What to watch in tourney season

We’re down to the semifinals or better in every conference boys lacrosse tournament. While in some quarters the focus sits on three weeks from now and the state championships, this week provides 10 teams from eight conferences around the state with a chance to hang a banner.

TOP-HEAVY

The FCIAC has seven of the teams in the GameTimeCT Boys Lacrosse Top 10 poll. Only four of them can make the conference semis. And as you’d expect, four talented teams made it. No. 1 Darien has Division I talent in bunches. Both No. 2 Staples and No. 3 Wilton can create offense from a whole lot of different players. And fifth-seeded, seventh-ranked Greenwich took Darien to double overtime last week. Another thing they all have in common: top-notch faceoff men.

The other three top-10 teams are in the SCC. Hand and Cheshire, who’ll meet at Cheshire in the semis, played a close regular-season game, and so did Cheshire and top-seeded Fairfield Prep, the winner of the past five tournaments, nine of the past 10 and 12 of the past 14. The Jesuits are of course mourning junior midfielder Jimmy McGrath, who died last weekend after being stabbed outside a house in Shelton.

The SWC has belonged to New Fairfield since 2017. Until early this season, the Rebels hadn’t lost a game to a conference team since late in the 2017 season. But they’ve been mortal this season, and as the fourth seed, they’re headed in the semifinals to top-seeded Weston, the team they defeated in the past two conference finals. Barlow and New Milford, which hasn’t made a conference final since 2007, meet on the other side of the bracket.

Defending champion HaddamKillingworth is the top seed in the Shoreline Conference tournament. The Cougars forfeited their regularseason finale Friday for a lack of healthy players, but they expect to be good to go for Tuesday’s 2021 titlegame rematch with Valley Regional.

EXPANSION/CONTRACTION

After playing just championship games in recent years, the CCC will play two rounds of playoffs in all three of its divisions. The Central is the marquee division. Glastonbury’s attack gets a lot of the attention, but the Guardians held opponents to eight or fewer in 12 games, including Friday’s 9-2 victory over Simsbury to secure the top seed. (Their championship game was suspended because of weather. Hopefully they get to play it out this time.) Farmington and Wethersfield are the top seeds in the other divisions.

The NCCC tournament returns after a year away (and a year spent embedded with the CCC) with its three-team tournament. Top-seeded Canton, which is 26-6 the past two years, will host the final Thursday night. It split a pair of 16-12 games with second-seeded Somers this season.

The ECC played a tournament for both of its divisions last year coming out of the pandemic, but it’s back down to one four-team tournament. East Lyme and Waterford are the top two seeds, and both put six players on the league’s All-Division 1 team, including East Lyme’s Keene Statebound attackman Sean McCusker and Waterford’s Jake Kozlowski, committed to Colgate.

The WCLC is again a one-shot championship game for the second year in a row pitting defending champion St. Paul against Watertown. The Warriors have a 13-game winning streak, longest in the state, but that’ll be in jeopardy Tuesday, when Watertown visits St. Joseph to close the regular season.

THE ROAD TO ...

The three CCC tournaments are on a Monday/Wednesday schedule, with Wednesday’s finals at sites and times to be announced.

The NCCC also starts Monday with Granby at Somers. The winner visits Canton for the title on Thursday night.

The WCLC final is Thursday night, St. Paul at Watertown.

Everyone else is scheduled for Tuesday/Thursday.

The SWC has its semifinals at the higher seeds, with the final Thursday night at a site to be announced.

The SCC does the same for the semis. Its final is Thursday night at 7:30 at West Haven’s Ken Strong Stadium.

McMahon’s Casagrande Field hosts the FCIAC semifinals Tuesday, 5 and 7 p.m., and then the final Thursday night.

The Shoreline has its two semifinals Tuesday at the higher seeds, and Thursday’s final is at the Indian River complex in Clinton.

And the ECC‘s semis are Tuesday at Ledyard, with the final at Montville on Thursday night at 7:30.