Connecticut 2024

[connecticutlaxfan]

Any thoughts/previews on what CT lax will look like in 2024? Never too early!

My top 10 in the state (with little thought or analysis behind it):

1 - Darien
2 - New Canaan
3 - Cheshire
4 - Staples
5 - Ridgefield
6 - Prep
7 - Greenwich
8 - Wilton
9 - NDWH
10 - Weston

[Kismet]

Keep in mind NDWH mandatory move to L for next year.

[connecticutlaxfan]

Hearing rumblings that boys lax might be moving to a 4 class system this Spring (LL, L, M, S)

Anyone hearing the same? Or different?

And if it’s true what are the implications?

[Kismet]

4 Classes - LL, L, M, S

Word is Cheshire will be in L while all the major FCIAC teams will be LL including Darien,, New Canaan and Wilton (up from L)

Moving up by rule - NDWH to LL; St Joe, NW Catholic & East Catholic to L; St Paul Catholic to M.

Suspect Daniel Hand will be M with Barlow and Weston. NF likely in S.

[ToastDunk]

Hey CT lacrosse family, a BIG thank you to all of you who participated and supported Sticks for Soldiers this past November. Because of you we were able to make the following donations.

$5K — Fisher House of Boston

$10K — Boulder Crest Foundation
https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/ur ... 2458471425

$45K — Army National Guard SPC (Ret.) Reda Said
https://www.instagram.com/p/C3LRQULxRSC/

We're making a difference. Past honorees tell us so.

[FC_YAK]

Any thoughts/previews on what CT lax will look like in 2024? Never too early!

My top 10 in the state (with little thought or analysis behind it):

1 - Darien
2 - New Canaan
3 - Cheshire
4 - Staples
5 - Ridgefield
6 - Prep
7 - Greenwich
8 - Wilton
9 - NDWH
10 - Weston

Not much to argue as it the season hasn't even started yet but my top 4 (only putting 4 because I think these are the only teams with a legit shot to be #1 at the end):
1. Staples - returning a ton at all the key positions.
2. Darien - Pokorny is a stud and they will have the most depth.
3. New Canaan- Stacked defense but not sure about scoring.
4. Cheshire- Jeffrey is a stud but they have some other nice parts. Not as deep as the top teams in the FCIAC but Jeffrey alone is a different maker.
5-10. Some mix of the above schools although I don't see WIlton or NDWH being in it.

[random observer]

My initial thoughts:

1. Darien: This reminds me a bit of the 2014 team, which came off a historically weak season the year before but returned almost the entire lineup with a deep senior class to go undefeated. I don't expect this team to be as good as that one, but they should be definitively better than the 2023 edition of the Wave; on paper it's pretty much the same team as last year but a year older – the only players on the two deep they lose are starting defensemen Jake Wilson (Loyola) and Mac McGahren (Bucknell), and third attackman Dylan DeRiso. On defense they have one of the best goalies in the state in Carter Hagen (Loyola), two returning starters in Will Bonner (sr, Tufts) and Mark McNamara (4 star jr, PSU), and should be able to back fill from a handful of poles who started for the top tier local clubs. At midfield, the entire top six returns including seniors Briggs McGuckin (Colby), Griffin Ruppenstein (Bates), and Elliot Lancaster, and sophomores Max McBride and Ben Bilodeau. Those two had the most productive freshman seasons ever for a Darien midfielder (in part due to necessity), and should see a big jump this year. On attack, the senior duo of Brady Pokorny (ND) and Porter Barnett (Richmond) is back for a third year together. The sophomore class is extremely deep and could see a couple more players emerge into the starting lineup depending on how things shake out. The big question mark, as is often the case for Darien, is the FOGO position. One thing to note is that Darien has started to get hit harder by prep school poaching like some of their rivals. A 2024 middle reclassed at GP last year and is now a top 20 recruit in the 2025 class. A 2025 middie reclassed at Brunswick and is considered one of the top recruits in the class of 2026. Lawrenceville poached a high caliber LSM prospect out of the sophomore class, as well as the best FOGO the youth program had produced in years. Their starting FOGO from last season reclassed as a 2026 at Salisbury in the off-season. Still, I feel overall this team has more than enough depth to overcome these losses with the possible exception of the FOGO.

2. Staples: Probably deserve co-favorite consideration as back-to-back champs, but given that they actually lose a few key pieces, I have them a bit lower than Darien – although like Darien, I think Staples will be better in 2024 than they were in 2023. Defensively they should be very stout, returning their entire backline (although they do lose their LSM Michael Nealon, who was a force on the offensive end in transition and secured a walk on spot at Maryland this fall). The specialist positions are in great shape with an elite junior goalie in Josh Marcus (UNC) and a two headed FOGO unit in Cisco Cilotto (Gettysburg) and Jay Anastasi. The first line midfield is also in great shape with senior Ben Burmeister (ND) flanked by 4-star juniors Tristan Schaeffer (Colgate) and Cam Prior (Bucknell). The big question mark is the attack unit, which loses party starter Sam Clark (Army) and top goal scorer Gavin Rothenberg (Colby). 4-star junior Adam Udell (Michigan) is the only returning starter here, but just how good Staples can be depends on how well Clark and Rothenberg are replaced by guys like seniors Tyler DiMaio and Charlie Iannone (RIT).

3. New Canaan: Defensively this team should be a headache for opponents. Last year’s squad played most of the season without its top two defenders due to injury and still played stout defense. Both Dillon Stephens (Syracuse) and Gray Tamasco (Richmond) should be back healthy for the senior seasons, flanked by a really good group of junior poles in Bryce Lyden (IL #39, Michigan), Brayden Robie (BU), and LSM Will Hayes (Denver). The specialist positions graduated, but NC has another quality FOGO stepping up in JT O’Neill (Jr, Denver) and sophomore Cameron Lyden is a quality prospect in goal. They also have a freshman goalie in Jack Crowell who was first team all-world in the youth lacrosse world series. Speaking of freshman, I believe this class as a whole was undefeated every year at the youth level – although I believe a few players are reclassing before heading off to prep school. Although the defense is title caliber, the offense has question marks. The midfield is deep led by Collin Finnigan, but maybe lacks a game changing alpha. Senior Doster Crowell (Michigan) is a quality dodger down at attack, but his bread and butter is working off of another dodger/feeder so that he can make use of his terrific outside shot and interior finishing ability. James Towers – who got a lot of run at attack as a sophomore and is a great feeder – is now reclassing at AOF. Can New Canaan find the kind of elite dodging presence that they’ve been missing at the attack position since Michael Kraus graduated? If so, that would go along way towards bridging the gap between them and the top 2.

4. Cheshire: They lose attackman Charles Kurtz (UMass), and goalie Connor Atwater, but most of the other headliners from the SCC and Class M champs are back. It all starts with the #1 ranked player in the country, ND bound midfielder Matt Jeffery. But he’s not alone: junior Sean Grevelding (Vermont) is an extremely underrated attackman with slippery dodging skills and a snappy shot. Senior Adam Vernon (Salisbury) was another big time scorer who returns, along with junior middie Adam Potyrala. And perhaps most importantly, senior FOGO Ryan Grove (Sacred Heart) returns after a dominant season where he was perhaps the best draw man in the state. I’ll admit I know less about the defense/who they graduated from a year ago, but with what they bring back offensively and a great FOGO to feed them possessions, this team is going to be a force regardless.

5. Fairfield Prep: This is where things start to get a bit murkier. After a promising but ultimately disappointing 2023 where they really should have been the best team in the state, the Jesuits must get off the canvas after graduating one of their best classes in recent memory: Tyler Fox (BU), Maddux Little (Hamilton), Peter Grandolfo (Bucknell), Marco Firmender (Penn), and Luke Lombardo. To make matters worse, highly ranked junior middie Brendan Mullahy (ND) transferred to Taft. But the cupboard is far from bare, with junior goalie Matthew Barry and the entire starting defense of Palmer Firmender (Richmond), Gavin McCarthy (Bryant), Cooper Callahan (Sacred Heart), and George Hawley (Dartmouth) returning. They also have one of the better FOGOs in the sophomore class in Cole Garrett, and the Shannehan brothers (BU) to lead the offense. Junior Air Force commits Emmett Crotty and Nate Estrella are also talented players who have waited their turn and are ready to make an impact. If the offense can click to complement the defense, this team can again challenge the teams above them.

6. Ridgefield: This was an extremely inconsistent team last year, but at their best they were dangerous. They actually lost a decent amount of players from last year’s team, but return the most important pieces bar middie Chris Reinhardt. I don’t love the depth for them, but they have big time players at key spots. It starts with the electric UVA bound Kyle Colsey at attack, and his defensive counterpart Michael Dowd (Brown). But just as important are the Penn brothers anchoring the specialty units. There are also a few junior middies to round out the middle of the field in Jake Carney (Sacred Heart), Walker Fiore (Dickson), and Desmond Couri. Lastly, they have two freshman attackmen that I think may start right away in Chris Colsey and Conor Vickers. Chris appears to be as highly regarded as his brothers, and Vickers has garnered plenty of accolades at showcases as well. Coach Colsey also has that pesky zone defense up his sleeve to cause issues if need be. Bottom line, I think this team lacks the depth to be among the favorites, but they have enough talent to play more than just spoiler.

7. Wilton: This team graduates a massive senior class. The entire starting attack of Teddy Johnson, Michael Wall, and Dave Sylvester. The Rath brothers at midfield. Spencer Liston at FOGO. Andrew Wiest on defense. And yet, I think Coach Pearsall has shown consistently that he knows how to get the most out of this roster and build as the season goes along: last year’s squad looked dead in the water in the opening weeks, but rebounded to beat Chaminade and win the FCIACs for the first time this century. There are still pieces in place to work with especially on defense. Sophomores Trevor Galligan (goalie) and Jake Padilla (LSM), are highly regarded, LSM Conner Flanagan (Utah) is undersized but a terror on both ends of the field with his stick, and junior Jack Schultz (Loyola) completely erased Pokorny, Colsey, and Crowell in the FCIAC tournament. LSM Nate Rath rounds out what could be one of the better defenses in the state. Much like Fairfield Prep, how far this team goes depends on how much the young offense can develop, spearheaded by junior Joey Hagerty and talented sophomores Charlie Calabrese and Connor McAndrews. Another note it that the Wilton youth program has rebounded considerably in recent years, and those efforts are about to be felt at the high school level in the coming years.

8. Greenwich: Depth-wise, the Cardinals are still a shell of what they were as a program roughly a decade ago. But this team does have some quality pieces to play spoiler here and there. Junior attackman Mikey Brescia (Loyola) and junior middie Collin Zeller (Yale) will be the leaders on offense, with sophomore Teddy Johnson being one of the best poles in the 2026 class in the state on the defensive side. Seniors Lane Critchell (FOGO) and Adam Kim (LSM, Quinnipiac) will also be important contributors. The question, as usual is depth – can this team find enough supporting contributors to build a strong team greater than the sum of it parts? I won’t pretend I know enough about what’s in the pipeline in Greenwich to make a judgment on that.

9-onwards: Likewise, I’m not in the know enough to speak beyond the top 8 to say who is going to have a strong year and maybe break through into the group above. Typically if there is such a team, it usually comes from Simsbury, Glastonbury, Hand, Ludlowe, or St. Joe’s.

[Kismet]

LL will be a dogfight - any number of teams could win it.
L is Cheshire all the way
M - Hand v Weston again maybe Barlow
S - NF maybe Somers with outside shot

[connecticutlaxfan]

Anyone hear about how the jamborees/scrimmages went today/earlier this week?

[fritz44]

1. Darien
2. New Canaan
3. Staples
4. Cheshire
5. Fairfield Prep
6. Wilton
7. Ridgefield
8. Greenwich
9. Fairfield Ludlowe
10. Glastonbury


Wilton lost its opening game against Somers 10-9, they had 3 good looks in the last 2 minutes to tie it up but couldn’t. This looks like a rebuilding year for Wilton, I only counted 6 seniors playing and the main scorers were either Freshman or Sophomore’s, particularly Will Viggiano and Connor McAndrews. Ryan Smith was the only senior who was a major contributor on offense. They played solid defense but had a lot of trouble clearing the ball and had a few really bad mental errors that resulted in turnovers. They used 3 different guys on face-offs and struggled from the x for most of the game. Junior Connor Buccichio did ok in the second half but they don’t seem to have a designated FOGO on the team at this point. They also used 2 goalies, Senior Quin Silva in the 1st half and Sophomore Trevor Galligan in the 2nd half. Not really sure why Pearsal is using 2 goalies, from what I’ve seen Galligan is clearly better, in a 1 goal loss like this that decision may have been the difference between a win and a loss especially considering Somers scored 8 goals in the 1st half and only 2 goals in the 2nd half. Still Somers looks a lot better then last year and Wilton should be competitive with everyone in state except maybe Darien and NC.


Also from watching the Prep vs Darien livestream looks like Brady Pokorny is not playing? Anyone have any idea how long he will be out for? Also Prep just tied it

Wilton vs Somers:https://events.locallive.tv/events/143216 



Prep vs Darien: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j651HfpDFxM

[fritz44]

Prep wins in OT 8-7 over Darien. Maybe we will have another wild and wacky year where nothing makes sense. Hopefully .

[Kismet]

Prep wins in OT 8-7 over Darien. Maybe we will have another wild and wacky year where nothing makes sense. Hopefully .

Wilton lost to Somers NY 10-9
New Canaan tops Mamaroneck NY 8-4

[random observer]

Prep wins in OT 8-7 over Darien. Maybe we will have another wild and wacky year where nothing makes sense. Hopefully .

Not completely surprising with Darien down several key starters. Wave were without their top attackman (Pokorny), top middie (McBride), and top defenseman (McNamara). Unfortunate timing with Brunswick on deck next week; don’t like their chances of giving the Bruins a game without them. If any of those injuries are long term Staples are definitive favorites.

[connecticutlaxfan]

New Canaan handled Mamaroneck without Crowell (returning all American Michigan commit attack man), Finnigan (returning 1st team FCIAC middie), or Tamasco (Richmond commit pole). Not sure if it was injuries or still out due to hockey stuff or what. Either way, pretty impressive and they'll only get better.

Darien should be just fine when (if!?) everyone comes back. Faceoffs were their only major weak point coming into the year and they seemingly did alright against a strong Prep unit. Fairfield Prep did look very good and played well as a team. Excited to see how the rest of their season goes. Both Prep and Darien have a gauntlet of an out of conference schedule so we'll see how they fare with that.
Edit: I was wrong about the faceoff disparity. Prep had a large advantage. I didn't watch a lot of the game and clearly it did play a big role (GametimeCT just put out an article about it).

Wilton losing by 1 to Somers is somewhat positive for them in my eyes. Wilton graduated all 6 offensive starters and half the defense along with their goalie and the best FOGO in the state, whereas Somers returned everyone from an ok year last year. Somers is a quality, experienced team and given Wilton's inexperience and youth the fact that it was so close (and apparently could've been a win with the right goalie) I think they'll be a-ok.

Cheshire handled Barlow, no shock there. Excited to see how their game with NC goes. if the Rams are still missing all those key contributors I'd say Cheshire would be a heavy favorite. Regardless that is probably the game of the week.

Outside of those games, Staples, Ridgefield, and Greenwich all didn't play today but open up with some big games this week. Staples playing Stepinac, Ridgefield against Manhasset, and Greenwich vs. St Joe's. Interested to hear how anyone thinks those games, and any of the others will go.

[Kismet]

Interesting - Greenwich only has 15 games scheduled - means they only need 6 wins to qualify - had they done this last year (6 wins) they would have made the tournament. Live and learn!!

[BlueWarrior]

Well here we are. Class LL is here with all FCIAC powers "opting up". But Cheshire (like last year) stays put. WE've been screaming for a clear State Champion for HOW LONG? And the Rams decide not to come to the party (again). They beat Prep last year for the SCC title (and if memory serves went undefeated) but didn't opt in for the chance to play the best in the state. They are consistently one of the state's top-performing programs. They have a young man who has been touted as best player in the country...yet they stay put? Ram fans - please help us understand this logic.

[Kismet]

Well here we are. Class LL is here with all FCIAC powers "opting up". But Cheshire (like last year) stays put. WE've been screaming for a clear State Champion for HOW LONG? And the Rams decide not to come to the party (again). They beat Prep last year for the SCC title (and if memory serves went undefeated) but didn't opt in for the chance to play the best in the state. They are consistently one of the state's top-performing programs. They have a young man who has been touted as best player in the country...yet they stay put? Ram fans - please help us understand this logic.

This is the downside of creating more championship opportunities. Rams should have opted up to LL but instead they are a lock for another trophy for their awards case. Maybe finally Hand Tigers will get that first and elusive title - likely have to go through Weston again.

[random observer]

Well here we are. Class LL is here with all FCIAC powers "opting up". But Cheshire (like last year) stays put. WE've been screaming for a clear State Champion for HOW LONG? And the Rams decide not to come to the party (again). They beat Prep last year for the SCC title (and if memory serves went undefeated) but didn't opt in for the chance to play the best in the state. They are consistently one of the state's top-performing programs. They have a young man who has been touted as best player in the country...yet they stay put? Ram fans - please help us understand this logic.

They won the SCC title, but didn't go undefeated. Prep beat them in the regular season (in a crazy game where they were up 13-5 w/ 5 minutes remaining, before Cheshire went on a furious comeback to get it to 13-12), as did New Canaan (7-6) and Iona Prep (18-12).

[pcowlax]

Well here we are. Class LL is here with all FCIAC powers "opting up". But Cheshire (like last year) stays put. WE've been screaming for a clear State Champion for HOW LONG? And the Rams decide not to come to the party (again). They beat Prep last year for the SCC title (and if memory serves went undefeated) but didn't opt in for the chance to play the best in the state. They are consistently one of the state's top-performing programs. They have a young man who has been touted as best player in the country...yet they stay put? Ram fans - please help us understand this logic.

Nice to see you posting BlueWarrior! Do the kids still say lame? Because that is what the decision by Cheshire is. It is very possible (likely) that they would not win in LL (don't have the depth of talent as top FCIAC teams) but they are and outstanding team and would have a puncher's chance. This is the best team they will have for a long time with what is certainly the best player they will ever have. They have a state title with him already, why not challenge themselves? Would love to see Hand win, this isn't a particularly strong year for them but they don't have to go through New Canaan (who was their finals road block so many times) or stacked Cheshire.

[BlueWarrior]

Well here we are. Class LL is here with all FCIAC powers "opting up". But Cheshire (like last year) stays put. WE've been screaming for a clear State Champion for HOW LONG? And the Rams decide not to come to the party (again). They beat Prep last year for the SCC title (and if memory serves went undefeated) but didn't opt in for the chance to play the best in the state. They are consistently one of the state's top-performing programs. They have a young man who has been touted as best player in the country...yet they stay put? Ram fans - please help us understand this logic.

Nice to see you posting BlueWarrior! Do the kids still say lame? Because that is what the decision by Cheshire is. It is very possible (likely) that they would not win in LL (don't have the depth of talent as top FCIAC teams) but they are and outstanding team and would have a puncher's chance. This is the best team they will have for a long time with what is certainly the best player they will ever have. They have a state title with him already, why not challenge themselves? Would love to see Hand win, this isn't a particularly strong year for them but they don't have to go through New Canaan (who was their finals road block so many times) or stacked Cheshire.

That's what I get for relegating my lacrosse attention span to several years of mediocre D3 ball in the midwest. Was somehow convinced that Cheshire went undefeated last year. Tough to figure out why they would be happy to chow down on Choice sirloin when Prime ribeye was right there for them to sample. Thinking back to 2010 and the steamroller that was the Todd Heritage-led squad that took down Prep for the Class L crown - that team would have given their eye teeth (is that still a saying and what the heck is an eye tooth anyway) to have played "down" and take on Class M champs Darien. We used to spend considerable time calling for a "Tournament of Champions" - and now that we have 4 classes, can't we PLEASE have two more games...a semifinal/final between the Class Champs?