CIAC BOYS LACROSSE CHAMPIONSHIP CAPSULES
CLASS M NEW FAIRFIELD VS. WESTON
When: Saturday, 1 p.m.
Where: Jack Casagrande Field, McMahon, Norwalk
Seeds/records: No. 1 New Fairfield (21-1) vs. No. 3 Weston (19-3)
Broadcast: NFHS Network (Subscription Required)
Tickets: Adults $10, students/seniors $5, available online at CIACsports.com
CHAMPIONSHIP GAME APPEARANCES
New Fairfield: Sixth appearance, 2-3 overall, 1-1 Class M. 2001 lost to Ridgefield
10-1 (Div. II); 2005 lost to Trumbull 11-10 (Div. II); 2008 def. Weston 17-7 (Class S);
2010 lost to Darien 17-5 (Class M); 2018 def. Hand 13-11 (Class M).
Weston: seventh appearance, first in Class M, 3-3 in Class S. 2007 def. Barlow
10-8; 2008 lost to New Fairfield 17-7; 2009 lost to St. Joseph 12-11; 2010 def. St. Joseph
7-6; 2013 def. St. Joseph 9-8; 2015 lost to St. Joseph 14-5.
WHAT TO LOOK FOR
If New Fairfield began the year a solid favorite to repeat in Class M, it ends the year having demolished everyone in its path aside from national power St. Anthony’s (N.Y.). The Rebels famously had every starter back from its undefeated championship season, headlined by Nick Alviti and James Leary defending for goalie Brennan Hart, with offensive threats like Brett Tenaglia and John Morgan, and with a solid faceoff man in sophomore Matt Constantinides getting them the ball. They have lived up to the hype, rolling through their conference season barely scathed, beating a few Class L teams that were ranked in the GameTimeCT poll (the Rebels themselves were fifth coming into the tournament) and handling Weston twice, 17-4 on April 18 and 14-2 in the SWC championship game. If it is a coronation on Saturday, it takes nothing away from Weston, which began the year somewhat unheralded but has put together a solid season, with losses only to New Fairfield and Newtown. Midfielders Ryan Werner and James Goetz are the names that come up most about the Trojans, but they have had players emerge around the field to get to this point.
YOU SHOULD KNOW
The last Connecticut team to beat New Fairfield was New Canaan in the 2017 Class M semifinals . ... Hand had reached the final the past four years; New Fairfield defeated the Tigers in this year’s quarterfinals . ... This is the fourth all-SWC final
(2002 Div. II, Barlow over Newtown; and the 2007 and 2008 Class S finals) . ... Out of
64 CIAC championship games, including this year, this is the 14th that did not include at least one FCIAC team; it’s the eighth of 42 since the class system replaced two divisions in 2006.