CLASS L
(8) #10 Simsbury @ (1) #9 Newtown @ 4pm
-My nine versus ten match-up and the CCC West Champion versus the SWC Champion. I did have Cheshire pulling the upset on Newtown not because of any lack of talent on Newtown but because Cheshire had a very good team and they were the defending Class L Champions. Along the same lines, I think Simsbury has the talent to pull the upset here, which I will say is an upset based on Newtown's consistency to beat good teams. However, Simsbury beat Cheshire and they beat Brien McMahon, who killed the same Norwalk team, 17-6, that beat Newtown 13-12. Simsbury did lose to Joel Barlow, who Newtown beat 9-5, but it was the first game of the season and Barlow lost to the same Guilford team that Simsbury beat 7-4 so you can't make much out of those comparisons. The game will certainly be an interesting and my pick is at the bottom of the Class L previews.
(12) #3 Greenwich @ (4) #4 Fairfield Prep @ 3pm
-I do have Greenwich ranked ahead of Fairfield Prep, but only by one spot. I know there are a lot of quality games on the day, heck they are playoff games between the best teams in the state, but I don't think there will be one better than this. Greenwich is back and forth between the second and third best team in the FCIAC with Ridgefield but I think Ridgefield's 10-5 win in the FCIAC tournament semfinals settled things and the Cardinals have settled for third. Regardless, they have been picked by the most people to win the Class L tournament and for good reason: David Dickson, Andrew Feeney, Alex Moeser, Eric Foote and Stephen Dodd on offense, Adam Sands on defense and Dan Feeney in goal have been solid all season. Prep is once again the SCC Champion and their team this year is a balanced offense where a slew of players rack up points like Kevin Brown, Connor Kelly, Matt Brophy, David White, Harry Cotter, Tim Edmonds and the occasional Tyler Cox while Mike Seelye gets the job done in front of the cage. We've come a long way from May 5th...
(7) #8 Brien McMahon @ (2) #7 Staples (Wesport) @ 3pm
-On May 3rd, Wesport hosted one of the biggest FCIAC games of the regular season as Brien McMahon took down Staples 10-7 to prove their place among the FCIAC elite this season. However, since they Staples had filled out the better resume and earned one spot higher on my ranking than the Senators from Norwalk. Staples won 7 of their next 8 games while McMahon has gone 5-3 since that point. Confidence and the ability to play well in big-game situations are the keys to winning an evenly matched game like this and I think my pick will surprise a lot of people. This game has the potential to be better than the Fairfield Prep and Greenwich one so attending either one is a great idea.
(14) Conard @ (6) #2 Ridgefield @ 430pm
-Conard has maybe the best goalie in Class L, John Catodicasa, but Kyle Weber and Danny Kycia (who also upset Xavier in hockey) were the real reason the Chieftains were able to upset Xavier in the first round. Ridgefield's Adam Winne will be having none of the same on his home turf and once Andrew Buckanavage, Aidan Scott, Eric Scala, Sean Wilkinson and Matt Hrvatin starting getting to Catodiscasa things could get ugly in this one.
PREDICTIONS: Trevor Gallagher is looking better than ever, Simsbury over Newtown by three goals; Greenwich beat Fairfield Prep 10-4 on 5/5 but that game was in Greenwich while this one will be in Fairfield and heavily attended by the Bomb Squad (Prep's cheering section) plus its the playoffs and the Jesuits have already returned to being SCC Champions so I'm going with Fairfield Prep by one goal over Greenwich; I know this will go against what I just did in the last pick but taking the team one seed lower but I am following suit and picking the loser from the regular season: Staples by one to five goals over Brien McMahon; Yes, Conard has an amazing goalie but Ridgefield has an amazing team so I expect a ten goal victory for Ridgefield over Conard.
CLASS M
(9) Fairfield Ludlowe @ (1) #1 Darien @ 3pm
-17-4 on the road and 17-1 at home, the scores Darien beat Fairfield Ludlowe by twice already this season. There is nothing more I need to say except they know what they have to do and they will go out and do it. We will see the Blue Wave in the semifinals next Wednesday, June 8th.
(13) Guilford @ (5) #5 Wilton @ 2pm
-About as unevenly matched up Guilford was with RHAM is how uneven they are with Wilton as well, except on the losing side. Guilford is the inconsistent headache to every sports writer and they could shock people but New Canaan would have been a better match-up for them because Wilton almost upset the season-long number one team, Darien, in the FCIAC semifinals so they get up for playoffs games and should be finding the back of the net early and often in this one.
(7) #6 New Canaan @ (2) East Lyme @ 3pm
-I don't mean to give away all my picks in the explanations but again, I see a huge mis-match here. East Lyme is having a great season; the only problem is that great season is in the ECC. In fact, they are the ECC Champions after upsetting one-loss Stonington in the Championship game and they now posses an impressive 15-3 record. Against opponents form other good conferences, East Lyme beat Guilford 6-5 in OT of the first game of the season but lost to Daniel Hand from the SCC, 12-9. From the CCC, they beat South Windsor 14-6 but lost to the much better Conard 5-6 in their second game of the season. They did win an out-of-state game against Moses Brown form Rhode Island Division I but they are a 6-9 team and East Lyme did lose to Norwich Free Academy, a 10-7 from their own conference. If you don't know how impressive New Canaan's season has been thus far, search for "New Canaan lacrosse" (the lacrosse part if very important) on my blog and you will see, or even just check out my preview of their game last round. They have done well in the best conference for lacrosse, the FCIAC, and they are poised to continue to do well in the Class M state tournament.
(11) Branford @ (3) New Fairfield @ 7pm
-If this game was taking place a week ago, I would make a pretty good case for Branford to pull the upset. However, the fact that it is an upset still remains and after first round results from the state tournament, I'm leaning towards New Fairfield. Not only did they surprise me by beating Norwalk but they also won by a decent margin of four goals, 15-11. On the other hand, Branford got taken to overtime by Avon that is quite good, but not better than Branford, as they escaped with a 14-13 win. The problem for Branford will be playing defense to limit New Fairfield's score but I do think the Hornets offense will pick it up enough to give them a chance.
PREDICTIONS: Darien by AT LEAST ten over Fairfield Ludlowe; Wilton by one to ten goals over Guilford, just like I said for Guilford last round; is New Canaan over East Lyme but eight or more goals too high of a prediciton? I don't think so; New Fairfield by six (to eight) goals over Branford.
CLASS S
(8) Old Saybrook @ (1) Somers @ 3pm
-I dont' want to say that Old Saybrook doesn't stand a chance in this one but the Rams squeaked by Waterford and now they are facing the 18-0, division one athlete laden, Somers Spartans! They have a chance I guess but it is very slim and involves a strategy similar to the one they employed in their Waterford win, that is constant scoring to match your opponent and then a few key stops to take the lead and win. No team has scored more than 9 goals on the Spartans this year and they have held opponents to five goals or less in three fourths of their games (12 of 18)! Oh yeah, they are the NCCC Champions and beat two teams that beat Old Saybrook (Old Lyme and Morgan).
(12) St. Joseph @ (4) Ledyard @ 4pm
-I'm not giving away my pick in this one, you're going to have to scroll to the end to see it, but I will make the case for each team. First off, this is probably the best Class S game on the day, Ellington @ Joel Barlow could end up being better but I don't think it will be. That being said, here is why: Ledyard, at 11-6, is the favorite as they went 11-5 in the regular season (4-6 loss to East Lyme in ECC semifinals) only losing to East Lyme, Stonington twice, Guilford and Daniel Hand. They beat Old Saybrook and Norwich Free Academy and then teams sorely under .500. However, in my mind, St. Joseph, the 9-8 team from the FCIAC should be favored. They beat Norwalk, Westhill and Danbury during the regular season and showed the world the talent I saw in them when they had close games with the elite FCIAC teams (13-14 loss to Fairfield Ludlowe, 9-10 to Staples, 7-9 to Brien McMahon, 6-10 to New Canaan, 6-11 to Greenwich and 13-19 to Wilton) when they beat Weston 8-6 in the first round of the Class S state tournament. Can they take it a step farther and beat the four seed and same record (as Weston at the time, 11-6) from the ECC? We shall see.
(7) Granby Memorial @ (2) Stonington @ 3pm - FUN FACT: These two teams are approximately 70 miles apart!
-Granby may have been able to beat NCCC foe Suffiled by five goals as I predicted but Stonington was undefeated until they left the ECC for their last game of the season and feel to Hall 11-12 in OT. They also were upset 6-11 by East Lyme in the ECC Championship but in the 16 games the Bears (from Stonington) did win, they took down a very good Guilford team, Ledyard twice, Nrowich Free Academy twice and Waterford. I think that after Saturday, the only Bears left in Class S will be from the ECC, not the NCCC.
(11) Ellington @ (3) Joel Barlow @ 430pm
-Ellington had the credentials to upset, based on seeding, Lewis Mills but they are not going to take down the Joel Barlow Falcons that beat Simsbury, Daniel Hand, Weston and New Fairfield before getting upset by them in the SWC semifinals. Barlow did lose to Wilton from the FCIAC 7-11, Guilford from the SCC 11-10 in OT (they were down 2-10 at halftime) and Newtown, the top-ranked team in ther conference, the SWC, 5-9 but it doesn't even compare to Ellington's losses to NCCC big wigs, Avon, Somers, Granby and even Suffield while also getting beat by South Windsor and Housatonic Valley in out-of-conference games. When Lewis Mills and a split with Granby Memorial are your only wins against teams over .500, you're not going to beat the likes of Joel Barlow.
PREDICTIONS: Somers by about seven goals over Old Saybrook; St. Joseph over Ledyard; Stonington over Granby Memorial; Joel Barlow over Ellington.
Saturday, June 4, 2011
Boys' Volleyball: Quarterfinals Results (Thurs 6/2 adn Fri 6/3)
I didn't finish my predictions in time but there were no upsets except maybe Fermi over Bloomfield, I don't know who I would have picked, but I certainly would have went 7-0 in the other 7.
CLASS L
(9) Glastonbury 0 @ (1) Cheshire 3 (25-16, 25-17, 25-17)
(5) South Windsor 1 @ (4) Ridgefield 3 (25-16, 25-17, 22-25, 25-18)
(7) Greenwich 0 @ (2) Southington 3 (25-14, 25-20, 25-20)
(11) Danbury 0 @ (3) Staples 3 (25-20, 25-9, 25-17)
CLASS M
(9) Farmington 0 @ (1) Darien (25-12, 25-18, 25-19)
(5) Fermi 3 @ (4) Bloomfield 1 (25-19, 21-25, 25-16, 25-18)
(7) Daniel Hand 0 @ (2) Masuk 3 (25-21, 25-17, 25-16)
(11) Oxford 0 @ (3) Newington 3 (25-10, 25-17, 25-18)
CLASS L
(9) Glastonbury 0 @ (1) Cheshire 3 (25-16, 25-17, 25-17)
(5) South Windsor 1 @ (4) Ridgefield 3 (25-16, 25-17, 22-25, 25-18)
(7) Greenwich 0 @ (2) Southington 3 (25-14, 25-20, 25-20)
(11) Danbury 0 @ (3) Staples 3 (25-20, 25-9, 25-17)
CLASS M
(9) Farmington 0 @ (1) Darien (25-12, 25-18, 25-19)
(5) Fermi 3 @ (4) Bloomfield 1 (25-19, 21-25, 25-16, 25-18)
(7) Daniel Hand 0 @ (2) Masuk 3 (25-21, 25-17, 25-16)
(11) Oxford 0 @ (3) Newington 3 (25-10, 25-17, 25-18)
Thursday, June 2, 2011
Boys' Volleyball: Quarterfinals Preview (Friday 6/3)
I may have gone 3-5 in the first round but most upsets happen early and I did got 17-3 for lacrosse so that would make me 20-8 overall (>70% correct)!
CLASS L
(9) Glastonbury @ (1) Cheshire @ 7pm
-For Glastonbury to have even lost to Xavier 3-1 once, when Cheshire beat Xavier 3-0 twice, is enough to say that Cheshire will win this, their first game of the tournament. Cheshire also beat Newington 3-2 twice and Newington beat Glastonbury 3-0 twice.
(5) South Windsor @ (4) Ridgefield @ 5pm
-I have heard rumors that Ridgefield sat their starter for their 3-1 win over Norwich Free Academy in the first, hence why it was even close. Regardless of if that is true or not, Ridgefield is a dominant team from the FCIAC and South Windsor is just a good CCC team. Ridgefield even beat Staples 3-1 so I see them having no trouble here.
(7) Greenwich @ (2) Southington @ 5pm
(11) Danbury @ (3) Staples
PREDICTIONS: Cheshire 3-0 over Glastonbury; Ridgefield 3-0 over South Windsor;
CLASS M
(9) Farmington @ (1) Darien
(5) Fermi 3 @ (4) Bloomfield 1 (25-19, 21-25, 25-16, 25-18)
(7) Daniel Hand 0 @ (2) Masuk 3 (25-21, 25-17, 25-16)
(11) Oxford @ (3) Newington
CLASS L
(9) Glastonbury @ (1) Cheshire @ 7pm
-For Glastonbury to have even lost to Xavier 3-1 once, when Cheshire beat Xavier 3-0 twice, is enough to say that Cheshire will win this, their first game of the tournament. Cheshire also beat Newington 3-2 twice and Newington beat Glastonbury 3-0 twice.
(5) South Windsor @ (4) Ridgefield @ 5pm
-I have heard rumors that Ridgefield sat their starter for their 3-1 win over Norwich Free Academy in the first, hence why it was even close. Regardless of if that is true or not, Ridgefield is a dominant team from the FCIAC and South Windsor is just a good CCC team. Ridgefield even beat Staples 3-1 so I see them having no trouble here.
(7) Greenwich @ (2) Southington @ 5pm
(11) Danbury @ (3) Staples
PREDICTIONS: Cheshire 3-0 over Glastonbury; Ridgefield 3-0 over South Windsor;
CLASS M
(9) Farmington @ (1) Darien
(5) Fermi 3 @ (4) Bloomfield 1 (25-19, 21-25, 25-16, 25-18)
(7) Daniel Hand 0 @ (2) Masuk 3 (25-21, 25-17, 25-16)
(11) Oxford @ (3) Newington
Boys' Lacrosse: First Round Results (Wednesday 6/1)
CLASS L
(17) Cheshire 10 @ (1) #9 Newtown 13
(9) Hall 8 @ (8) #10 Simsbury 15
-see below:
Scoring: Simsbury --- Trevor Gallagher (4), Mason Burr (4), Jeff Smith (3), Matt Balmer (2), Steve Patria, Cody Carlson; Hall --- Dan Carr (2), Eli Fisher, Dan Davis, Jared Krikorian, Max Kaufman, Connor Doherty, Nick Carpenter.
(13) Southington 4 @ (4) #4 Fairfield Prep 14
-see below:
Fairfield Prep 5 4 3 2 — 14
Southington 0 1 1 2 — 4
Goals: FP — Kevin Brown 5, Tim Edmonds 4, Connor Kelly, Tyler Cox, David White, Steve Domonick, Sean Henry; S — Jordan Chapman 2, Matt Prezloso, Jim Hammond
Assists: FP — Edmonds 2, Matt Brophy 2, Kelly, White, Austin Sims.
Saves: FP — Orvis, 13; S — Thomson, 8.
Shots: FP — 33; S — 19
(12) #3 Greenwich 12 @ (5) Glastonbury 10
-see below:
Scoring: Greenwich --- Chris Pavelic (6), Eric Foote (2), Andrew Feeney (2), Alex Marcus, David Dickson; Glastonbury --- Jack Meotti (3), Cory Santor (2), Chad Britnell (2), Scott Crevoiserat (2), Shane O'Keefe.
(15) South Windsor 4 @ (2) #7 Staples (Westport) 15
-see below:
South Windsor 0 1 1 2--4
Staples 5 5 3 2--15
Scoring: SW--Sean Doolady (1g), Chris Liakos (1g), Tyler Woods (1g), Dan Kelly (1g), Connor Hibbs (1a), Jake Sladyk (1a), Greg Dendergast (1a), Johnny Maura (1a); S--Nick Maki (2g, 4a), Peter Paul (4g, 1a), Kip Orban (4g), Charlie Ross (3g, 1a), Quinn Mendelson (1g), Jake Korus (1g), Kyle Murray (1a), Bill Lahiff (1a).
Goalies: SW--Troy Kermidas (12 saves); S--J.B. Breig (7), Sam Reiner (5), James Hines (1).
Shots: SW--15; S--27
(10) Hamden 2 @ (7) #8 Brien McMahon (Norwalk) 16
(14) Conard 11 @ (3) Xavier (Middletown) 7
-see below:
Scoring: Conard --- Kyle Weber (5), Danny Kycia (3), Ryan Moore (2), Doug Hein; Xavier --- Matt Kycia (2), Geoff Bruno (2), Tyler Crowl, Dan Walsh, Trevor Buchas.
(11) Norwich Free Academy 6 @ (6) #2 Ridgefield 20
CLASS M
(16) Notre Dame-West Haven 2 @ (1) #1 Darien 17
-see below:
ND-WH 0 1 0 1 — 2
Darien 3 5 4 5 — 17
Goals: ND-WH — Quinn, D’Amicis; D — Gregry 5, Brown 3, Mathies 2, Preston 2, Murphy 2, Weas, Hathaway, Majd.
Assists: D — Mathies 3, Preston 3, Gregry, Murphy, Brown, Walsh.
Saves: ND-WH — Scalia, 19, Paul, 0; D — Torey, 1.
Shots: ND-WH — 3; D — 36.
(9) Fairfield Ludlowe 12 @ (8) Masuk 3
-see below:
Fairfield Ludlowe 4 2 3 3--12
Masuk 0 1 1 1--3
Scoring: FL--Dan Errett (5g, 1a), Brendan Errett (2g, 1a), Nate Bryan (2g, 1a), Chris Boardman (1g, 1a), Chris Panguay (1g), Matt Macoy (1g), Chris Stern (1a), Jake Mason (1a), Mac Eder (1a); M--Frank Bacarella (1g, 1a), Connor Halloran (1g), Ryan Brown (1g).
Goalies: FL--Graham Ward (8 saves), Judson Koss (7), Tom Kryspin (3); M--Kyle Matthews (9).
Shots: FL--27; M--15.
(13) Guilford 18 @ (4) RHAM 11
(12) Windsor 4 @ (5) #5 Wilton 19
(15) Brookfield 2 @ (2) East Lyme 11
(10) Daniel Hand 3 @ (7) #6 New Canaan 15
(14) Norwalk 11 @ (3) New Fairfield 15
(11) Branford 14 @ (6) Avon 13 OT
CLASS S
(9) Waterford 11 @ (8) Old Saybrook 14
-see below:
Scoring: Old Saybrook --- Clay Farrell (4), Liam O'Donnell (3), Alex Navarro (2), Nick Santamaria (2), Shane Olsen, Teddy Giudis, Dillon McQuade; Waterford --- Casey Sullivan (6), Ryan Kirsch (3), Chris Wallace, Ryan Brouwer.
(12) St. Joseph 8 @ (5) Weston 6
-see below:
ST. JOSEPH 1 1 4 2--8
WESTON 3 1 1 1--6
Scoring: SJ--Pat Corcoran (4g, 1a), Brian Bacarella (1g, 2a), Pat Mullgan (1g, 1a), Mike Marini (1g), L.J. Hunt (1g), Bobby Ciotti (1a); W--Richie Miller (2g), Lyle Mitchell (1g, 1a), Daniel Rogers (1g), Jack Scheufele (1g), Kip McMahon (1g), Eddie Hutchins (1a).
Goalies: SJ--Matt Mohr (14 saves); W--Alex Peyreigne (11), Grant Limone (0).
Shots: SJ--29; W--23.
(10) Suffield 9 @ (7) Granby Memorial 14
(11) Ellington 17 @ (6) Lewis Mills 6
-see below:
Scoring: Ellington--Zack Palmer (4), Brian Borbas (2), Lou Horvath (2), Aaron Daily (2), C.J. Schiessl (2), Cameron Mozzer, Logan Marcus, Zack Hazzard; Lewis Mills--Chris Bohnwagner (3), Tyler Alvarez (2), Kevin Lindsay.
PREDICTIONS: 17-3 (L: 6-2; M: 7-1; S: 4-0)
(17) Cheshire 10 @ (1) #9 Newtown 13
(9) Hall 8 @ (8) #10 Simsbury 15
-see below:
Scoring: Simsbury --- Trevor Gallagher (4), Mason Burr (4), Jeff Smith (3), Matt Balmer (2), Steve Patria, Cody Carlson; Hall --- Dan Carr (2), Eli Fisher, Dan Davis, Jared Krikorian, Max Kaufman, Connor Doherty, Nick Carpenter.
(13) Southington 4 @ (4) #4 Fairfield Prep 14
-see below:
Fairfield Prep 5 4 3 2 — 14
Southington 0 1 1 2 — 4
Goals: FP — Kevin Brown 5, Tim Edmonds 4, Connor Kelly, Tyler Cox, David White, Steve Domonick, Sean Henry; S — Jordan Chapman 2, Matt Prezloso, Jim Hammond
Assists: FP — Edmonds 2, Matt Brophy 2, Kelly, White, Austin Sims.
Saves: FP — Orvis, 13; S — Thomson, 8.
Shots: FP — 33; S — 19
(12) #3 Greenwich 12 @ (5) Glastonbury 10
-see below:
Scoring: Greenwich --- Chris Pavelic (6), Eric Foote (2), Andrew Feeney (2), Alex Marcus, David Dickson; Glastonbury --- Jack Meotti (3), Cory Santor (2), Chad Britnell (2), Scott Crevoiserat (2), Shane O'Keefe.
(15) South Windsor 4 @ (2) #7 Staples (Westport) 15
-see below:
South Windsor 0 1 1 2--4
Staples 5 5 3 2--15
Scoring: SW--Sean Doolady (1g), Chris Liakos (1g), Tyler Woods (1g), Dan Kelly (1g), Connor Hibbs (1a), Jake Sladyk (1a), Greg Dendergast (1a), Johnny Maura (1a); S--Nick Maki (2g, 4a), Peter Paul (4g, 1a), Kip Orban (4g), Charlie Ross (3g, 1a), Quinn Mendelson (1g), Jake Korus (1g), Kyle Murray (1a), Bill Lahiff (1a).
Goalies: SW--Troy Kermidas (12 saves); S--J.B. Breig (7), Sam Reiner (5), James Hines (1).
Shots: SW--15; S--27
(10) Hamden 2 @ (7) #8 Brien McMahon (Norwalk) 16
(14) Conard 11 @ (3) Xavier (Middletown) 7
-see below:
Scoring: Conard --- Kyle Weber (5), Danny Kycia (3), Ryan Moore (2), Doug Hein; Xavier --- Matt Kycia (2), Geoff Bruno (2), Tyler Crowl, Dan Walsh, Trevor Buchas.
(11) Norwich Free Academy 6 @ (6) #2 Ridgefield 20
CLASS M
(16) Notre Dame-West Haven 2 @ (1) #1 Darien 17
-see below:
ND-WH 0 1 0 1 — 2
Darien 3 5 4 5 — 17
Goals: ND-WH — Quinn, D’Amicis; D — Gregry 5, Brown 3, Mathies 2, Preston 2, Murphy 2, Weas, Hathaway, Majd.
Assists: D — Mathies 3, Preston 3, Gregry, Murphy, Brown, Walsh.
Saves: ND-WH — Scalia, 19, Paul, 0; D — Torey, 1.
Shots: ND-WH — 3; D — 36.
(9) Fairfield Ludlowe 12 @ (8) Masuk 3
-see below:
Fairfield Ludlowe 4 2 3 3--12
Masuk 0 1 1 1--3
Scoring: FL--Dan Errett (5g, 1a), Brendan Errett (2g, 1a), Nate Bryan (2g, 1a), Chris Boardman (1g, 1a), Chris Panguay (1g), Matt Macoy (1g), Chris Stern (1a), Jake Mason (1a), Mac Eder (1a); M--Frank Bacarella (1g, 1a), Connor Halloran (1g), Ryan Brown (1g).
Goalies: FL--Graham Ward (8 saves), Judson Koss (7), Tom Kryspin (3); M--Kyle Matthews (9).
Shots: FL--27; M--15.
(13) Guilford 18 @ (4) RHAM 11
(12) Windsor 4 @ (5) #5 Wilton 19
(15) Brookfield 2 @ (2) East Lyme 11
(10) Daniel Hand 3 @ (7) #6 New Canaan 15
(14) Norwalk 11 @ (3) New Fairfield 15
(11) Branford 14 @ (6) Avon 13 OT
CLASS S
(9) Waterford 11 @ (8) Old Saybrook 14
-see below:
Scoring: Old Saybrook --- Clay Farrell (4), Liam O'Donnell (3), Alex Navarro (2), Nick Santamaria (2), Shane Olsen, Teddy Giudis, Dillon McQuade; Waterford --- Casey Sullivan (6), Ryan Kirsch (3), Chris Wallace, Ryan Brouwer.
(12) St. Joseph 8 @ (5) Weston 6
-see below:
ST. JOSEPH 1 1 4 2--8
WESTON 3 1 1 1--6
Scoring: SJ--Pat Corcoran (4g, 1a), Brian Bacarella (1g, 2a), Pat Mullgan (1g, 1a), Mike Marini (1g), L.J. Hunt (1g), Bobby Ciotti (1a); W--Richie Miller (2g), Lyle Mitchell (1g, 1a), Daniel Rogers (1g), Jack Scheufele (1g), Kip McMahon (1g), Eddie Hutchins (1a).
Goalies: SJ--Matt Mohr (14 saves); W--Alex Peyreigne (11), Grant Limone (0).
Shots: SJ--29; W--23.
(10) Suffield 9 @ (7) Granby Memorial 14
(11) Ellington 17 @ (6) Lewis Mills 6
-see below:
Scoring: Ellington--Zack Palmer (4), Brian Borbas (2), Lou Horvath (2), Aaron Daily (2), C.J. Schiessl (2), Cameron Mozzer, Logan Marcus, Zack Hazzard; Lewis Mills--Chris Bohnwagner (3), Tyler Alvarez (2), Kevin Lindsay.
PREDICTIONS: 17-3 (L: 6-2; M: 7-1; S: 4-0)
Wednesday, June 1, 2011
Boys' Volleyball: First Round Results (Tues 5/31 and Wed 6/1)
CLASS L
(9) Glastonbury 3 @ (8) Xavier 2
(13) Norwich Free Academy 1 @ (4) Ridgefield 3 (25-22, 25-10, 22-25, 25-18)
(12) Simsbury 1 @ (5) South Windsor 3 (25-12, 20-25, 25-17, 25-18)
(10) Amity 0 @ (7) Greenwich 3 (25-22, 25-9, 25-19)
-I got this wrong because Greenwich did not do well against good teams so I underestimated but I should have also recognized that they blew out the bad teams they played and were going to be more than ready to do the same to Amity.
(11) Danbury 3 @ (6) Bridgeport Central 2 (25-23, 15-25, 17-25, 25-15, 15-9)
-For Danbury, Matheus Ananias had 12 kills, Sebastian Ramirez had 17 kills and Cris Suarez had 10 kills. For Bridgeport Central, Jakob Valko had 52 assists, two blocks and one kill, Abdoulie Williams had 26 kills and 15 blocks, Rodolfo Pestana had 29 kills, seven blocks and 22 digs, and Josh Domogala had 22 digs.
CLASS M
(9) Farmington 3 @ (8) Enfield 0 (25-22, 25-20, 25-22)
-Shocker after Enfield won both the regular season matches 3-1 and the second time was not even a week ago (last Thursday, 5/26) at the same place, Enfield HS.
(10) Wethersfield 1 @ (7) Daniel Hand 3
(11) Oxford 3 @ (6) Wolcott Tech 1 (22-25, 29-27, 27-25, 25-19)
-For Oxford, Anthony Renzoni had 20 assists and seven digs, J.T. Vankamerik had 16 kills and 11 blocks, Rob Costigan had 22 kills and four blocks and Tim Hoxha had 18 kills and 11 digs.
PREDICTIONS: 3-5 (L: 2-3, M: 1-2)
(9) Glastonbury 3 @ (8) Xavier 2
(13) Norwich Free Academy 1 @ (4) Ridgefield 3 (25-22, 25-10, 22-25, 25-18)
(12) Simsbury 1 @ (5) South Windsor 3 (25-12, 20-25, 25-17, 25-18)
(10) Amity 0 @ (7) Greenwich 3 (25-22, 25-9, 25-19)
-I got this wrong because Greenwich did not do well against good teams so I underestimated but I should have also recognized that they blew out the bad teams they played and were going to be more than ready to do the same to Amity.
(11) Danbury 3 @ (6) Bridgeport Central 2 (25-23, 15-25, 17-25, 25-15, 15-9)
-For Danbury, Matheus Ananias had 12 kills, Sebastian Ramirez had 17 kills and Cris Suarez had 10 kills. For Bridgeport Central, Jakob Valko had 52 assists, two blocks and one kill, Abdoulie Williams had 26 kills and 15 blocks, Rodolfo Pestana had 29 kills, seven blocks and 22 digs, and Josh Domogala had 22 digs.
CLASS M
(9) Farmington 3 @ (8) Enfield 0 (25-22, 25-20, 25-22)
-Shocker after Enfield won both the regular season matches 3-1 and the second time was not even a week ago (last Thursday, 5/26) at the same place, Enfield HS.
(10) Wethersfield 1 @ (7) Daniel Hand 3
(11) Oxford 3 @ (6) Wolcott Tech 1 (22-25, 29-27, 27-25, 25-19)
-For Oxford, Anthony Renzoni had 20 assists and seven digs, J.T. Vankamerik had 16 kills and 11 blocks, Rob Costigan had 22 kills and four blocks and Tim Hoxha had 18 kills and 11 digs.
PREDICTIONS: 3-5 (L: 2-3, M: 1-2)
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Boys' Lacrosse: First Round Games (Wednesday 6/1)
Instead of going in chronological order like I normally do, I am going to follow the bracket order, WITH PREDICTIONS:
CLASS L
(17) Cheshire @ (1) #9 Newtown @ 430pm
-Cheshire is the only lower seed to win their play-in game and they may pull the upset, according to seeding, in this one too. The actual number one team in Class L is up for debate (Newtown's SWC schedule is just very easy) and although Newtown would be in the top five, or at least top seven, the number one team should definitely be from the FCIAC. On the other side, Cheshire's seed is so low because they play in the SCC where they lost twice to Prep and once to Guilford, then they played and lost three CCC games to its top three teams, Conard, Simsbury and Glastonbury, and they are the defending Class L Champions so they got everyone's best, especially in their out-of-conference games against New Canaan and Bay Shore (NY). The goal is just to make the tournament and anything can happen from there so at 8-8, .500, they did just that and took out Danbury on Saturday. Newtown played Friday when they won the SWC Championship 12-7 over New Fairfield so Cheshire doesn't have much of an advantage there. My key to the game will be Cheshire's goalie, Will Devine; if he plays well they will win this one.
(9) Hall @ (8) #10 Simsbury @ 530pm
-CCC enemies, these two teams actually did not meet this regular season. Hall went undefeated in April, beating sub-par and mediocre at best opponents. They lost four of their next five games to Hand, Glastonbury, Simsbury and Southington. They had a win over 4-12 Northwest Catholic in there. They finished the season on a high note, possibly with some divine help, as they handed Stonington their only loss of the regular season (they beat Guilford 4-2 but dropped the ECC title game to East Lyme 6-11) 12-11 in OT and then were 14 seconds from losing to Conard before rain canceled the game and Hall won the make-up 14-13 on 5/25, their last game. Simsbury has been a lot more consistent at being good as they only lost four games all season. To start, they dropped three of their first four: Joel Barlow, Xavier and Hand (win over 10-8 South Windsor). Then they won 11 in a row including Brien McMahon, Cheshire Conard (in a row after the Hand loss), Guilford, Hall (12-10), Southington and a 20-2 blowout of Farmington before losing their last game of the regular season 5-8 at Glastonbury. However, they avenged that loss six days later in the CCC West Championship game back at Glastonbury, 12-10! You can find my pick at the bottom of all the Class L games.
(13) Southington @ (4) #4 Fairfield Prep @ 430pm
-Exact same first round match-up and seeds as last year for these two teams (the only thing different is Prep won the SCC this year while they came in 2nd last year). I'd go with the same winner since Prep has only lost one game in-state and it was to #3 Greenwich. The Jesuits did beat Glastonbury by five goals, who beat Southington by six, just for reference. Southington has talent, they just got a bad draw in the first round with Prep. The Blue Knights other losses this season have been to Conard, Simsbury, Fairfield Ludlowe (a 9-7 team from the FCIAC), Xavier (lost 2-14 to Prep), Cheshire (lost 2-12, 6-11 and 1-11 to Prep).
(12) #3 Greenwich @ (5) Glastonbury @ 430pm
-More quality teams in the Class L tournament and much like the first game, this could turn out to be a huge upset according to the seeding. I feel bad for Glastonbury as they are a very good team from the CCC that lost their focus in the CCC West Championship and lost it to Simsbury and now they caught a bad break in the Class L tournament by getting Greenwich first round. Greenwich's record, and thus seed, is so low because of their out-of-state schedule (1-4) and conference, the FCIAC. They have the marquee wins of Ridgefield 8-7 and Fairfield Prep 10-4 but later lost to Ridgefield 10-5 in the FCIAC tournament semifinals. Their other two losses were conference stalwarts Darien and Wilton but both are in Class M. Glastonbury is 0-3 against FCIAC opponents, losing to Wilton, Staples (8-5 and 14-7 wins for Greenwich) and Brien McMahon. This should be a good game but I don't see the actual upset happening.
(15) South Windsor @ (2) #7 Staples (Westport) @ 430pm
-South Windsor was the number one seed in the CCC East but they weren't in the top five of the conference as a whole, and Staples may have been the eight seed in the FCIAC tournament but that just shows how deep the conference is and puts to rest any argument about it not being the best conference for lacrosse. Staples only losses this season are Greenwich, Ridgefield and Brien McMahon, other Class L teams yes but still better than any team South Windsor played this season, just like the FCIAC teams Staples beat this year. The best barometer is that Staples beat Glastonbury 12-2 and Glastonbury beat South Windsor 9-3. South Windsor was even upset by Windsor 5-6 in OT of the CCC East Championship, their worst loss all season.
(10) Hamden @ (7) #8 Brien McMahon (Norwalk) @ 430pm
-The seedings may be close but I don't expect the game to be so I will try to keep the write-up short like I did for the above mismatch as well. Hamden's 12-4 record looks impressive but they beat up on the lower end of the SCC and some other below-.500 teams. For example, they earned the 7 seed in the SCC tournament but had lost 9-12 to 6 seed Branford, 8-10 to 5 seed Xavier, didn't play the top four teams in the conference (Hand, Guilford, Cheshire and Prep) and ended up losing to Cheshire 3-15. Brien McMahon was the 7 seed in the FCIAC and they beat teams head and shoulders above the ones Hamden even played. For example, McMahon started off their regular season with an 18-3 win over Branford and Hamden ended theirs with a 9-12 loss to Brandford.
(14) Conard @ (3) Xavier (Middletown) @ 430pm
-Don't sleep on Conard right here. Although Xavier has the potential to be one of the best teams in the state, they also could get upset by a Conard team modeled for the playoffs. The Chieftains have an exceptional goalie that keeps them in every game and an offense that scores just enough to win against most teams. Offenses have to play their best to score on Coanrd's goalie and Xavier will need to score a lot because Conard's offense will be pumped for three main reasons. One, they were left out of the CCC tournament (Simsbury and Glastonbury were just better), they got the bitter taste of 13-14 loss to Hall out of their mouth by rolling over New Milford 11-4 on Saturday while Xavier hasn't played in over a week (0-16 Wilbur Cross doesn't count) when they fell 9-11 in a close one to Hand, and don't think the Conard attackmen have forgotten what they did to Xavier in hockey, pulling a big upset on the ice back in the winter. The same thing could happen here if the Falcons don't come out ready to play; pick is at the bottom of the Class L games.
(11) Norwich Free Academy @ (6) #2 Ridgefield @ 430pm
-Another easy pick/blowout waiting to happen. NFA gets their 10-5 record from a very weak ECC where they couldn't even beat Ledyard (Stonington is not a bad loss). Their best win is splitting with East Lyme, the eventual conference champion by way of an upset of Stonington, 8-7 in win but then a 4-16 loss exactly one month later. Ridgefield, on the other hand, is one of the favorites to win Class L and for good reason: they were seeded 3rd in the FCIAC tournament and blew out Brien McMahon, stepped up big time to get a convincing 10-5 win over Greenwich and they gave Darien a good game in the championship game, a 7-10 loss for the Tigers! Expect Ridgefield to still be firing on all cylinders as they come into this game, at home.
PREDICTIONS: Cheshire by one goal over Newtown; Simsbury over Hall by about three goals; Fairfield Prep is on fire coming off the SCC Championship game so I see them winning by at least ten goals over Southington; Greenwich bounced back from their 5-10 loss to Ridgefield in the FCIAC semifinals with a 16-4 win over Stamford in the play-in game so I think they take down Glastonbury by 8 to 10 gaols; Staples by at least ten goals over South Windsor, at least; Brien McMahon by a blowout over Hamden; home turf gives Xavier enough of an advantage to edge Conard by two goals again; Ridgefield by more than ten over Norwich Free Academy.
CLASS M
(16) Notre Dame-West Haven @ (1) #1 Darien @ 430pm
-ND-WH used a three-game win streak at the end of the season over sub-par teams (West Haven, North Haven, Trumbull) to make the tournament and they did hand 13-5 Hamden a loss earlier in the season, and push Branford to two overtimes and an injured Hand to overtime but both were losses and early in the season. The Green Knights don't stand a chance in this one, especially since they're playing nationally ranked Darien, undefeated in-state, led by Under Armour All-American and senior captain Eric Parnon along with Duke-bound junior Case Matheis on offense. That's really all you need to know and I'm afraid to even think what the score will be; scroll down to see.
(9) Fairfield Ludlowe @ (8) Masuk @ 5pm
-This is a tricky one to predict. Ludlowe was just out of the Top 8 in the FCIAC, which means they are still very good at 9-7 in that conference. They only lost to Staples 10-11 in overtime, they beat Norwalk, a team very similar to them, 11-10 in OT the next game, they beat Conard and Southington from the CCC and they beat St. Joseph 14-13, another FCIAC team with a lot of talent. Also, they have the experience of playing a lot of the top teams in the FCIAC/state, Darien twice, Ridgefield, Brien McMahon, New Canaan, Wilton and Staples. Masuk is a good team from the SWC but that makes them just less than a team from the middle of the FCIAC, like Ludlwoe (or St. Joseph or Norwalk). Masuk was the 5 seed in the SWC tournament behind Weston, New Fairfield, Joel Barlow and Newtown. Other than those four teams, Masuk lost to Brien McMahon 1-18 (Ludlowe only lost 7-8) and Westhill, a team on the lower end of the middle of the FCIAC with a 7-10 record.
(13) Guilford @ (4) RHAM @ 430pm
-RHAM's "special" season ends right here as they fell victim to seeding and got matched up with a Guilford team whose 8-8 record is a product of their SCC schedule: splits with Cheshire and Hand and losses to Prep twice and Xavier don't help. Plus, the Indians lost to ECC Champion East Lyme 5-6 in overtime in their first game and then 2-4 to ECC #1 seed and then undefeated Stonington in their last game of the regular season. They did beat Ledyard, ND-WH and their loss to CCC East Champion Simsbury can be mitigated with their 11-10 OT win over Joel Barlow for other out-of-conference games. RHAM dropped a bad game to 3-12 Tolland and then their other three losses were mediocre CCC teams South Windsor, Windsor and Hall. The Sachems had no real signature win on the season and will be leaving the Class M tournament quite early for their 12-4 record.
(12) Windsor @ (5) #5 Wilton @ 430pm
-CCC West Champions Windsor better have enjoyed last Thursday's 6-5 OT win over 1 seed South Windsor to get revenge for an 8-10 loss during the season and capture the championship because when they go to Wilton on Wednesday things will probably get ugly. Wilton is one of the best teams in the FCIAC/state and they almost upset number one Darien in the FCIAC semifinals (6-9 loss) so they are on the short list of teams that can possibly upset Darien in the Class M tournament. I hate to say it but even if Wilton "overlooks" Windsor or doesn't play 100% they will still win this one; expect the back-ups to get some playing time. For reference, Wilton beat Glastonbury 12-5 and Glastonbury beat Windsor 2-15.
(15) Brookfield @ (2) East Lyme @ 430pm
-Brookfield may have been the 7 seed in the SWC tournament but East Lyme won the the ECC tournament by upsetting the favorite, Stonington. East Lyme also only lost three games all year, 5-6 to Coanrd, 7-8 to Norwich Free Academy, and 9-12 to Daniel Hand. They beat NFA 16-4 the second time, Guilford 6-5 in OT, Ledyard twice and South Windsor. Brookfield lost to seeds 1-6 in the SWC (Newtown, Joel Barlow, New Fairfield, New Milford, Masuk, Weston) and Brien McMahon and Norwalk from the FCIAC. They did not beat a team with more than six wins or that was even close to .500; the combined record of the eight teams that they beat was 27-102. The winner plays Hand or New Canaan, both teams that would be either of these two.
(10) Daniel Hand @ (7) #6 New Canaan @ 6pm
-Oh wow, this really sucks for Hand as they are one of the top 15/20 teams in the entire state but their deflated record from their SCC schedule and New Canaan's from their out-of-state schedule has these two lacrosse powerhouses meeting in the first round. Hand lost to Cheshire twice (by 1 goals then by 2), Prep three times (took them to OT in the SCC semifinals), split with Guilford, lost to Glastonbury and, a little surprisingly, Joel Barlow. They have plenty of quality wins though with Simsbury, Xavier twice, East Lyme, Hall and Ledyard (if that counts). New Canaan is just a lot better though as they grabbed the five seed in the FCIAC after wins over Wilton, Brien McMahon in three overtimes, Fairfield Ludlowe and St. Joseph. They also beat Cheshire and a good John Jay team from NY. An upset is not impossible though as New Canaan lost to Wilton 5-12 the second time around in the playoffs while Hand played better in their conference tournament and almost upset (they were literally one shot away) a team I have ranked higher than New Canaan, Fairfield Prep!
(14) Norwalk @ (3) New Fairfield @ TIME CHANGE 7pm
-Very similar to the Ludlowe vs Masuk game except that New Fairfield is better than Masuk, they came in second in the SWC tournament after being seeded third but upsetting a very good Joel Barlow team, and Norwalk isn't as good as Ludlowe, but only by an overtime goal on 4/12. New Fairfield only lost three games in the regular season, Newtown, Joel Barlow and Rye HE from NY which also beat New Canaan and Brien McMahon while Norwalk may have gone 8-8 but in those eight wins is one over SWC 7 seed Brookfield 14-3 (the same score New Fairfield beat them by) and Newtown 13-12. They may not be the elite of the FCIAC but I still think Norwalk can beat even decent teams like New Fairfield, the question is will they (it's still a big upset).
(11) Branford @ (6) Avon @ 430pm
-Now this one is also a little difficult to pick because neither team is actually that good. Branford comes from the SCC where they did fairly well grabbing the six seed behind Xavier, Hand, Guilford, Cheshire, and Fairfield Prep. They lost to those five teams, Hall and Brien McMahon on the season while beating the 7 seed Hamden and 8 seed Shelton, Notre Dame-West Haven in two overtimes, the rest of the bottom of the SCC, and Old Saybrook and Old Lyme from the Shoreline. Avon comes from the NCCC but lost 4-5 to Somers in its championship game. They also lost to Somers twice int eh regular season, Coanrd 1-12, Southington 7-11 and surprisingly to Granby Memorial 5-6 early in the season (they won 15-9 then 10-9 later in the season). Avon lacks a big win just like Branford, bringing me back to how hard it will be to pick a winner here.
PREDICTIONS: Darien could beat ND-WH by 20, they did it to Fairfield Warde (20-0) and they're not afraid to blow teams out (21-2 to Danbury and 20-3 to Norwalk, both 8-8 teams while ND-WH is 7-8 in a much worse conference) but I think they will rest most of their players once they're up and the back-ups will restrain themselves to keep it around but within a 20-goal victory; FCIAC much > SWC so Fairfield Ludlowe over Masuk by 6 to 8 goals; Guilford over RHAM by 1 to 11 goals (they are so inconsistent); Wilton by at least ten goals over Windsor; Daniel Hand versus New Canaan could go either way as you really never know what you're going to get from Hand (are you gonna get the team that took Prep two and a half minutes into overtime or the one that let Guilford score 17 goals to only win by three) but I give New Canaan the edge at home and Hand doesn't play good enough defense to stop a skilled FCIAC offense like New Canaan's...New Canaan by one (to three) goal(s) over Hand; Norwalk and New Fairfield is such a close match-up that again it could either way but since it is my job to pick I will take Norwalk by two goals over New Fairfield; call it SCC bias but strength of schedule has to be worth something (Branford-27, Avon-44) so I'll take Branford by two or three goals over Avon.
CLASS S
(9) Waterford @ (8) Old Saybrook @ 430pm
-Old Saybrook, from the Shoreline Conference, has only one win in their 9-7 record over a team that is even .500 but they did beat 7-8 Notre Dame-West Haven. Waterford is from the ECC and they are 9-7 and have one win over a team above .500 too; 11-10 over 10-6 Norwich Free Academy at a neutral site on 5/19. Old Saybrook's "big" win is 6-3 over Waterford on 4/30. Although that was a while ago, I still see the Rams moving on to face undefeated NCCC Champion (1) Somers.
(12) St. Joseph @ (5) Weston @ 430pm
-I have been saying all year that St. Joseph is really a good team but they just aren't quite yet on the level of the FCIAC powerhouses they must play year in and year out. Weston is a good team from the SWC though as they earned the 4 seed, beat Masuk 14-6 in the quarterfinals and almost upset 1 seed Newtown in the semifinals (5-5 at half, down one after three and lost 9-11). St. Joseph lost 7-17 to Newtown but beat the Norwalk team that beat Newtown and I'm picking to beat New Fairfield as well.
(10) Suffield @ (7) Granby Memorial @ 430pm
-Granby lost to Suffield 6-13 in their second game of the season but just a couple weeks ago they beat them 15-10, as both teams play in the NCCC. Granby almost upset Avon in the NCCC tournament too, falling 9-10 at Avon. Suiffield started the season strong, with four straight wins, but lost to all their quality opponents after that with the exception of a big 12-9 win over Windsor and 12-16 frustrating loss to 4-12 Northwest Catholic.
(11) Ellington @ (6) Lewis Mills @ 430pm
-Ellington is also from the NCCC and Lewis Mills is independent but the two teams played each other in the regular season. Ellington won 14-7 on their home turf but played a tougher schedule than Mills, resulting in their 8-8 record compared to Mills at 10-5. Surprisingly, both teams lost to another independent team, 6-10 Housatonic Valley (Mills beat them 5-6 but then lost 1-12 and Ellington lost 6-11).
PREDICTIONS: Old Saybrook over Waterford; St. Joseph over Weston in an extremely close game; Granby Memorial over Suffield; Ellington over Lewis Mills.
CLASS L
(17) Cheshire @ (1) #9 Newtown @ 430pm
-Cheshire is the only lower seed to win their play-in game and they may pull the upset, according to seeding, in this one too. The actual number one team in Class L is up for debate (Newtown's SWC schedule is just very easy) and although Newtown would be in the top five, or at least top seven, the number one team should definitely be from the FCIAC. On the other side, Cheshire's seed is so low because they play in the SCC where they lost twice to Prep and once to Guilford, then they played and lost three CCC games to its top three teams, Conard, Simsbury and Glastonbury, and they are the defending Class L Champions so they got everyone's best, especially in their out-of-conference games against New Canaan and Bay Shore (NY). The goal is just to make the tournament and anything can happen from there so at 8-8, .500, they did just that and took out Danbury on Saturday. Newtown played Friday when they won the SWC Championship 12-7 over New Fairfield so Cheshire doesn't have much of an advantage there. My key to the game will be Cheshire's goalie, Will Devine; if he plays well they will win this one.
(9) Hall @ (8) #10 Simsbury @ 530pm
-CCC enemies, these two teams actually did not meet this regular season. Hall went undefeated in April, beating sub-par and mediocre at best opponents. They lost four of their next five games to Hand, Glastonbury, Simsbury and Southington. They had a win over 4-12 Northwest Catholic in there. They finished the season on a high note, possibly with some divine help, as they handed Stonington their only loss of the regular season (they beat Guilford 4-2 but dropped the ECC title game to East Lyme 6-11) 12-11 in OT and then were 14 seconds from losing to Conard before rain canceled the game and Hall won the make-up 14-13 on 5/25, their last game. Simsbury has been a lot more consistent at being good as they only lost four games all season. To start, they dropped three of their first four: Joel Barlow, Xavier and Hand (win over 10-8 South Windsor). Then they won 11 in a row including Brien McMahon, Cheshire Conard (in a row after the Hand loss), Guilford, Hall (12-10), Southington and a 20-2 blowout of Farmington before losing their last game of the regular season 5-8 at Glastonbury. However, they avenged that loss six days later in the CCC West Championship game back at Glastonbury, 12-10! You can find my pick at the bottom of all the Class L games.
(13) Southington @ (4) #4 Fairfield Prep @ 430pm
-Exact same first round match-up and seeds as last year for these two teams (the only thing different is Prep won the SCC this year while they came in 2nd last year). I'd go with the same winner since Prep has only lost one game in-state and it was to #3 Greenwich. The Jesuits did beat Glastonbury by five goals, who beat Southington by six, just for reference. Southington has talent, they just got a bad draw in the first round with Prep. The Blue Knights other losses this season have been to Conard, Simsbury, Fairfield Ludlowe (a 9-7 team from the FCIAC), Xavier (lost 2-14 to Prep), Cheshire (lost 2-12, 6-11 and 1-11 to Prep).
(12) #3 Greenwich @ (5) Glastonbury @ 430pm
-More quality teams in the Class L tournament and much like the first game, this could turn out to be a huge upset according to the seeding. I feel bad for Glastonbury as they are a very good team from the CCC that lost their focus in the CCC West Championship and lost it to Simsbury and now they caught a bad break in the Class L tournament by getting Greenwich first round. Greenwich's record, and thus seed, is so low because of their out-of-state schedule (1-4) and conference, the FCIAC. They have the marquee wins of Ridgefield 8-7 and Fairfield Prep 10-4 but later lost to Ridgefield 10-5 in the FCIAC tournament semifinals. Their other two losses were conference stalwarts Darien and Wilton but both are in Class M. Glastonbury is 0-3 against FCIAC opponents, losing to Wilton, Staples (8-5 and 14-7 wins for Greenwich) and Brien McMahon. This should be a good game but I don't see the actual upset happening.
(15) South Windsor @ (2) #7 Staples (Westport) @ 430pm
-South Windsor was the number one seed in the CCC East but they weren't in the top five of the conference as a whole, and Staples may have been the eight seed in the FCIAC tournament but that just shows how deep the conference is and puts to rest any argument about it not being the best conference for lacrosse. Staples only losses this season are Greenwich, Ridgefield and Brien McMahon, other Class L teams yes but still better than any team South Windsor played this season, just like the FCIAC teams Staples beat this year. The best barometer is that Staples beat Glastonbury 12-2 and Glastonbury beat South Windsor 9-3. South Windsor was even upset by Windsor 5-6 in OT of the CCC East Championship, their worst loss all season.
(10) Hamden @ (7) #8 Brien McMahon (Norwalk) @ 430pm
-The seedings may be close but I don't expect the game to be so I will try to keep the write-up short like I did for the above mismatch as well. Hamden's 12-4 record looks impressive but they beat up on the lower end of the SCC and some other below-.500 teams. For example, they earned the 7 seed in the SCC tournament but had lost 9-12 to 6 seed Branford, 8-10 to 5 seed Xavier, didn't play the top four teams in the conference (Hand, Guilford, Cheshire and Prep) and ended up losing to Cheshire 3-15. Brien McMahon was the 7 seed in the FCIAC and they beat teams head and shoulders above the ones Hamden even played. For example, McMahon started off their regular season with an 18-3 win over Branford and Hamden ended theirs with a 9-12 loss to Brandford.
(14) Conard @ (3) Xavier (Middletown) @ 430pm
-Don't sleep on Conard right here. Although Xavier has the potential to be one of the best teams in the state, they also could get upset by a Conard team modeled for the playoffs. The Chieftains have an exceptional goalie that keeps them in every game and an offense that scores just enough to win against most teams. Offenses have to play their best to score on Coanrd's goalie and Xavier will need to score a lot because Conard's offense will be pumped for three main reasons. One, they were left out of the CCC tournament (Simsbury and Glastonbury were just better), they got the bitter taste of 13-14 loss to Hall out of their mouth by rolling over New Milford 11-4 on Saturday while Xavier hasn't played in over a week (0-16 Wilbur Cross doesn't count) when they fell 9-11 in a close one to Hand, and don't think the Conard attackmen have forgotten what they did to Xavier in hockey, pulling a big upset on the ice back in the winter. The same thing could happen here if the Falcons don't come out ready to play; pick is at the bottom of the Class L games.
(11) Norwich Free Academy @ (6) #2 Ridgefield @ 430pm
-Another easy pick/blowout waiting to happen. NFA gets their 10-5 record from a very weak ECC where they couldn't even beat Ledyard (Stonington is not a bad loss). Their best win is splitting with East Lyme, the eventual conference champion by way of an upset of Stonington, 8-7 in win but then a 4-16 loss exactly one month later. Ridgefield, on the other hand, is one of the favorites to win Class L and for good reason: they were seeded 3rd in the FCIAC tournament and blew out Brien McMahon, stepped up big time to get a convincing 10-5 win over Greenwich and they gave Darien a good game in the championship game, a 7-10 loss for the Tigers! Expect Ridgefield to still be firing on all cylinders as they come into this game, at home.
PREDICTIONS: Cheshire by one goal over Newtown; Simsbury over Hall by about three goals; Fairfield Prep is on fire coming off the SCC Championship game so I see them winning by at least ten goals over Southington; Greenwich bounced back from their 5-10 loss to Ridgefield in the FCIAC semifinals with a 16-4 win over Stamford in the play-in game so I think they take down Glastonbury by 8 to 10 gaols; Staples by at least ten goals over South Windsor, at least; Brien McMahon by a blowout over Hamden; home turf gives Xavier enough of an advantage to edge Conard by two goals again; Ridgefield by more than ten over Norwich Free Academy.
CLASS M
(16) Notre Dame-West Haven @ (1) #1 Darien @ 430pm
-ND-WH used a three-game win streak at the end of the season over sub-par teams (West Haven, North Haven, Trumbull) to make the tournament and they did hand 13-5 Hamden a loss earlier in the season, and push Branford to two overtimes and an injured Hand to overtime but both were losses and early in the season. The Green Knights don't stand a chance in this one, especially since they're playing nationally ranked Darien, undefeated in-state, led by Under Armour All-American and senior captain Eric Parnon along with Duke-bound junior Case Matheis on offense. That's really all you need to know and I'm afraid to even think what the score will be; scroll down to see.
(9) Fairfield Ludlowe @ (8) Masuk @ 5pm
-This is a tricky one to predict. Ludlowe was just out of the Top 8 in the FCIAC, which means they are still very good at 9-7 in that conference. They only lost to Staples 10-11 in overtime, they beat Norwalk, a team very similar to them, 11-10 in OT the next game, they beat Conard and Southington from the CCC and they beat St. Joseph 14-13, another FCIAC team with a lot of talent. Also, they have the experience of playing a lot of the top teams in the FCIAC/state, Darien twice, Ridgefield, Brien McMahon, New Canaan, Wilton and Staples. Masuk is a good team from the SWC but that makes them just less than a team from the middle of the FCIAC, like Ludlwoe (or St. Joseph or Norwalk). Masuk was the 5 seed in the SWC tournament behind Weston, New Fairfield, Joel Barlow and Newtown. Other than those four teams, Masuk lost to Brien McMahon 1-18 (Ludlowe only lost 7-8) and Westhill, a team on the lower end of the middle of the FCIAC with a 7-10 record.
(13) Guilford @ (4) RHAM @ 430pm
-RHAM's "special" season ends right here as they fell victim to seeding and got matched up with a Guilford team whose 8-8 record is a product of their SCC schedule: splits with Cheshire and Hand and losses to Prep twice and Xavier don't help. Plus, the Indians lost to ECC Champion East Lyme 5-6 in overtime in their first game and then 2-4 to ECC #1 seed and then undefeated Stonington in their last game of the regular season. They did beat Ledyard, ND-WH and their loss to CCC East Champion Simsbury can be mitigated with their 11-10 OT win over Joel Barlow for other out-of-conference games. RHAM dropped a bad game to 3-12 Tolland and then their other three losses were mediocre CCC teams South Windsor, Windsor and Hall. The Sachems had no real signature win on the season and will be leaving the Class M tournament quite early for their 12-4 record.
(12) Windsor @ (5) #5 Wilton @ 430pm
-CCC West Champions Windsor better have enjoyed last Thursday's 6-5 OT win over 1 seed South Windsor to get revenge for an 8-10 loss during the season and capture the championship because when they go to Wilton on Wednesday things will probably get ugly. Wilton is one of the best teams in the FCIAC/state and they almost upset number one Darien in the FCIAC semifinals (6-9 loss) so they are on the short list of teams that can possibly upset Darien in the Class M tournament. I hate to say it but even if Wilton "overlooks" Windsor or doesn't play 100% they will still win this one; expect the back-ups to get some playing time. For reference, Wilton beat Glastonbury 12-5 and Glastonbury beat Windsor 2-15.
(15) Brookfield @ (2) East Lyme @ 430pm
-Brookfield may have been the 7 seed in the SWC tournament but East Lyme won the the ECC tournament by upsetting the favorite, Stonington. East Lyme also only lost three games all year, 5-6 to Coanrd, 7-8 to Norwich Free Academy, and 9-12 to Daniel Hand. They beat NFA 16-4 the second time, Guilford 6-5 in OT, Ledyard twice and South Windsor. Brookfield lost to seeds 1-6 in the SWC (Newtown, Joel Barlow, New Fairfield, New Milford, Masuk, Weston) and Brien McMahon and Norwalk from the FCIAC. They did not beat a team with more than six wins or that was even close to .500; the combined record of the eight teams that they beat was 27-102. The winner plays Hand or New Canaan, both teams that would be either of these two.
(10) Daniel Hand @ (7) #6 New Canaan @ 6pm
-Oh wow, this really sucks for Hand as they are one of the top 15/20 teams in the entire state but their deflated record from their SCC schedule and New Canaan's from their out-of-state schedule has these two lacrosse powerhouses meeting in the first round. Hand lost to Cheshire twice (by 1 goals then by 2), Prep three times (took them to OT in the SCC semifinals), split with Guilford, lost to Glastonbury and, a little surprisingly, Joel Barlow. They have plenty of quality wins though with Simsbury, Xavier twice, East Lyme, Hall and Ledyard (if that counts). New Canaan is just a lot better though as they grabbed the five seed in the FCIAC after wins over Wilton, Brien McMahon in three overtimes, Fairfield Ludlowe and St. Joseph. They also beat Cheshire and a good John Jay team from NY. An upset is not impossible though as New Canaan lost to Wilton 5-12 the second time around in the playoffs while Hand played better in their conference tournament and almost upset (they were literally one shot away) a team I have ranked higher than New Canaan, Fairfield Prep!
(14) Norwalk @ (3) New Fairfield @ TIME CHANGE 7pm
-Very similar to the Ludlowe vs Masuk game except that New Fairfield is better than Masuk, they came in second in the SWC tournament after being seeded third but upsetting a very good Joel Barlow team, and Norwalk isn't as good as Ludlowe, but only by an overtime goal on 4/12. New Fairfield only lost three games in the regular season, Newtown, Joel Barlow and Rye HE from NY which also beat New Canaan and Brien McMahon while Norwalk may have gone 8-8 but in those eight wins is one over SWC 7 seed Brookfield 14-3 (the same score New Fairfield beat them by) and Newtown 13-12. They may not be the elite of the FCIAC but I still think Norwalk can beat even decent teams like New Fairfield, the question is will they (it's still a big upset).
(11) Branford @ (6) Avon @ 430pm
-Now this one is also a little difficult to pick because neither team is actually that good. Branford comes from the SCC where they did fairly well grabbing the six seed behind Xavier, Hand, Guilford, Cheshire, and Fairfield Prep. They lost to those five teams, Hall and Brien McMahon on the season while beating the 7 seed Hamden and 8 seed Shelton, Notre Dame-West Haven in two overtimes, the rest of the bottom of the SCC, and Old Saybrook and Old Lyme from the Shoreline. Avon comes from the NCCC but lost 4-5 to Somers in its championship game. They also lost to Somers twice int eh regular season, Coanrd 1-12, Southington 7-11 and surprisingly to Granby Memorial 5-6 early in the season (they won 15-9 then 10-9 later in the season). Avon lacks a big win just like Branford, bringing me back to how hard it will be to pick a winner here.
PREDICTIONS: Darien could beat ND-WH by 20, they did it to Fairfield Warde (20-0) and they're not afraid to blow teams out (21-2 to Danbury and 20-3 to Norwalk, both 8-8 teams while ND-WH is 7-8 in a much worse conference) but I think they will rest most of their players once they're up and the back-ups will restrain themselves to keep it around but within a 20-goal victory; FCIAC much > SWC so Fairfield Ludlowe over Masuk by 6 to 8 goals; Guilford over RHAM by 1 to 11 goals (they are so inconsistent); Wilton by at least ten goals over Windsor; Daniel Hand versus New Canaan could go either way as you really never know what you're going to get from Hand (are you gonna get the team that took Prep two and a half minutes into overtime or the one that let Guilford score 17 goals to only win by three) but I give New Canaan the edge at home and Hand doesn't play good enough defense to stop a skilled FCIAC offense like New Canaan's...New Canaan by one (to three) goal(s) over Hand; Norwalk and New Fairfield is such a close match-up that again it could either way but since it is my job to pick I will take Norwalk by two goals over New Fairfield; call it SCC bias but strength of schedule has to be worth something (Branford-27, Avon-44) so I'll take Branford by two or three goals over Avon.
CLASS S
(9) Waterford @ (8) Old Saybrook @ 430pm
-Old Saybrook, from the Shoreline Conference, has only one win in their 9-7 record over a team that is even .500 but they did beat 7-8 Notre Dame-West Haven. Waterford is from the ECC and they are 9-7 and have one win over a team above .500 too; 11-10 over 10-6 Norwich Free Academy at a neutral site on 5/19. Old Saybrook's "big" win is 6-3 over Waterford on 4/30. Although that was a while ago, I still see the Rams moving on to face undefeated NCCC Champion (1) Somers.
(12) St. Joseph @ (5) Weston @ 430pm
-I have been saying all year that St. Joseph is really a good team but they just aren't quite yet on the level of the FCIAC powerhouses they must play year in and year out. Weston is a good team from the SWC though as they earned the 4 seed, beat Masuk 14-6 in the quarterfinals and almost upset 1 seed Newtown in the semifinals (5-5 at half, down one after three and lost 9-11). St. Joseph lost 7-17 to Newtown but beat the Norwalk team that beat Newtown and I'm picking to beat New Fairfield as well.
(10) Suffield @ (7) Granby Memorial @ 430pm
-Granby lost to Suffield 6-13 in their second game of the season but just a couple weeks ago they beat them 15-10, as both teams play in the NCCC. Granby almost upset Avon in the NCCC tournament too, falling 9-10 at Avon. Suiffield started the season strong, with four straight wins, but lost to all their quality opponents after that with the exception of a big 12-9 win over Windsor and 12-16 frustrating loss to 4-12 Northwest Catholic.
(11) Ellington @ (6) Lewis Mills @ 430pm
-Ellington is also from the NCCC and Lewis Mills is independent but the two teams played each other in the regular season. Ellington won 14-7 on their home turf but played a tougher schedule than Mills, resulting in their 8-8 record compared to Mills at 10-5. Surprisingly, both teams lost to another independent team, 6-10 Housatonic Valley (Mills beat them 5-6 but then lost 1-12 and Ellington lost 6-11).
PREDICTIONS: Old Saybrook over Waterford; St. Joseph over Weston in an extremely close game; Granby Memorial over Suffield; Ellington over Lewis Mills.
Boys' Lacrosse: Under Armour All-American
Congrats to Eric Parnon (defense) from Darien on being named an Under Armour All-American for 2011; good luck next year at Maryland!
full story: http://insidelacrosse.com/news/2011/05/26/88-elite-high-school-seniors-earn-under-armour-all-american-lacrosse-honors
full story: http://insidelacrosse.com/news/2011/05/26/88-elite-high-school-seniors-earn-under-armour-all-american-lacrosse-honors
Boys' Volleyball: First Round Games (Tues 5/31 and Wed 6/1)
Instead of going in chronological order like I normally do, I am going to follow the bracket order, WITH PREDICTIONS:
CLASS L
(9) Glastonbury @ (8) Xavier @ 7pm on Wednesday 6/1
-The winner of this match gets to play number one seed and undefeated Cheshire. Just over a week ago, on Tuesday 5/24, Xavier beat Glastonbury 3-1 on the road. However, Xavier is extremely inconsistent like, for example, they lost 0-3 at home last Wednesday to Daniel Hand, which they beat 3-0 at home two weeks prior. Glastonbury, although not as good as they normally are, still has a good team this year that just wasn't better than Newington or Southington (or Masuk or Enfield, who also beat Xavier).
(13) Norwich Free Academy @ (4) Ridgefield @ 4pm on Tuesday 5/31
-NFA, the last team in the Class L tournament, had an up and down season almost beating Fermi early in the season, beating Lewis Mills twice, and upsetting Enfield, but they lost to every other good team they faced, including Fermi 0-3 in their last game of the season. Ridgefield has been solid all season, only losing four games (only 3 counted for states): twice to Darien (#1 in Class M), once to Staples, who they went on to beat 3-2 one week later in Ridgefield, and then again to Staples 1-3 exactly one week after beating them and two weeks after the first loss to them, this time in the FCIAC tournament semifinals at Fairfield Ludlowe High School.
(12) Simsbury @ (5) South Windsor @ 5pm on Tues 5/31
-Simsbury's 8 wins are over five CCC opponents that are a combined 13-77, and they split with two of them, meaning they lost to 2-16 Coanrd and 7-11 Bulkeley. In other words, they are just the best of the worst and things could get ugly here as South Windsor beat Fermi, Enfield, Wethersfield and then a lot of the same teams Simsbury beat as well. Interestingly, South Windsor lost 2-3 to Glastonbury and only played Southington once and Newington not at all, hence why they only have three losses compared to G-bury's seven.
(10) Amity @ (7) Greenwich @ 4pm on Tues 5/31
-Both teams have won 9 games but Greenwich played and lost 2 less games, giving them the substantially higher win percentage. Amity's big wins were Daniel Hand and Oxford and Greenwich's were just Bridgeport Central twice. The difference may be that Greenwich has the experience from playing Ridgefield, Staples and Darien but they only played one match that went to five sets, a 3-2 win over Bridgeport Central in the last game they played, just under two weeks ago on 5/18. Amity meanwhile has the experience of playing Xavier and Cheshire (and Darien) and five five-set matches, 3-2 wins over Hand, Oxford (teams they split with) and Lewis Mills and 2-3 losses to Xavier and Hand. The winner plays defending champion, (2) Southington.
(11) Danbury @ (6) Bridgeport Central @5pm on 5/31
-A really good FCIAC showdown right here where the winner gets to advance to play the team that won Class L for four years straight before Southington dethroned them last year, always dangerous (3) Staples. Central is 12-6 to Danbury's 10-8 and one can point to the difference literally being that Central beat Danbury both times during the regular season, 3-1 on 4/13 and 3-2 on 4/27. However, those results don't mean much since the last time these two met was over a month ago and that match went five sets! Also, it is very hard to beat a team three times. Their wins and losses are almost identical other than that, forming a triangle with Greenwich that Central lost to twice (0-3 and 2-3) but Danbury beat twice (3-0 and 3-0) and that Central lost a fluke game to Kolbe Cathedral while Danbury lost to Cheshire in their season opener and only non-FCIAC or SWC opponent (Central has none). This should be a good match; the key will be whoever has been practicing better since their last game, losses for both teams.
PREDICTIONS: Xavier 3-2 over Glastonbury; Ridgefield 3-0 over NFA; South Windsor a close 3-0 over Simsbury; Amity 3-2 over Greenwich; and Bridgeport Central vs Danbury could go either way but I'll go with home court advantage and take Central 3-2.
CLASS M
(9) Farmington @ (8) Enfield @ 7pm on Tuesday 5/31
-In the most interesting first round Class M match-up, these two teams will repeat their last game of the regular season at the same location with a trip to (1) Darien on the line. Enfield took that game 3-1, just like they won at Farmington 3-1 in the first match of the season; ironic, I know. Don't count Farmington out of this one as not only is it the playoffs now but they have plenty of quality wins (6 seed Wolcott Tech twice and splitting with 10 seed Wetehrsfield), just like Enfield (split with 5 seed Fermi and South Windsor, beat Glastonbury, but lost to WT and NFA). Farmington doesn't have a bad loss, like Enfield does to NFA, unless you count twice to7 seed Daniel Hand. Unfortunately, they don't match-up well with Enfield and that is who they are playing first round!
both (4) Bloomfield and (5) Fermi have first-round byes
(10) Wethersfield @ (7) Daniel Hand @ 7pm on Tues 5/31
-Interesting match-up here because Hand beat Farmington twice whereas Wethersfield split with them and that is really the only quality wins for either of these teams. Otherwise, these teams just lost to the good teams in their conference and beat the bad ones (or in Hand's case, they scheduled the bottom of the SWC to inflate their record too). Wethersfield's schedule has been peppered with quality and close games though so I think that helps them a bit. However, I'll give you some other stats: Hand is 5-1 in five-set matches, only losing to Amity, who they later beat in five whereas Wethersfield is 1-3, only beating Wolcott Tech, who they later lost to 1-3. Also, Hand is 7-2 at home but if you remove 0-3 losses to Cheshire and Darien, the #1 seed in the L and M respectively and a fluke 3-1 win over Xavier (without their setter), the Tigers are a perfect 6-0. I think you know who I'm picking. Winner travels to (2) Masuk, first team to beat Staples in 116 matches, in the quarterfinals.
(11) Oxford @ (6) Wolcott Tech @ 5pm on Tues 5/31
-For those of you wondering, much like I was, how Oxford made the playoffs, here is your answer: their nine wins came from four opponents with a combined 10-61 record and then one upset of 9-7 Amity. To their credit, the did push 10 seed Daniel Hand to five sets both times they faced them, Amity to five sets the second time around and Bridgeport Central to five sets late in the season (two weeks ago). On the other hand, Wolcott Tech has 14 wins including the likes of twice over Wethersfield and Enfield, a split with Bloomfield (2-3 in the loss last Thurs 5/26) and, most importantly, 3-0 twice over Oxford. Three of their four losses have 2-3 and the other one was 1-3 to bitter rival and defending Class M champion, Lewis Mills.
PREDICTIONS: Enfield 3-2 over Farmington; Daniel Hand 3-1 (maybe 3-2 but Hand is the hotter team right now) over Wethersfield; and Wolcott Tech 3-0 over Oxford.
CLASS L
(9) Glastonbury @ (8) Xavier @ 7pm on Wednesday 6/1
-The winner of this match gets to play number one seed and undefeated Cheshire. Just over a week ago, on Tuesday 5/24, Xavier beat Glastonbury 3-1 on the road. However, Xavier is extremely inconsistent like, for example, they lost 0-3 at home last Wednesday to Daniel Hand, which they beat 3-0 at home two weeks prior. Glastonbury, although not as good as they normally are, still has a good team this year that just wasn't better than Newington or Southington (or Masuk or Enfield, who also beat Xavier).
(13) Norwich Free Academy @ (4) Ridgefield @ 4pm on Tuesday 5/31
-NFA, the last team in the Class L tournament, had an up and down season almost beating Fermi early in the season, beating Lewis Mills twice, and upsetting Enfield, but they lost to every other good team they faced, including Fermi 0-3 in their last game of the season. Ridgefield has been solid all season, only losing four games (only 3 counted for states): twice to Darien (#1 in Class M), once to Staples, who they went on to beat 3-2 one week later in Ridgefield, and then again to Staples 1-3 exactly one week after beating them and two weeks after the first loss to them, this time in the FCIAC tournament semifinals at Fairfield Ludlowe High School.
(12) Simsbury @ (5) South Windsor @ 5pm on Tues 5/31
-Simsbury's 8 wins are over five CCC opponents that are a combined 13-77, and they split with two of them, meaning they lost to 2-16 Coanrd and 7-11 Bulkeley. In other words, they are just the best of the worst and things could get ugly here as South Windsor beat Fermi, Enfield, Wethersfield and then a lot of the same teams Simsbury beat as well. Interestingly, South Windsor lost 2-3 to Glastonbury and only played Southington once and Newington not at all, hence why they only have three losses compared to G-bury's seven.
(10) Amity @ (7) Greenwich @ 4pm on Tues 5/31
-Both teams have won 9 games but Greenwich played and lost 2 less games, giving them the substantially higher win percentage. Amity's big wins were Daniel Hand and Oxford and Greenwich's were just Bridgeport Central twice. The difference may be that Greenwich has the experience from playing Ridgefield, Staples and Darien but they only played one match that went to five sets, a 3-2 win over Bridgeport Central in the last game they played, just under two weeks ago on 5/18. Amity meanwhile has the experience of playing Xavier and Cheshire (and Darien) and five five-set matches, 3-2 wins over Hand, Oxford (teams they split with) and Lewis Mills and 2-3 losses to Xavier and Hand. The winner plays defending champion, (2) Southington.
(11) Danbury @ (6) Bridgeport Central @5pm on 5/31
-A really good FCIAC showdown right here where the winner gets to advance to play the team that won Class L for four years straight before Southington dethroned them last year, always dangerous (3) Staples. Central is 12-6 to Danbury's 10-8 and one can point to the difference literally being that Central beat Danbury both times during the regular season, 3-1 on 4/13 and 3-2 on 4/27. However, those results don't mean much since the last time these two met was over a month ago and that match went five sets! Also, it is very hard to beat a team three times. Their wins and losses are almost identical other than that, forming a triangle with Greenwich that Central lost to twice (0-3 and 2-3) but Danbury beat twice (3-0 and 3-0) and that Central lost a fluke game to Kolbe Cathedral while Danbury lost to Cheshire in their season opener and only non-FCIAC or SWC opponent (Central has none). This should be a good match; the key will be whoever has been practicing better since their last game, losses for both teams.
PREDICTIONS: Xavier 3-2 over Glastonbury; Ridgefield 3-0 over NFA; South Windsor a close 3-0 over Simsbury; Amity 3-2 over Greenwich; and Bridgeport Central vs Danbury could go either way but I'll go with home court advantage and take Central 3-2.
CLASS M
(9) Farmington @ (8) Enfield @ 7pm on Tuesday 5/31
-In the most interesting first round Class M match-up, these two teams will repeat their last game of the regular season at the same location with a trip to (1) Darien on the line. Enfield took that game 3-1, just like they won at Farmington 3-1 in the first match of the season; ironic, I know. Don't count Farmington out of this one as not only is it the playoffs now but they have plenty of quality wins (6 seed Wolcott Tech twice and splitting with 10 seed Wetehrsfield), just like Enfield (split with 5 seed Fermi and South Windsor, beat Glastonbury, but lost to WT and NFA). Farmington doesn't have a bad loss, like Enfield does to NFA, unless you count twice to7 seed Daniel Hand. Unfortunately, they don't match-up well with Enfield and that is who they are playing first round!
both (4) Bloomfield and (5) Fermi have first-round byes
(10) Wethersfield @ (7) Daniel Hand @ 7pm on Tues 5/31
-Interesting match-up here because Hand beat Farmington twice whereas Wethersfield split with them and that is really the only quality wins for either of these teams. Otherwise, these teams just lost to the good teams in their conference and beat the bad ones (or in Hand's case, they scheduled the bottom of the SWC to inflate their record too). Wethersfield's schedule has been peppered with quality and close games though so I think that helps them a bit. However, I'll give you some other stats: Hand is 5-1 in five-set matches, only losing to Amity, who they later beat in five whereas Wethersfield is 1-3, only beating Wolcott Tech, who they later lost to 1-3. Also, Hand is 7-2 at home but if you remove 0-3 losses to Cheshire and Darien, the #1 seed in the L and M respectively and a fluke 3-1 win over Xavier (without their setter), the Tigers are a perfect 6-0. I think you know who I'm picking. Winner travels to (2) Masuk, first team to beat Staples in 116 matches, in the quarterfinals.
(11) Oxford @ (6) Wolcott Tech @ 5pm on Tues 5/31
-For those of you wondering, much like I was, how Oxford made the playoffs, here is your answer: their nine wins came from four opponents with a combined 10-61 record and then one upset of 9-7 Amity. To their credit, the did push 10 seed Daniel Hand to five sets both times they faced them, Amity to five sets the second time around and Bridgeport Central to five sets late in the season (two weeks ago). On the other hand, Wolcott Tech has 14 wins including the likes of twice over Wethersfield and Enfield, a split with Bloomfield (2-3 in the loss last Thurs 5/26) and, most importantly, 3-0 twice over Oxford. Three of their four losses have 2-3 and the other one was 1-3 to bitter rival and defending Class M champion, Lewis Mills.
PREDICTIONS: Enfield 3-2 over Farmington; Daniel Hand 3-1 (maybe 3-2 but Hand is the hotter team right now) over Wethersfield; and Wolcott Tech 3-0 over Oxford.
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