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Saturday, June 11, 2011

Boys' Volleyball: Championship Results (Fri 6/10)

CLASS L

(1) Cheshire 3 vs (3) Staples 1 (12-25, 25-23, 26-24, 25-22)
-For Cheshire, Ryan Cuppernull had 12 kills, Ray Brumleve had 50 assists, Nathan Howard had 19 kills and three blocks and Joe Bahgat 18 kills.  For Staples, Danny Fishman had 52 assists, two blocks and two digs, Andreas Bub had 13 kills and three blocks, Drew Appleman had 14 kills, A.J. Green had six kills and one dig and Jonah Aelyon had 17 kills, one block and two digs.

CLASS M

(1) Darien 3 vs (3) Newington 2 (23-25, 25-17, 18-25, 25-22, 15-11)
-For Darien, Calder Billhart had 20 kills and an ace, Austin Cockerill had 17 kills, Matt Lee had 45 assists and an ace, Sean Lee had nine digs, Sam Bryant had six digs, and Tommy Nicholls had two assists.  For Newington, Glenn Johnson had 22 kills, Tommy Simmons had nine kills and Reed Feery had 42 assists.
GW goal: Sean Wilkinson with 14.5. Took it behind, came back out from Orvis' (back-up goalie for Prep b/c Seelye got injured) left, snapped it up high.
Boys' Lacrosse: Class L Final Score
Ridgefield 11 vs Fairfield Prep 10, final. Ridgefield wins its first state title since 2001 Division II championship
Boys' Lacrosse: Class L Halftime Score
Fairfield Prep 6 vs Ridgefield 5 - was 6-1 Prep after 1st
Boys' Lacrosse: Class M Final Score
StamfordSports: Wilton boys lacrosse crushes New Canaan 12-2 in the Class M championship game. First title since 2004, 5th overall
Boys' Lacrosse: Class M Halftime Score
Wilton 7 vs New Canaan 1
Boys' Lacrosse: Class S Final Score
ConnPostSports: St. Joseph defeats Barlow 6-5 in the Class S boys lacrosse championship game. Second title for SJ in three years

Boys' Lacrosse: Championship Preview (Saturday 6/11)

The favorites of Greenwich, Darien and Somers may not be in their respective championship games but we still have marquee match-ups, all three of which will be great lacrosse.

CLASS L

(4) #3 Fairfield Prep vs (6) #2 Ridgefield @330pm @ Brien McMahon HS (Norwalk)
-Despite what other writers and polls said, my two favorites (as indicated by my rankings) were the Fairfield Prep Jesuits and Ridgefield Tigers.  Prep is the definition of a team and that starts with the spectacular coaching of Chris Smalkis.  They emphasize fundamentals in the way they play, running their plays on offensive and making smart decisions with the ball which leads to all the goals they score and by a variety of different players; whoever has the good shot takes and makes it.  The only player on their team that can be considered a superstar is goalie Mike Steelye, who has taken it to another level in these playoffs and will be paramount once again for Prep is they hope to win this game.  Ridgefield has a fast-paced FCIAC offense with Eric Scala and Andrew Buckanavage at the helm and their own superstar, Matt Shannon on defense.  Matt is headed to UNC in the fall so to say that he is good would be an understatement!  Coach Roy Colsey will have the Tigers ready for this, the biggest game of their lives.

PREDICTION: I know the title didn't return to Westport in volleyball like I predicted it would but my lacrosse predictions have been much much more accurate so I feel confident saying that Fairfield Prep will reclaim the state championship this year, just like they did with the SCC Championship, with a one goal win over Ridgefield that very likely could take overtime!


CLASS M


(5) #4 Wilton vs (7) #6 New Canaan @ 1pm @ Brien McMahon HS (Norwalk)
-It did feel weird not writing Darien but for whatever reason Wilton got some help in the form of two key injuries and the extremely talent Warriors have a shot at the state championship.  Their opponent is the New Canaan Rams, another very talented team from the FCIAC.  Being from the same conference, these two teams know each well, possibly two well as knowledge of each other from previous meetings may hurt or help the teams.  They met in the regular season on 5/3 and New Canaan won 10-8 but then on 5/21 in the FCIAC tournament Wilton won a convincing 12-5.  I'm sure both teams have progressed from even that point so the best strategy may just be to go out there and play to the best of their abilities.  Like the Class L (and Class S) Championship game, this really is a toss up.


PREDICTION: Joe Costigan (middie) and Henry Eschricht (attack) lead the New Canaan offense but Sam Somers in goal for Wilton should be able to hold them off enough to let Mike Francia and the rest of the Warriors' offense outpace the Rams for a three goal win, Wilton over New Canaan.

CLASS S

(3) Joel Barlow vs (12) St. Joseph @ 1030am @ Brien McMahon HS (Norwalk)
-If you've been following all season, you know that I have constantly reiterated that both of these teams, very similar in my mind, may have bad records against the elite teams, 15-3 and 11-8 overall respectively, but they are still loaded with talent and it is no mistake that they are the ones in the championship game, not East Lyme, Stonington or even Somers.  St. Joseph has the curse and blessing of playing in the FCIAC but they just miss qualifying for the conference tournament.  Barlow lost Wilton, the only FCIAC team that mad its conference tournament, they played, but they also lost to weaker teams in their own conference, the SWC (Newtown and New Fairfield, good teams but not better than the elite FCIAC teams).  Honestly, I do not know who to pick in this one.  St. Joseph does have the All-State duo of Pat Corcoran and Pat Mulligan, both head to DI Quinnipiac next year, but Barlow has the more impressive season and more flashy offense.

PREDICTION: Just like with the Class L game, I am going to go against who my brain is telling me to pick and go with what my heart is saying...St. Joseph by four goals over Joel Barlow.

Friday, June 10, 2011

Boys' Volleyball: Championship Preview (Fri 6/10)

CLASS L

(1) Cheshire vs (3) Staples @ 7pm @ Fairfield Warde HS
-I know that I picked against Cheshire in the last round based on how each team preformed this year but now I have the insight of having seen Staples play and how they will match-up with the Rams.  How Cheshire won 21 games this season without a middle is remarkable but I think that will really catch up to them in this game.  Both AJ Green and especially Andreas Bub are beasts in the middle and, in fact, Ridgefield got a kill approximately 18 of the 20 times they set the middle against Cheshire.  The Tigers problem, besides their complete inability to pass the ball, was not exploiting that match-up int he middle more and not utilizing their star, Mike Peckham, more; he only had six kills in the game.  Staples will have no problem feed Andreas as he led them to victory over Southington with 18 kills and 6 blocks.  Blocking I think will be another key as Staples is so much better than Ridgefield at blocking so I don't expect Ryan Cuppernull and Joe Bahgat to be putting down as many balls as they did in the semifinals.  Drew Appleman on the outside for Staples against Nate Howard on the right side for Cheshire will be the match-up to watch!  Staples has a real shot at blocking Howard plus they will actually play defense around their blocks, another one of the keys to how they beat Southington and one of the things Ridgefield did not do against Cheshire.  This will be a spectacular game, maybe not better than Southington's dethroning of Staples last year, but it very well could be.

PREDICTION: Honestly, I have nothing against the Rams, but I really do think Staples will win this match 3-1 over Cheshire, although 3-0 really would not surprise me.

CLASS M

(1) Darien vs (3) Newington @ 5pm @ Fairfield Warde HS
-Honestly, I think this pick is harder than the Class L one and that the match will be closer.  Newington is a scrappy team that plays great defense, not always but at least most of the time.  Their ability to just get balls up works perfectly with their setter, Reed Feery, one of the best in the state in my mind (at least on the same level as Fishman and Brumleve).  Then, they have just enough offense behind the slightly banged up but still All-State outside hitter Glenn Johnson.  Darien is a crisper team that leans more on their numerous offensive weapons like Calder Billhart, Austin Cockerill and Sam Bryan.  This presents an interesting clash of styles that really can go either way on Friday night.  Newington went to Class M last year to try and win a title that would have been theirs if not for a fluke loss to Lewis Mills but, although Class M is hundred times better this year, they have the chance now.  Darien already captured the FCIAC Championship over Staples in a 3-2 thriller but they are hungry for more and their dedication to working hard for every point could prove to be the difference in this one.

PREDICTION: Darien 3-2 over Newington but don't be surprised if the Blue Wave take it in four sets.

Wednesday, June 8, 2011

Boys' Lacrosse: Semifinals Results (Wednesday 6/8)

5-1 on the day but the one I got wrong was the one I was probably most sure about...as was every other sports writer in the state!

CLASS L

(4) #3 Fairfield Prep 7 vs (8) #8 Simsbury 2
-Simsbury did hit the post four times; see below:
Simsbury 0 0 0 2--2
Fairfield Prep 2 1 3 1--7
Scoring: S--Mason Burr (1g), Jeffrey Smith (1g), Matt Bulmer (1a); FP--Connor Kelly (3g), Kevin Brown (2g, 1a), Tim Edmonds (1g), Matt Brophy (1g), Austin Sims (1a), Harry Cotter (1a).
Goalies: S--Parker Burr (7 saves); FP--Mike Seelye (17).
Shots: S--36; FP--25.

(2) #7 Staples 3 vs (6) #2 Ridgefield 10
-see below:
Ridgefield 2 2 4 2--10
Staples 1 1 0 1--3
Scoring: R--Scala (3g, 1a), Bonaparte (2g, 1a), Buckanavage (2g, 1a), Hrvatin (2g, 1a), Reilly (1g); S--Orban (2g), Zelkowitz (1g), Paul (1a).
Goalies: R--Winne (10 saves); S--Breig (6).

CLASS M

(1) #1 Darien 3 vs (5) #4 Wilton 11
-I know I said Wilton could have done this but the way in which it happened has completely stunned me...(maybe it was the heat? or the injury in the second quarter to Richard Gregory?); see below:
Wilton 1 3 5 2--11
Darien 0 1 0 2--3
Scoring: W--Michael Francia (4g, 2a), Matthew Dunn (2g, 1a), Michael Serpa (2g), Connor Melillo (1g, 2a), Christopher Nugent (1g), Matthew Kobyra (1g).  D--Ben Preston (1g), Henry West (1g), Bobby Weaver (1g), Graham Maybell (1a), Jon Magnusson (1a).
Goalies: W--Sameul Somers (19 saves); D--Dylan Torey (7).
Shots: W--18; D--22

(3) New Fairfield 5 vs (7) #6 New Canaan 6
-Great effort from the Rebels...New Canaan will have to step it up if they expect to beat Wilton in the Championship; see below:
New Canaan 1 2 0 3 -- 6
New Fairfield 0 2 2 1 -- 5
Scoring: NC -- Mike Bossidy (2g, 1a), Jake Miller, (1g), Joe Costigan (1g), Mike Hennesey (1a), Scott O'Brien (1a), Matt Blasco (1g), Peter Kraus (1g). NF -- Dylan White (2g), John Pendergast (2g, 1a), Robbie Flamengo (2a), Greg Castro (1g), Ryan Mallon (1a).
Goalies: NC -- Jimmy Joe Granito (11 saves). NF -- Joe Gephart (8 saves).
Shots: NC -- 26 NF -- 22.

CLASS S

(1) #10 Somers 6 vs (12) St. Joseph 15
-I was not expecting such a blow out...dang the FCIAC is good this year; see below:
St. Joseph 4 1 3 7--15
Somers 1 3 1 1--6
Scoring: SJ--Bobby Ciotti (2g, 6a); Brian Bacarella (2g, 3a), Pat Mulligan (3g, 1a), Pat Corcoran (3g, 1a), Mike Marini (3g), Peter Vallerie (1g), L.J. Hunt (1g); S--Zachary Thresher (3g, 2a), Matthew Garcia (2a), Donald Whittle (1g), Neil Cardwell (1g), Tyler Russell (1g).
Goalies: SJ--Matt Mohr (5 saves); S--Daniel Bell (19).
Shots: SJ--50; S--18.

(2) Stonington 7 vs (3) Joel Barlow 13
-see below:
Scoring: JB--Nolan Stauffer (4g), Michael Mattson (3g), Brian Sternberg (3g), Liam Rooney (1g, 3a), Dominic Lee (1g), Robbie Palazzo (1g).
Boys' Lacrosse: Final Scores
New Canaan 6 vs New Fairfield 5
Ridgefield 10 vs Staples 3
Wilton 11 vs Darien 3 - Darien's 7-year playoff win streak ends...I'm still in shock
Last Darien playoff loss? 8-6 to New Canaan in 2004 Division I semifinals
Boys' Lacrosse: Scores After the 3rd Quarter
New Fairfield 4 vs New Canaan 3
Ridgefield 8 vs Staples 2
Wilton 9 vs Darien 1 - Mike Francia is going off
Boys Lacrosse: Halftime Scores
Ridgefield 4 vs Staples 2
New Canaan 3 vs New Fairfield 2
Wilton 4 vs Darien 1 - Case Matheis is not playing

Boys' Lacrosse: Semifinals Preview (Wednesday 6/8)

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.

Boys' Volleyball: Semifinals Results (Tuesday 6/7)

3-1 on the day isn't bad; I didn't realize how much Ridgefield sucked.  I've seen the Class L teams (Newington) play this year so I feel very confident in my championship game picks (post coming soon).

CLASS L

(2) Southington 1 vs (3) Staples 3 (23-25, 25-22, 25-11, 25-17)
-For Staples, Danny Fishman had 46 assists, one kills, nine digs, three blocks and a service error, Andreas Bub had 18 kills and six blocks, Drew Appleman had 12 kills and three digs, Jonah Aelyon had 15 kills, one assist, six digs, and a service error, Stephen Denowitz had four kills, two assists, six digs, and a service error, AJ Green had six kills, two digs, and an ace, Jake Mccambley had one dig and two aces, David Kolb and Jordan Goldstein each added one dig, and libero #98 had four digs and libero #1 had five digs.  For Southington, Ryan Masters had 40 assists, one kills, six digs, and one block, Michael Cannata had 14 kills, 12 digs, two blocks, one ace and one service error, Daniel Carbone had 14 kills, 10 digs, one block and two service errors, Jeffery Kolb had seven kills and one dig, Matthew Macchi had 11 digs and two service errors, Zachary Nicholas had four kills, five digs and three blocks, Matthew Russo had three kills, two assists, nine digs and one block, #21 had two kills and #13 had one dig.

(1) Cheshire 3 vs (4) Ridgefield 1 (25-8, 25-21, 21-25, 25-18)
-For Ridgefield, Christopher Bruno had 31 assists, one kill, 11 digs, one block and one ace, Ian Word had 14 kills and five digs, Alexander Cooper had 10 kills, five digs, one ace and one service error, Michael Peckham had six kills, two digs, one block and two service errors, Alexander Gasdia had one kills, two assists, one dig, two blocks and a service error, Kevin O'Rourke had four kills, two digs, three blocks and two service errors, Paul Cooke had two aces and four service errors and Eric Cyr had one ace.  For Cheshire, Ray Brumleve had 39 assists, two kills, nine digs, one block and two aces, Nate Howard had 18 kills, one assist, one dig, four blocks, one ace and three service errors, Ryan Cuppernull had 13 kills, eight digs, one block, six aces and two service errors, Joe Bahgat had nine kills, two assists, four digs and two aces, Matt Ward had one kill, two digs and five blocks, K.C. Philcox had one kill, three digs, three blocks and two service errors, Tyler Sweigard had three digs, one block and two service errors and Jochai Mor had three digs.

CLASS M

(1) Darien 3 vs (5) Fermi 0 (25-14, 25-17, 25-18)
-For Darien, Calder Billhart had 13 kills, 13 service points, three aces and a block, Sam Bryan had 11 kills and three digs, Austin Cockerill had 10 kills and three blocks, setter Matt Lee tallied 35 assists along with nine service points, four aces and a block, Sean Lee had nine service points and four digs, and Matt Collier added two blocks.

(2) Masuk 2 vs (3) Newington 3 (19-25, 24-26, 25-23, 25-14, 17-15)
-For Newington, Reed Feery had 46 assists.  For Masuk, Colin Neaton had 45 assists.

Monday, June 6, 2011

Boys' Volleyball: Semifinals Preview (Tues 6/7)

After going 8-0 last round, the match-ups this time are a lot harder, almost even equal, so it's time to make some difficult picks:

CLASS L

(1) Cheshire vs (4) Ridgefield @ 7pm @ Shelton HS
-This is going to be an extremely close game as Ridgefield's only four losses this year are Darien twice in the regular season and Staples twice, once in the regular season and once in the FCIAC tournament semifinals.  However, Ridgefield did beat Staples once in the regular season, right in the middle of their two losses to the Wreckers and the Tigers beat Masuk twice, Greenwich and Bridgeport Central.  Cheshire is the undefeated SCC Champions but their best competition in that conference is Xavier or Daniel Hand, much weaker than the FCIAC.  Cheshire did beat Newington 3-2 twice (Newington didn't have their best player the second time around) from the CCC but those are the only four sets Cheshire has lost all season.  The only result that allows some speculation is Cheshire's 3-0 win at home over Danbury to start the season but Ridgefield beat Danbury 3-0 as well.  You can see my pick at the end of the Class L previews.

(2) Southington vs (3) Staples @ 5pm @ Shelton HS
-To say that these two teams have been looking forward to this game is an understatement.  This semifinal game will be a rematch of last year's championship, that Southington won 3-2 over Staples for the first time ever, and also the championship game in 2007, 2008, and 2009 that Staples won over Southington.  Staples also won Class L in 2006, over Newington, and Class M from 2001-2004.  Both teams have very different teams from just one year ago and Staples even has a new coach but, as one can see by their records, they are both still very good teams and this will be an amazing match to watch!  Staples lost four matches all year (after four seasons of going undefeated), Masuk once and splits with Darien and Ridgefield in the regular season then again to Darien in the FCIAC Championship game.  Southington only lost two all year, 1-3 at Newington, who they beat 3-0 later at home, and 0-3 to Staples in Southington!  Scroll down for my pick.

PREDICTIONS: This pick will shock mostly everyone but Ridgefield beat Staples and I think the FCIAC is head and shoulders above the SCC and CCC (Staples beat Southington3-0, who beat Newington 3-1 and 3-0) so Ridgefield's win over Staples leads me to believe they will beat Cheshire 3-2 in five sets because Cheshire is still a very good and resilient team; Call it the Wreckers mystique but I'm going with Staples 3-2 (maybe even 3-1) over Southington for some sweet revenge.

CLASS M

(1) Darien vs (5) Fermi @ 5pm @ Oxford HS
-Fermi got a big 3-1 win over 4 seed Bloomfield last round but they really don't stand much of a chance against FCIAC Champion Darien.  Fermi lost 0-3 to a Southington team that lost 0-3 to Staples and Darien beat Staples 3-1 on 5/6 to avenge a 1-3 loss on 4/13.  Darien beat Staples again in the FCIAC Championship game and that loss to Staples in the regular season is their only loss all year.  Fermi also lost to Bloomfield, Enfield and South Windsor in the regular season.  In the Class M tournament so far, Enfield lost 0-3 to Farmington who went on to lose 0-3 to Darien just last round.  South Windsor lost 1-3 to Ridgefield in the Class L tournament and Darien beat Ridgefield 3-0 and 3-1 during the regular season.  This match should still be fun to watch.

(2) Masuk vs (3) Newington @ 7pm @ Oxford HS
-This game is the second on the night and rightfully so as it is almost guaranteed to go five sets.  Masuk is the SWC Champion and the team to beat Staples 3-2 on 4/11 to end their 116-match win streak.  They also beat Glastonbury 3-0 and Danbury 3-2 and 3-0 during the regular season for other quality wins.  Their losses were 2-3 to Ridgefield in their season opener and then again, at home this time, to Ridgefield 1-3.  Newington had one more loss at 16-3 compared to Masuk's 17-2 record because the Indians lost to Cheshire 2-3 twice and split with Southington 0-3 and 3-1.  Newington also beat Glastonbury 3-0, twice in fact and Lewis Mills 3-1 twice while Mills lost 2-3 in five sets to Masuk.  I still think Masuk has a very good team and this will be a spectacular volleyball match!

PREDICTIONS: Darien 3-0 over Fermi; Newington 3-2 over Masuk but a 3-1 result in Newington's favor wouldn't surprise me either.

Sunday, June 5, 2011

Boys' Lacrosse: Quarterfinals Results (Saturday 6/4)

CLASS L

(8) #10 Simsbury 12 @ (1) #9 Newtown 9
-I told you so, I even told you who was going to score; For Simsbury, Trevor Gallagher and Matt Bulmer each had four goals.  For Newtown, four players each scored two goals.  Parker Burr made 18 saves for Simsbury.

(12) #3 Greenwich 9 @ (4) #4 Fairfield Prep 10
-Prep led 6-1 at half and their goalie, Mike Seelye, was the key to the vicotry; see below:
Greenwich 1 0 5 3 -- 9
Fairfield Prep 4 2 2 2 -- 10
Scoring: FP--Kevin Brown (4g); Matt Brophy (2g, 2a); Connor Kelly (2g); Harry Cotter (1g); Tim Edmonds (1g); G--Eric Foote (3g); Alex Moeser (2g); Peter Cabrera (1g, 1a); David Dickson (1g; 1a); Alex Marcus (1g); Chris Pavelic (1g); Fitz Waine (1a).
Goalies: FP--Mike Seelye (17 saves); G--Ryan Fisher (7).

(7) #8 Brien McMahon 4 @ (2) #7 Staples 8
-Score was 4-2 Staples at half; see below:
Brien McMahon 1 1 1 1--4
Staples 3 1 0 4--8
Scoring: M--Jack Conroy (1g, 1a); Scott McCormack (1g), Drew D'Antonio (1g), Ryan Scott (1g); S--Peter Paul (4g, 1a), Charlie Ross (2g), Kip Orban (1g), Nick Maki (1g, 1a), Jake Frimet (1a), Matt Yeager (1a), Quinn Mendelson (1a).
Goalies: M--Lyne Aubury (14 saves); S--JB Breig (18).

(14) Conard 5 @ (3) #2 Ridgefield 17
-see below:
Conard 1 1 1 2 -- 5
Ridgefield 6 8 2 1 -- 17
Scoring: C--Arthur Sullivan 2g; Robert Hinds 1g; Kyle Weber 1g; Patryk Pawlukiewicz 1g. R--Eric Scala 4g; Sean Wilkinson 2g 1a; Aidan Scott 2g 2a; Andrew Buckanavage 4g 1a; Matt Hrvatin 2g; Neil Gollogly 1g 3a; Sean Riley 1g 2a; Jack Barrow 1g; Samuel Waring 1a; Grayson Wiley 1a.
Goalies: C--John Capodicasa (12 saves), Luke Rosow (1 save). R--Adam Winne (5 saves), Chandler Molyneux (0 saves), Kieran Buttrick (0 saves).

CLASS M

(9) Fairfield Ludlowe 5 @ (1) #1 Darien 10
-The score surprised me a little and although it is the playoffs, I am a little worried about Darien as they face Wilton in the next round, a team that almost upset in the FCIAC playoffs...the reason: junior attack Case Matheis's knee injury at the 10:33 mark of the first quarter; see below:
Fairfield Ludlowe 0 2 1 2--5
Darien 1 3 3 3--10
Scoring: FL-- Jake Mason (2g, 1a), Nate Ryan (1g), Chris Stern (1g), Brendan Errett (1g); D--Richard Gregory (3g, 1a), Henry West (2g, 2a), Graham Maybell (2g), Bobby Weaver (1g), Ben Preston (1g, 1a), Baylis Treen (1g), Alex Brown (1a).
Goalies: FL--Graham Ward (15 saves); D--Dylan Torey (10), Dylan Hurd (2).

(13) Guilford 1 @ (5) #5 Wilton 13

(7) #6 New Canaan 10 @ (2) East Lyme 4

(11) Branford 5 @ (3) New Fairfield 11
-see below:
Branford 1 2 1 1 -- 5
New Fairfield 4 2 4 1 -- 11
Scoring: B--Harrison Goodkind 2g 1a; Ryan Wynne 1g 2a; Max Mangs 1g; Logan Yelle 1g. NF--John Pendergast 3g; Dylan White 2g; Greg Castro 2g; Rob Fiamengo 2g 5a; Justin Menke 1g; Ryan Mallon 1g.
Goalies: NF--Joe Gephart 9 saves.

CLASS S

(8) Old Saybrook 6 @ (1) Somers 19
-For Somers, Mike Hanna, Zach Thresher and Neil Cardwell each had three goals while six other players also scored.  For Old Saybrook, Mike Neas had two goals.  Dan Bell made 13 saves for Somers.

(12) St. Joseph 8 @ (4) Ledyard 1
-see below:
St. Joseph 1 2 4 1--8
Ledyard 0 1 0 0--1
Scoring: SJ--Mike Marini (3g, 1a), Brian Bacarella (1g, 3a), Pat Mulligan (2g, 1a), Pat Corcoran (1g, 1a), Peter Vallerie (1g), Matt Julian (1a); L--Delia (1g), Manwaring (1a).
Goalies: SJ--Matt Mohr (12 saves); L--Baxley (10).
Shots: SJ--27; L--14.

(7) Granby Memorial 6 @ (2) Stonington 16

(11) Ellington 4 @ (3) Joel Barlow 17