Boys' Lacrosse: Opening Weekend Games to Watch (4/8 and 4/9)

There weren't really any good games on Thursday but the weekend is jam-packed with action:

Friday

Daniel Hand @ Fairfield Prep @ 4pm
-Oh boy!  Hand is coming off a 7-8 loss to Cheshire and Prep (just beat Amity 8-3) plays Cheshire on Monday so the top three teams in the SCC all play each other in the first week of the season!  Prep is the favorite to win this game but a Hand win is more than possible and would set quite a message for the rest of the season!

Ridegfield @ Trumbull @ 530
-After a 10-7 win over Stamford, Trumbull will take on Ridgefield, also coming off a big win over their own: 9-8 over Somers (NY).  They are both really good FCIAC teams that could very well win games against Staples, St. Joseph,  New Canaan and probably even Greenwich (they would have to play the best games of their lives to beat Darien) and the FCIAC is so loaded this year that that is quite a compliment.  Out of conference games will really attest to this but all these conference games right now and during the season will provide us with some really good lax!

Cheshire @ Guilford @ 7
-Cheshire isn't taking the weekend off waiting for the Rams on Monday.  Guilford may have lost to East Lyme in overtime in their opener but you can't count the G-men out this early in the season.  I'm not saying Guilford will pull the upset but this game should still be worth watching.

Saturday

Simsbury @ Xavier @ 11am
-Xavier is coming off a 12-2 rout of Newington in which Dan Walsh had 5 goals, Matt Kycia had 3 and Geoff Bruno had 3 of his own along with some nice assists (Trevor Buchas added a goal and Alec Thomas had some assists too).  Simsbury, on the other hand, was shocked 4-7 by Joel Barlow so they will be playing with a chip on their shoulder in this one.  Both of these teams hope to have good seasons this year and will need quality wins like this for that to happen; this will be a great game to kick off the day!

Mamaroneck (NY) @ Weston @ 130
-Weston is expected to be a really good team this year and they blew out Bunnell 15-0 in their season opener.  Mamaroneck is 1-1 in New York - Section I right now but they went 14-3 last year so this should be a good game right here.

Norwich Free Academy @ Ledyard @ 3
-Ledyard went 16-0 last year and was the #1 seed in Class S (they made it to the semifinals but lost to St. Joseph) and NFA is a decent Class L team.  If you're looking for a game out in these parts of CT then this looks like it may be a good one.

Darien @ Greenwich @ 3
-GAME OF THE WEEK!!!!! The New Haven Register's Pre-season Poll has these two teams as #1 and #3 respectively!  You will want to get down to Greenwich and see this game; it will probably be one of the best lacrosse games of the season, at least the first half!  Darien's Case Matheis and Greenwich's David Dicksion will battle it out on offense while Adams Sands (Greenwich) and Eric Parnon (Darien) will try to stop them.  Darien has a big advantage in the midfield with Baylis Treen and J.P. Walsh which I think really gives them the edge in this one but anything can happen!

Brookfield @ Newton @ 4
-What you've got here is Newton starting their quest for the Class L title against a decent Brookfield team from Class M.  It is the opening game for both teams so both will want to start the season off with a quality win.

Glastonbury @ Wilton @ 4
-Yet another GREAT game on the day, this game will also be a thriller.  Wilton, despite being in Class M while G-bury is Class L, is the favorite in this one, if that means anything this early in the season.  Can Glastonbury's Douglas Pollack stop All-American attack artist, Mike Francia on Wilton?  Will Glastonbury's offense find enough holes in Wilton's defense to pull out a win?  I think the goalie's will be the X Factor in this game and either team could come out on top.

New Canaan @ Somers (NY) @ 6
-Somers, a good team from New York, just lost to Ridgefield but looks to bounce back against the even more talented kids from New Canaan.  Henry Eschricht (attack) and Joe Costigan (middie) should have the Rams ready for their season opener on Saturday night in the Empire State!