What to know for the 2024 boys lacrosse season
The new Connecticut boys lacrosse season begins shortly. Let’s get you caught up with all the important stuff you need to know before the first faceoff:
2023 champions
Staples (Class L), Cheshire (Class M), Weston (Class S)
Isn’t there an LL division now?
Yes. That’s new. We’ll get to that.
2024 season opens Saturday
Key games
With the concentration of so many top teams, there are near-constant top-10 matchups through the season. So, just for space purposes, we’ll have to leave out many. Here goes:
APRIL — Fairfield Prep at Darien, Saturday, 1 p.m.; Canton at Somers, Thursday, 4 p.m.; Darien at Brunswick, Thursday, 6:30 p.m.; North Branford at Haddam-Killingworth, April 9, 1 p.m.; Staples at Darien, April 13, 3 p.m.; New Canaan at Ridgefield, April 13, 4 p.m.; St. Paul at Watertown, April 15, 7 p.m.; Ridgefield at Darien, April 18, 4 p.m.; New Canaan at Fairfield Prep, April 25, 6 p.m.; Weston at Hand (Surf Club), April 27, 1 p.m.; Darien at New Canaan, April 27, 1:30 p.m.; Weston at New Fairfield, April 30, 4:30 p.m.
MAY — Cheshire at Fairfield Prep, May 2, 6 p.m.; Ridgefield at Brunswick (Carroll Field), May 3, 3:30 p.m.; Stonington at East Lyme, May 3, 10 a.m.; Wilton at New Canaan, May 9, 6:30 p.m.; Brunswick at Staples, May 14, 5:30 p.m.; Simsbury at Glastonbury, May 16, 6 p.m.
There are also several New York-vs.-Connecticut power games. To pick three on this side of the border: Manhasset at Ridgefield, Tuesday, 6 p.m.; Chaminade at Fairfield Prep, April 6, 5 p.m.; St. Anthony’s at Darien, April 20, 1 p.m. You should know...
The CIAC approved changing boys and girls lacrosse into four-division sports this winter; the boys tournament had been played in three enrollment-based divisions since 2006. The rules allow teams to opt up to Class LL for any given year, and the traditional FCIAC powers are all together up there with the actual-LL powers.
There is still a “success in tournament factor” affecting five Catholic schools that have made playoff runs over the past three years, like St. Jo
seph and East Catholic, moving them up one or two classes. For Notre Dame-West Haven, that puts them right into Class LL.
Also of Note...
Five 2023 All-America players return for their senior years, headlined by Cheshire midfielder
Matt Jeffery, who was named top recruit in his class in 2022 and who committed to Notre Dame soon after; he plans to play football, too.
Two of the other returning All-Americans are also signed with the Irish, Brady Pokorny of Darien and midfielder
Ben Burmeister of Staples. Attackmen Kyle
Colsey of Ridgefield (Virginia) and Doster
Crowell of New Canaan (Michigan) were the other two.
• Among numerous new coaches, the biggest change is at Weston. After CIAC titles in three consecutive years (one Class M, two Class S), Weston coach Josh
Thornton departed. Weston’s new boss is Conor Shanahan, who coached Hopkins School last year.
• Staples went into 2022 with precisely zero postseason tournament victories. The Wreckers are now going for a CIAC threepeat, winners of the past two Class L championships. They, like their conference rivals with more and older banners to wave, are in Class LL this time around.
• Cheshire won both its CIAC division and the SCC championship last year for the first time since 2010. The Rams did not opt up to Class L last year and won the Class M championship easily. They are in Class L this year and did not opt up to Class LL. They’re a massive Class L favorite.
• Weston wound up in the new Class M, incidentally. So, if we want to be super-technical, there are no defending CIAC champions this year. But we could get a 2021 Class M title game rematch: Weston against Hand.
Many of the teams that have been in New Fairfield’s way the past few years have moved (or have been moved) up, leaving the Rebels a favorite in Class S, though Somers or Canton are among those who could have something to say about that.
In addition to Cheshire’s breaking droughts in the spring, Wilton broke a surprising one: The state’s first great power and the winner of the first five FCIAC championships, the Warriors won the conference championship for the first time in 24 years. The league should be competitive again, though it has wound up Darien’s more often than not the past three decades.
2024 CIAC tournament
First round, if necessary: May 24.
Second round (Round of 16): May 29.
2024 CIAC championship finals: June 9 at Sacred Heart University. ... Canadian wildfires permitting.