Connecticut lacrosse in the national spotlight once again
A year ago the nationalchampionship runs by the Yale and Wesleyan men’s lacrosse programs raised the visibility of the sport in Connecticut. Lacrosse will be front and center once again on the national stage with Yale one of the four teams playing NCAA Division I men’s lacrosse quarterfinal games at Rentschler Field on Sunday. That is merely the tip of the lacrosse iceberg as the Division I men’s national championship team in 2021 and 2022 will be crowned at the site of the UConn football program.
The popularity of lacrosse in Connecticut seems to grow with each passing year. For those who need any proof, consider that Loyola (MD) and Penn will be playing in East Hartford on Sunday and the only Division I men’s program with more Connecticut natives on the roster than Loyola’s 10 and Penn’s eight is Vermont. Six of the eight NCAA Division I quarterfinalists have at least one Connecticut player.
“It says a lot about that area, the high school lacrosse, the coaching that is up there, we know every summer that we have to be up there, we have to have the Loyola flag planted at those recruiting events,” Loyola coach Charley Toomey said.
Loyola had just two Connecticut natives on its roster in 2012, three in 2013 but there have been 10 Nutmeg State products suiting up for Toomey’s team in each of the last two seasons.
“It is a reflection of our university and not just our program,” Toomey said. “We are getting a lot of kids out of the Northeast. What I would say about the lacrosse is that you have to pay attention nationally but for us, it has been a hotbed up there certainly the Founders League, the Fairfield area where kids have come down here and really had great experiences. Once that starts to happen, the word starts getting back so to have a guy like Coach (John) Raba at Wesleyan trust in us that he would send his son (Jack) down here, nobody does their homework more than another coach within your sport. I think the word is getting out that kids that are having a great experience and get a great education.”
There are 160 Connecticut natives on Division I rosters this season with 49 of the 73 Division I teams having at least one player from Connecticut and 34 with at least two players. So what would happen if one team secured the best of the best from the Nutmeg State?
Here’s a look at what such a team could look like
Attack/offensive midfielders: There are 10 Connecticut products with at least 20 goals this season led by Loyola sophomore Kevin Lindley from Darien, who has 59 goals and is second among Division I players in goals per game. New Canaan native Michael Kraus followed up his 44-goal, 83-point sophomore season at Virginia with 34 goals and 62 points to earn Inside Lacrosse honorable mention AllAmerican honors. Ridgefield’s Simon Mathias has scored 34 times for Penn and former Fairfield Prep star Chris Brown had 34 goals to go with 34 ground balls as a sophomore as Princeton. Xavier High graduate Chris Connolly‘s sophomore season at UMass included 26 goals and 35 assists. Ridgefield’s Alex Buckanavage (25 goals, 23 assists) and Greenwich’s Decker Curran (21 goals) were among Michigan’s four 20-goal scorers. Brown’s Jack Kniffin of Darien and Darian Cook of Redding, North Carolina’s William Perry of Greenwich and Richmond’s Mitch Savoca of Newtown all topped the 20-goal mark during the 2019 season.
Faceoff specialists: Greenwich’s Bailey Savio is following in his brother Graham’s footsteps as a faceoff mainstay at Loyola as he is not only 230 for 433 on faceoffs heading into the quarterfinal showdown against No. 1 Penn State but is also in the top 10 nationally with 132 ground balls. Simsbury’s Demitri George won 121 draws to go with 64 ground balls as a Quinnipiac freshman. West Hartford’s Brian Smyth has helped Duke advance to the quarterfinals with 143 faceoff wins and 91 ground balls , Granby’s Nick Warren (141 faceoff wins, 64 GBs for Wagner), New Canaan’s Seth Neeleman (55 faceoff wins, 54 GBs for Utah and Wilton’s RJ Romeo (60 faceoff wins and 38 GBs for Providence) would be other options on the draws.
Defenders/defensive midfielders: While the list of goal-scoring threats is deep and talented, there might actually be more star power on defense. Westport’s Isaac Paparo earned first team All-American honors from Inside Lacrosse as he was tied for
11th among Division I players in caused turnovers per game, he also had seven goals and 62 ground balls to help UMass record the third best scoring defense among Division I men’s teams. Ridgefield’s Peter Dearth (six goals, 29 GBs,
15 caused turnovers as a junior and team captain at Syracuse) and New Canaan’s Brandon Salvatore, who led Cornell with 74 GBs and was in the top 10 nationally in caused turnovers per game earned honorable mention AllAmerican
Goalies: This is a position where it was more of a challenge to find players who saw regular action. Greenwich’s Tommy Heidt has seen the most time in goal with more than 466 minutes at Michigan, Madison’s Patrick Burkinshaw is 2-0 and had played in 10 games for NCAA quarterfinalist Virginia although Alex Rode has played all but 42 seconds in the two ACC tournament games and NCAA opener. Sherman’s Gabe Stein won four games as a sophomore at Marquette.
Sunday’s doubleheader kicks off with Loyola and Penn at noon followed by Ivy League rivals Penn and Yale crossing paths yet again. james.fuller @hearstmediact.com; @NHRJimFuller