Oh yeah, just to start, I went 12-0 last round, bringing my lacrosse postseason record to 29-3, or 88% correct. That means out of these six games, I should get at least five right haha, but I'm going for all six!
CLASS L
(4) #3 Fairfield Prep vs (8) #8 Simsbury @ 630pm @ Brien McMahon HS (Norwalk)
-Prep got a little luck here after their very impressive 10-9 win over Greenwich. CCC West Champion Simsbury is very good (and one of my favorite teams) but I think the run ends here for them at the hands of a Fairfield Prep team that is talented at every single position. More so than talent, the Jesuits have a world-class coach in Chris Smalkis that gets the full potential and then more from his players each and every year. He gets them to buy into the program and his way of doing things, which really shows when you see how hard this team works and how well they play together as a team. I mean this could turn into a blow out but Trevor Gallagher and Matt Bulmer should be able to net a few for the Trojans. Matt Steelye played lights out in the Greenwich game making 17 saves so the match-up of Simsbury's offense against him should be the deciding factor in the game. Everyone knows Prep is going to score but if Simsbury wants to win they will have to keep pace with them on the scoreboard and make some big stops every now and then to get ahead, which I just don't see happening. It still be a high-quality lacrosse game but I expect the Jesuits to make it to their sixth straight championship game when the day is over.
(2) #7 Staples vs (6) #2 Ridgefield @ 430pm @ Brien McMahon HS (Norwalk)
-Ridgefield did beat Staples 10-6 in the regular season but that was back on 4/12, almost two months ago. Since then, Ridgefield hit a low-point and then has bounced back even stronger, evident in their 10-5 win over Greenwich in the FCIAC semifinals, giving Darien a run for their money in the FCIAC Championship and then being the team to blow Conard's defense wide open last round in the Class L quarterfinals by dominating them 17-5. Staples has also improved as the season progressed, shown by their 8-4 win over Brien McMahon last round in the quarterfinals after losing to the Senators 7-10 a month ago on 5/3. The Wreckers have been having themselves a very good tournament and will need that momentum to be the X factor in this game with Ridgefield, the better team. The way to orchestrate an upset always starts with solid defense and Satples has let in only four goals in each of its two games so far this tournament behind 25 saves from goalie JB Breig. If the Wreckers defense can play on another level they have a real shot at winning this but I feel like the very balanced Andrew Buckanavage-led Ridgefield team will be more than ready for this game as they thrive in big-situations
PREDICTIONS: I said it in the post, Fairfield Prep over Simsbury to make their sixth straight state championship (won four in a row before Cheshire beat them last year) and I will go with a five to seven goal margin of victory; no magic here the second time around, Ridgefield over Staples by four to six goals...the Tigers will simply be too much to handle.
CLASS M
(1) #1 Darien vs (5) #4 Wilton @ 430pm Fairfield Ludlowe HS
-Not the team Darien wanted to see again, especially if they don't have superstar attackman Case Matheis (still no word on the knee injury or if he will play). Darien does still have eight other Division I lacrosse players on their team and Henry West has been a great addition to the offense this postseason as he returned from an injury of his own. That slightly new style may help the Blue Wave as Wilton had their number in the FCIAC semifinals and almost pulled off the epic upset until Case led a big-time comeback for Darien and took home the trophy. The Wilton Warroris will be very hyped up for this one and coach Jeff Brameier should have his Blue Wave ready for whatever comes their way in my pick for best game of the day! My pick is at the end of the Class M previews.
(3) New Fairfield vs (7) #6 New Canaan @ 430pm @ Fairfield Warde HS
-Another great match-up in Class M; New Canaan is the favorite but New Fairfield is a dangerously good team, just ask Joel Barlow (the Rebels upset Joel Barlow in the SWC tournament semifinals). Norwalk is proving their worth as more than a good SWC team, with their Class M tournament games: a 15-11 win over a very good team from the FCIAC, Norwalk and then an 11-5 victory over Branford, a good team from the SCC. The question will be whether or not the Rebels can take it to the next level and beat an elite team in the FCIAC and state, the New Canaan Rams. New Canaan has one-upped (actually two-upped) New Fairfield by beat Cheshire 11-9 and Daniel Hand 15-3, two of the best teams in the SCC below Prep, in the past few weeks. New Canaan did only beat East Lyme 10-4 last round so this game with New Fairfield should be close and, in my opinion, will come down to defense versus defense as NF has scored 26 goals and NC 25 goals so far in the Class M tournament.
PREDICTIONS: How can one pick against nationally ranked Darien even without Case Matheis (I think Richard Gregory leads the team in goals and they have at least three other players that score every game) so I'll still pick Darien over Wilton but only by one to three goals, although it could just as well work against the Warriors as the Blue Wave should be playing with a chip on their shoulder for almost losing the FCIAC tournament game and the score ends up being five or seven goals in Darien's favor; the word canaan means "covenant" in reference to the covenant that God would lead the Israelites to the promised land, named Canaan...that being said, I think God leads the Rams in this game to the "promised land" of the Class M Championship, by a score of around New Canaan three goals over New Fairfield.
CLASS S
(1) #10 Somers vs (12) St. Joseph @ 7pm @ West Haven HS
-This game is a re-match of a Class S quarterfinal from last year that Somers lost at the hands of St. Joseph. St. Joseph is very good again this year, led by seniors Pat Corcoran and Pat Mulligan, both of which are headed to Quinnipiac in the fall for lacrosse. Somers is headed up by senior captain Mike Hanna, headed to the 2011 NCAA DIII Lacrosse Champions, Salisbury, next year for lacrosse. This is a risky game to predict as Somers has not faced a team even close to St. Joseph's caliber yet this season so I don't have that to base my pick on. The Spartans could come out strong and play up to St. Joseph's to stay undefeated or St. Joseph's defense will rise to challenge of this NCCC Champion team, shut them down, and walk off the field with a big win. I think we can expect something in the middle and to see who I give the edge to, scroll down to the predictions section.
(2) Stonington vs (3) Joel Barlow @ 5pm @ West Haven HS
-Most people will say the 17-2 ECC runner-up Stonington Bears are the favorite in this one as Joel Barlow is a dismal 15-4 that got upset by New Fairfield in the SWC tournament semifinals. I think that potential for an upset still exists here but Joel Barlow would be getting upset again, making them the favorites, in my mind, to win this game. They did just crush Ellington in the last round and I think that confidence, willingness to work hard, and focus to never let up will win them this one over a Stonington team that has lost every time its actually faced a good team, 11-12 in OT to Hall and 6-11 to East Lyme in the ECC Championship game (4-2 win over Guilford can count as the one and only exception).
PREDICTIONS: Advantage battle-tested FCIAC team, St. Joseph over Somers by one to three goals, but I really don't know what is going to happen...has the potential to be an amazing game; as I said in the post, Joel Barlow over Stonington by, let's say, five to seven goals.
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