Rams get even with Jesuits
New Canaan to face Darien
NEW CANAAN — The New Canaan boys lacrosse team’s first venture into the Class L playoffs is shaping up to be a sort of revenge tour.
That was the case Saturday as the No. 4 Rams downed 12-seed Fairfield Prep 9-7 in the state quarter-finals. New Canaan had fallen to the Jesuits 11-10 in the regular season.
“It was huge, especially because we lost to them and it was tough for all of us,” New Canaan’s Teddy Manges said. “Coming away with this win is very important to us and we’re focusing on Darien on Wednesday.”
The semifinal game against No. 1 Darien will be the third meeting between the two teams this year. Darien won the first two by a com bined three goals. New Canaan has won the last three Class M titles, while Darien has done the same in Class L.
“It’s our arch-rival,” Rams coach Chip Buzzeo said. “They’re the best team the last God knows how many years and hopefully both teams come to play.”
Both teams came to play Saturday, each scoring three times in the first quarter. The second saw some fatigue set in however, and neither notched a goal.
New Canaan wasted no time after the break though, scoring just six seconds into the third after Nick Crovatto won the faceoff and hit Manges with a perfect feed.
“The faceoff advantage caught up with us,” Fairfield Prep coach Graham Niemi said of the New Canaan duo of Crovatto and Justin Wietfeldt. “I don’t know if we won but one or two … the first time we played them I think we won 40 percent of the draws and won 11-10. Today I think we were closer to 10 percent, and you lose 9-7.”
After taking a 7-6 lead into the fourth, the Rams, who aren’t known for being a particularly effective team in transition, once again got hot in a hurry with Manges scoring 19 seconds in.
“Last half of the season we’ve been getting better at that and we needed it,” Buzzeo said. “It’s something we talked about. We want to score in other ways besides six-on-six. In the playoffs you need to do that, so I was happy about it.”
New Canaan freshman Christopher Canet assisted on the first goal in the fourth, and another freshman, Ryan Caione, notched the final tally for the Rams.
“Those two freshmen have been playing all year, and they’ve gained more and more confidence as the season has gone on,” Buzzeo said. “Those are names you’re going to be talking about for many years to come.”
PLAYER OF THE GAME
Manges, New Canaan. The junior recorded a hat trick in the contest, and his goals in the first 20 seconds of both the third and fourth quarters were the difference for the Rams.
“It was definitely a big win for the team,” Manges said. “Everyone played well, especially at the end. It came down to a couple big plays in a couple big moments and people did their job.”
MOTHER NATURE’S IMPACT
Because of the heat and humidity, it felt largely like this game was played underwater. Both coaches commented on the impact the elements had on the speed of the game, and as soon as the teams shook hands, the skies opened up, releasing 15 minutes of unrelenting rain.
“It was brutal conditions out here for both teams,” Buzzeo said. “The air was so thick and every player was hurting. We just told the guys we have to battle through it, get a couple goals and stay up. Both teams played very well in these conditions, it was not easy. I almost fainted at the end.”
QUOTABLE
“I’m really proud of the seniors, great group of kids,” Niemi said. “We had a bunch of kids from the football team playing defense and they’re a really special group of kids. I’m lucky to spend two years with them.”