The Middletown Press (Middletown, CT)
BOYS LACROSSE HIGHLIGHTS
TOP PERFORMERS
Jack Balzi, New Milford:
Had four goals and four assists in a 21-6 win over Weston, going over 300 points for his career. Ryan Strait had three goals and four assists, reaching 100 career goals. Balzi also had five goals and six assists in an 18-4 win over Pomperaug.
Chris Baukus, Montville:
Scored seven goals in a 12-9 win over Norwich Tech.
Conrad Burki, Greenwich:
Scored four goals and three assists in a 16-5 win over Fordham Prep (N.Y.). Macklin Cushman, Old Lyme: Two goals and three assists in an 18-12 win over Morgan; also had two goals and an assist in a 13-8 win over Valley Regional.
Ben Howes, St. Bernard/Wheeler: Scored five goals and assisted on six more in a 17-5 win over Woodstock Academy. Dan Lavallee, Foran: Four goals and an assist in a 14-5 win over North Branford; added three goals and an assist in a 12-9 win over North Haven. .
T.J. Levanduski, West Haven: Made nine saves in a 12-0 shutout win over Wilbur Cross.
Henry Murphy, Lyman Hall: Three goals in a 10-8 win over Shelton.
Chase Newman, Middletown: Scored seven times in a 17-3 win over Windsor.
Drew Sager, East Lyme:
Scored four goals and four assists in a 17-1 win over Stonington.
Luke Shannehan, Fairfield Prep: Scored eight goals, including the game-winner, with two assists in a 14-13 overtime win over Cheshire. Spencer Skidell, Barlow:
Scored four goals in a 9-8 win over Fairfield Warde. Aiden Stassun, Law:
Made 21 saves in a 10-7 win over West Haven. Cormac Theissen, Ludlowe: Had four goals in a 14-6 win over Fairfield Warde.
Landon Traylor, Norwich Tech: Scored seven goals in a 12-9 loss to Montville. Adam Udell, Staples: Had five goals in an 8-3 win at St. John’s Prep (Mass.). Lucas Wanamaker, Ledyard: Scored eight goals in an 18-9 win over Montville.
GAMES TO WATCH
Simsbury at Southington, Thursday, 5 p.m.: They’re in different CIAC classes, so this is only so important: They’re within a fraction of a point of each other in the LaxNumbers rankings, both 7-5. So maybe not important, but significant? Ehh, forget adjectives; enjoy the game.
Lewis Mills at South Windsor, Thursday, 5:45 p.m.: It’s that time of year: Teams that play the full 16 games need seven wins to qualify for the CIAC playoffs. Teams that only play 15 need six. A few teams around the state are still working to solidify their invitation, including South Windsor (which only needs one more win) and Mills (which needs three in its last four games).
Wilton at New Canaan, Thursday, 6:30 p.m.: The Rams can complete a perfect 5-0 season in the FCIAC’s top tier with a win. Wilton can finish above .500 in the division with a win.
Hand at Guilford, Thursday, 7 p.m.: Like Simsbury-Southington, these teams were also fractions of a point apart and also in different classes. This one, though, has fact that Hand, 5-8, is still looking for its tournament berth. Two wins in the Tigers’ last three games and they’re a top-two seed in Class M. Go 1-2 or 0-3, well.
Barlow at Notre Dame-West Haven (Veterans), Friday, 6:15 p.m.: Barlow will be a top seed in Class M (and maybe watching the Hand scores); Notre Dame, likely, a top-10 seed in Class LL; it has a home playoff game at the moment. This is another “close in the rankings” pairing.
Simsbury at Xavier, Saturday, noon: A tip of cap to Xavier coach Scott Basile on his 200th victory, Saturday against East Catholic. This one may be a tilt for Class L seeding; Xavier had a slight edge at the start of this week.
Staples at Ridgefield, Saturday, 4 p.m.: All those top-tier FCIAC games, six teams in the top 10, playing... (five plus four plus) 15 games amongst each other. And this is the... second-to-last of them before the postseason. Two top-five teams in this one. We’d say “programs with some history,” but there’s lots of history in lots of places.
Darien at Greenwich, Saturday, 7 p.m.:
Those 15 games: This is the last of them. Greenwich doesn’t have a top-tier win but has eight in its other games, so it’ll be back in the CIAC tournament. Darien remains the top-ranked team on LaxNumbers because of its strength of schedule.
New Fairfield at New Milford, Monday, 7:30 p.m.:
If it wins over Newtown on Thursday, New Milford will be coming into this game looking for a perfect SWC regular season. After a couple of years as the runners-up, though, the Green Wave is looking for more than that. It’d still be a nice accomplishment, particularly going through the Rebels, whose only SWC loss was to Barlow.
Brunswick at Staples, Tuesday, 5:30 p.m.:
Both teams complete their regular seasons, the No. 1 team in both the Inside Lacrosse and USA Lacrosse Magazine rankings visiting the team that finished No. 1 in both 2022 and 2023 in the GameTimeCT Top 10 Poll.