New Canaan knocked off
DiNanno, Wilton upset FCIAC champion Rams in quarterfinals
A little more than five weeks ago, the Wilton Warriors were reeling with a 1-7 record. Now they’ve got a date with the Fairfield Prep Jesuits in the CIAC Class L boys lacrosse semifinals.
Riding six goals from Dean DiNanno and a 13save performance from goalie Andrew Calabrese, the Warriors knocked off the FCIAC champion New Canaan Rams, 14-11, in the Class L quarterfinals Saturday at Dunning Field.
The turnaround has been remarkable. Since losing seven of its first eight games, Wilton (12-9) is 11-2, with the latest win avenging its loss to New Canaan in last week’s FCIAC final.
Calabrese said the team never lost faith even when the chips were down.
“The whole time, in the locker room underneath the bleachers when we lost in front of our home stands, we went in there and said we have a choice,” Calabrese said. “We can either turn it around right now or just pack it in, and we turned it around. Hat’s off to the seniors for showing the underclassmen what it means to play in the blue and white.”
Wilton, the No. 19 seed, will face No. 3 Fairfield Prep (15-3) in the semifinals on Wednesday, June 5, at a site and time to be determined. Prep defeated Newtown 15-5 in the quarterfinals.
The other Class L semifinal will feature No. 5 Darien (15-5) against No. 9 Staples (13-5).
The Warriors’ offensive output of 14 goals on Saturday nearly doubled their total from the previous two meetings with New Canaan, which beat the Warriors 9-8 during the regular season and then 8-7 in the FCIAC final.
In addition to DiNanno’s six tallies, Wilton also had
two goals each from Zach Rossi and Dan Sullivan, and goals from Liam Sullivan and Liam McGovern. Even the defensive long poles got into the act, as Ryan Schriber scored in the second quarter, and Tyler Previtte scored in the fourth.
“We played together,” DiNanno said. “When we have Tyler and Ryan coming down, it’s always a threat. No one wants them shooting and when they make their passes, it leaves us wide open. We were moving the ball, everyone was moving the whole game and we just put the ball in the net.”
New Canaan had a huge game from Liam Griffiths, who also scored six times, including once on an overthe-shoulder shot with his back to the net. Quintin O’Connell had a hat trick and two assists, and Drew Guida and Will Rechtermann each had a goal and an assist.
The loss was a dramatic shift in emotions from last weekend when the Rams were celebrating their first FCIAC championship since 2013.
“They put more in the net than we did,” New Canaan coach Chip Buzzeo said. “It was a handful of plays but our guys fought to the end, they never gave up, and I’m proud of them for that. I truly love this group of boys. They’re young men that I’m going to miss, especially this senior class. It’s never fun when you lose your last game, but Wilton played great and they deserved to win today.”
Wilton also had a huge game from the defense and Calabrese, who came up with several saves at key moments.
“Andrew’s been that way all season,” Pearsall said. “He’s an unbelievable goalie. He’s the top goalie in the state as far as I’m concerned and he’s been a brick wall back there for us. He’s an athletic kid who does so much other than just stopping the ball for us.”As they had done in the FCIAC finals, the Warriors got off to a hot start, scoring the first three goals with Rossi opening and then DiNanno finding the net twice.
Back-to-back goals by Rechtermann and Griffiths got the Rams’ engines started and the first quarter ended with Wilton up 4-3.
Griffiths scored the first two goals of the second frame with assists from O’Connell and Rechtermann to give New Canaan what turned out to be its only lead of the game at 5-4.
The teams were tied at 6-6 when Schriber came down the field, split a pair of defenders and scored to put the Warriors up. DiNanno’s fourth goal of the half came with 58.4 seconds on the clock, as Wilton took an 8-6 lead to halftime.
The Warriors extended that to three goals after three frames, and kept the heat on when Dan Sullivan scored the opening goal of the fourth quarter for a 12-8 lead with 10:05 remaining.
The Rams made a final charge with back-to-back goals by Griffiths and O’Connell to close the gap to 12-10 with 7:59 to play.
DiNanno then scored off a scramble in front, after New Canaan goalie Carl Mazabras (7 saves) made a pair of stops. DiNanno scooped the loose ball into the open left side of the net for a back-breaking goal with 6:13 remaining.
“It bounced right in front and everybody was trying to find where it was,” DiNanno said. “I was kind of lurking outside and I went in and just put it on net.”
Griffiths then scored his sixth goal for New Canaan, but Wilton got it back for a 14-11 lead and the defense held off a final push by the Rams. Fittingly, the game ended with the ball in Calabrese’s stick after he scooped up a ground ball in the defensive end.
The senior goalie said the Warriors had the same mentality as they did when they upset Darien 4-3 in the FCIAC semifinals.
“We just needed to find that mindset we had against Darien,” Calabrese said. “Block out the noise and everyone who didn’t believe in us. It’s the people in the huddle who matter, and we had all we needed.”
PLAYER OF THE GAME
Dean DiNanno, Wilton. DiNanno had six goals and two assists and responded whenever New Canaan made a push into the deficit. His goal off a loose ball with 6:13 remaining was a back-breaker, extending the Warriors’ lead to three goals after the Rams had scored two straight.
QUOTABLE
“There was a critical moment when the kids felt this season was slipping away. But they showed some great fortitude and togetherness and they stuck it out and believed in each other, they believed in the coaches, and we fought.” — Wilton coach Steve Pearsall