BOYS LACROSSE: STORYLINES, GAMES TO WATCH
YOU KNOW WHO
One veteran FCIAC coach said this year’s might be the strongest group of teams in the league in five or six years. Darien and Ridgefield are nationally ranked by both USA Lacrosse Magazine and Inside Lacrosse. FCIAC teams make up six of the top seven in the GameTimeCT Top 10 poll. The FCIAC champion has not gone on to win a state championship in each of the past three seasons that were played. The league is always fun, but this year has the potential to be a blast.
‘M’ AS IN ‘MY GOODNESS’
The Ancestral Big Three have been split up again: Darien and New Canaan remain in Class L, while Wilton slides down to Class M this season. (A super-sized Class L last season kept the Warriors up, but it would’ve had to be more super-sized this year to do so again.) A Cheshire team with some serious talent also slipped to M. So did Xavier. Meanwhile, last year’s Class S finalists, St. Joseph and East Catholic, moved up because of a new CIAC rule for schools of choice that reach the semifinals in two out of three years. Hand and Barlow are still in M. Notre Dame-West Haven has caught some eyes in the preseason. This could be one fun little tournament.
SMALL CONSOLATION
Congratulations, Class S teams: There’s now a “success factor,” and St. Joseph and East Catholic are up in Class M. Now you’re free to battle it out with .... last year’s Class M champion, Weston, which slipped down to Class S this year. Waterford was among the others sliding down to the smaller class; it made the 2017 Class S final, moved up and reached the M semis and quarters the next two years. And, um, New Fairfield says hi.
ROAD TRIP
Teams couldn’t play games against out-of-state schools last year because of... gosh, let’s just say “pandemic” and be done with it all. But the likes of Chaminade, St. Anthony’s and Yorktown have returned to state schedules, particularly for the state’s top teams but with some other matchups dotting the slates. (After a few CIAC teams played Brunswick last season, only Darien gets the honor this season.)
GROWING THE GAME
Though the roads to a lot of CIAC finals go through the FCIAC, teams around the state have made noise in recent years in state or conference playoffs. Fairfield Prep remains the class of the SCC, but Cheshire and Hand, as noted, are well-regarded. New Fairfield, Newtown and Weston have had success from the SWC. Glastonbury and Simsbury fought it out atop the CCC last year. St. Paul has built itself into a solid Class S program in the WCLC, as has Bacon Academy in the ECC. Though numbers are down in some places, they’re up in others, and there have been a handful of new programs in recent years.
10 games to watch
Granby at Somers, Tuesday, 4 p.m.: Welcome back, NCCC. The conference’s teams played CCC schedules last year. They’re back to relative normal.
New Canaan at Fairfield Ludlowe, Tuesday, 6 p.m.: The Falcons upset New Canaan in the preliminary round of the Class L playoffs last spring. Not a bad first state game for both.
Bethel at Stratford/Bunnell (Bunnell), Thursday, 6 p.m.: Stratford’s two schools have joined forces this season, and this is their first game together. All its home games are at Bunnell. The state’s new co-op program, Maloney/ Platt, opened Saturday against Rocky Hill; the Meriden co-op will split home games between the two schools.
Weston at St. Joseph, April 9, noon: Last year’s Class M champion visits last year’s Class S champion. Neither gets a chance to defend its title, but with Weston in Class S and St. Joe’s in Class M, they could both win championships.
Ridgefield at Darien, April 12, 4 p.m.: No. 1 vs. No. 2 in our preseason poll.
Fairfield Prep at Cheshire, April 28, 6 p.m.: Often a strong SCC program, Cheshire has gotten some attention in the preseason after its move down to Class M. It’ll face the other SCC power; one of these teams has won the conference every year but one since 2006.
Darien at Brunswick, May 5,
7 p.m.: Fairfield County’s big public power against Fairfield County’s big prep-school power.
Weston at Hand (Surf Club), May 7, 7 p.m.: Last year’s Class M finalists can’t meet in the playoffs again, but here they are late in the regular season.
Wilton at St. Joseph, May 17, 4 p.m.: Though Wilton moved down into Class M, the Warriors’ only game that’s not against an in-state Class L team is this one, against a conference rival that moved up into Class M.
Simsbury at Glastonbury, May 20, 6 p.m.: They’re seen as the class of the CCC again.