No. 2 Fairfield Prep edges No. 1 New Canaan

FAIRFIELD — Its coach thought this might be a year for growing pains in the first half of the boys lacrosse season, but Fairfield Prep has grown all the way to become the class of the state right now. The Jesuits staked their claim Thursday, winning a battle of the top two teams in the GameTimeCT Top 10 Poll.

The No. 2 Jesuits shut out No. 1 New Canaan for nearly the last 30 minutes, and Tim Shannehan’s goal with 4:17 left gave Fairfield Prep an 8-7 win Thursday at Rafferty Stadium.

Fairfield Prep (9-1) turned around a massive first-half possession disadvantage, holding New Canaan (9-2) to six second-half shots. The Rams’ only fourth-quarter shot came with 20 seconds left.

“This was a huge game, No. 1/No. 2 in the state. We all knew this going in,” said Jesuits senior Connor Callahan, who forced a turnover in the final seconds to finish the deal. “This was a big test for us. I think that proved a lot about our toughness mentally and physically. I think it’s a huge win for us, great momentum going into next week.”

Three games next week include a Thursday meetup with No. 7 Cheshire, which defeated Fairfield Prep in last year’s SCC championship. By then, the Jesuits will likely be No. 1 in the poll.

They began the year fourth, knocked off thenNo. 2 Darien on opening day and had crept their way up the rankings.

“It’s a great win, but our coaches preach that you don’t win state championships in April,” Shannehan said. “You’ve got to win them in June. This is great for moving forward. We’ve just got to keep working.”

New Canaan scored five straight goals to take a 7-3 lead with 5:58 left in the second quarter but didn’t get off another shot before halftime. There were turnovers, failed clears, a lack of long possessions even as J.T. O’Neil continued to dominate on faceoffs (14-4).

The Rams had only those six shots in the second half, three on goal, and Matt Barry stopped all three.

“I’ve got to watch the film. We definitely want to look at a game like that and learn from it,” New Canaan coach Chip Buzzeo said.

He said his team needs to execute better and raised his hand on that.

“The bottom line is I believe in my team. I love my kids. They’re good lacrosse players,” Buzzeo said.

The Rams host rival Darien, ranked third, on Saturday afternoon.

New Canaan tested the Jesuits defense in the first 18 minutes, and Fairfield Prep goalie Garrett Keane kept it close with five saves.

“I served a cold, cold dish to the goalies. I played them both today. They don’t like that, most of them,” Fairfield Prep coach Graham Niemi said. “They want to play the whole game. But we decided to do that and challenge them a little bit to play better. I thought they both did really well.

“That’s the problem I want to have. I want to have two guys playing well and not zero.”

The Jesuits went a man down for 60 seconds with 1:21 to go. The defense gave up nothing. As the seconds dwindled, Callahan forced a turnover next to the net.

“I wasn’t really thinking, just going through it,” Callahan said. “I saw an opportunity, landed a check and picked up the ball. That’s what I try to do every time I’m on the field.”

Player of the Game

Tim Shannehan, Fairfield Prep: The senior attackman scored the winning goal with 4:19 left, the only goal of the fourth quarter.

“In practice we work a lot on just crease-moving,” said Shannehan, who had five points and was the only Jesuit with more than one goal.

“I saw Emmett Crotty at X (behind the net), kind of hung up with a (shortstick defender).”

A pick from Shannehan’s brother Luke helped free him up, “and Crotty had a great pass,” Shannehan said.

Changeup

The Jesuits made a few tweaks, putting Griffin Rothe at defensive midfield, getting away from using two long-stick players on the wings on faceoffs, and matching up junior Alex Meier with New Canaan standout Doster Crowell instead of George Hawley.

“I think that let George play a little bit,” Niemi said. “The thing with a kid like Hawley, sometimes, you get stuck on one person, it becomes just your job for the day, and all the other things you can do well, you don’t get a chance to do.

“He was a little more active in the second half.”

Quotable

“We started off a little slow in the first half. Giving up seven goals isn’t always ideal. Coming out in the second half, we had a different energy, different intensity. We pitched a shutout. The goalies played great, both of them, Garrett (Keane) and (Matt) Barry, but we just stepped it up as a unit.” — Fairfield Prep defender Cooper Callahan