New Haven Register (New Haven, CT)
Rams unrivaled
Cheshire dominates Hand to win first state title since 2010
FAIRFIELD — It’s been 13 years since Cheshire won a CIAC boys’ lacrosse championship when it beat Fairfield Prep in 2010.
That long wait is over.
The Rams (19-3) dominated Hand from start to finish to grab their third state crown, and first in Class M, with an 18-3 victory over the Tigers at Campus Field at Sacred Heart University Sunday afternoon.
“I was here in 2010 and it felt pretty nice as a player. It feels just as good now,” Cheshire coach Mike Devine said. “I’m just so excited for our players and alumni and for Steve Trifone last game as he retires as athletic director. This town and our kids deserve it.”
It was the third win for Cheshire over Hand this spring, including a 15-5 triumph in the Southern Connecticut Conference semifinals last month. Cheshire finished with only two losses in the state, those coming to Fairfield Prep and New Canaan.
“After coming up short last year to Wilton, we looked in the room and saw what we had to use,” said Cheshire All-American Matt Jeffery. “It’s a blast to be with this group of kids. It’s a story for a lifetime.“
The big factor was that Cheshire’s Ryan Grove dominated the faceoff circle, winning most of the draws especially early in the game, which kept possession in the Rams’ hands.
“Everyone talks about Matt Jeffery, Charles Kurtz and now (goalie Connor) Atwater, but nobody talks about Ryan Grove,” Devine said. “He is what gets us the ball. Sometimes even I forget about him, but he’s the kickstarter and energizer bunny. He helps the defense out by making sure we get offensive possessions all day long.”
The opening half was all Cheshire as the Rams grabbed a 6-0 lead after one quarter. Jef
fery had a hat trick in the first quarter, including a pretty third goal where he spun in between a pair of Hand defenders in back of the net, cut to the left side and spun again to beat a defender before he unleashed a rocket into the top of the net that made it 4-0 with 2:06 remaining in the period.
“You don’t see that at the public school level,” Devine said. “Matt is a fantastic leader for us. He wants more for his teammates than himself and to leave it better than he found it.”
Jeffery ended up with six goals after being double teamed the last time Cheshire played Hand.
“They figured it out that we were sharing the ball a lot and they shut me off in the beginning, so we ran a couple plays to get them out of it,” Jeffery said. “They got out of it real fast they put a shortie on me. Coach Devine got me the ball and told me to go after it.”
Hand finally got on the scoreboard with 10:29 left in the second quarter on a goal by Will Kleine to make it 6-1. Up until that point, the Tigers had just three shots.
“They’re a really strong team top to bottom offense, defense, face-off and goalie,” Hand coach John Orlando said. “They are really tough.”
Cheshire then scored the final five goals of the first half with five players, including Jeffery scoring his fourth goal of the game. Adam Vernon, Sean Grevelding and Charles Kurtz each notched their second goal of the game before halftime as the Rans took an 11-1 lead at the break.
In the second half, Cheshire increased its lead to 16-3 at the end of three quarters and enabled running time once it got a 12-goal edge. Vernon added two more
goals to make it four in the game, while Grevelding had three goals in the contest.
The Rams worked down the clock for a lot of the fourth quarter, scoring just twice.
It was the seventh appearance for in a Class M state title game for Hand (15-7), which has finished in the runnerup spot each time, including six since 2015.
“We’re proud of the achievement
to get to the final game of the season,” Orlando said. “Not too many people get to this game. We have to keep working hard to get there.”