating back to the early days of the program); Manhasset and Chaminade are excellent but even the 2013 Wave team was never this uncompetitive in a game.

New Canaan has looked exactly as anticipated to my eyes. Tough defense with great face-off play (Darien needs to seriously take notes from the Rams on developing FOGOs), and a workmanlike offense. That's a team that no one is going to enjoy playing in the postseason because they can just frustrate you and take you out of your rhythm on their day even when their offense isn't clicking.

You might be right about Cheshire, I just don't know much about teams outside the FCIAC.

[fritz44]

Wilton beats Staples 6-4.

As I've said pretty much anyone from the top 6 can beat anyone this year. This is the most balanced year I can remember in at least a decade, maybe two. Tales of doom and gloom have been exaggerated and it really depends on which version of high school kids will show up on any given day. Kids almost always make a lot of mental mistakes early in the season, especially when the weather is cold. Even though they haven't shown much yet I'm tempted to say Ridgefield could pull off an upset of a top team before the year is through.

Wasn't able to get any color on the game since Wilton decided to livestream the girls game and not the boys game unfortunately. NFHS network was typical NFHS network, no help at all. Looking through the twitter box scores though Charlie Rath's name was mentioned, I believe he did not play against Stepinac but I wasn't paying especially close attention.

Prep definitely deserves to be #1 at this point but who knows where we will go from here. We're not even through April and this year has had more surprises than most complete seasons.

[FC_YAK]

Wilton beats Staples 6-4.

As I've said pretty much anyone from the top 6 can beat anyone this year. This is the most balanced year I can remember in at least a decade, maybe two. Tales of doom and gloom have been exaggerated and it really depends on which version of high school kids will show up on any given day. Kids almost always make a lot of mental mistakes early in the season, especially when the weather is cold. Even though they haven't shown much yet I'm tempted to say Ridgefield could pull off an upset of a top team before the year is through.

Wasn't able to get any color on the game since Wilton decided to livestream the girls game and not the boys game unfortunately. NFHS network was typical NFHS network, no help at all. Looking through the twitter box scores though Charlie Rath's name was mentioned, I believe he did not play against Stepinac but I wasn't paying especially close attention.

Prep definitely deserves to be #1 at this point but who knows where we will go from here. We're not even through April and this year has had more surprises than most complete seasons.

Was at the game and it's like a completely different Wilton team showed up. They couldn't throw and catch against Prep or Stepinac and tonight they were in total control. Defense was really solid (looked like a new kid back there I didn't see in the Prep game) and the offense totally controlled possession. Staples was frustrated all night and just couldn't get anything going. Wilton won the X and that was a major factor. All in all, a different team showed up tonight. This season has been awesome.

[JoeMauer89]

Darien 15 Ridgefield 5 Final.

Ridgefield in for a long night tomorrow down at Manhasset.

Joe