May 15, 2008
Boys lacrosse: Darien shuts down Tigers
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Earlier this season, the Ridgefield High boys lacrosse team opened eyes with its win over traditional power Wilton.
But the Tigers will have to wait a little longer to do the same thing against Darien.
In a much-anticipated showdown, defending state champion Darien defeated Ridgefield, 13-7, last Saturday in Darien. The loss was the first in conference play for the Tigers, who are now 12-2 overall and 11-1 in the FCIAC. Darien improved to 13-1 overall and 10-1 in the conference. The Blue Wave’s only loss came against New Canaan.
Junior attackman Nikki Dysenchuk gave Ridgefield problems all afternoon, finishing with four goals and three assists to lead Darien.
The Blue Wave wasted no time getting on the board, as junior attackman Tyler Foley (two goals, two assists) scored on his team’s first possession off an assist from Dysenchuk after just 33 seconds of play.
Darien found itself a man-up on its next possession, and less than a minute later senior midfielder Mike Ryan, the team’s leading scorer, beat Tiger goalie Brad DePrima (12 saves) for one of his two goals to double the Blue Wave’s lead. Senior midfielder Brendan Eppley (two goals, two assists) tacked on another goal to push the lead to three.
Darien’s offense dominated time of possession during the first quarter, and Ridgefield didn’t take its first shot until junior Matt Baker fired the ball off the cage at the 6:16 mark. Baker would help Ridgefield get on the board with 1:39 left in the first quarter with an impressive behind-the-back assist to sophomore Mike Galione (four goals), who beat Darien goaltender Jameson Love (13 saves) to cut the lead to two.
Ridgefield’s effort was erased a minute later, when Darien senior midfielder Colin Delaney (two goals) beat DePrima as the quarter ran down.
Darien then got goals from Dysenchuk and junior attackman John Bolton, giving the hosts a 6-1 lead with 8:23 left in the half.
Facing a five-goal deficit against a perennial lacrosse juggernaut, the Tigers showed their resiliency, scoring three goals over a two-minute span to cut the lead to 6-4.
Taking the ball from behind the cage, junior Matt White (four assists) found senior midfielder Jordan Tiger (one goal, one assist), who was cutting towards the cage. Tiger was able to sneak a shot past Love’s stick for the goal. After Baker won the ensuing face off, White connected with Galione for a goal 19 seconds later, cutting the Darien lead to three.
A perfect clear on a Darien shot and a DePrima save gave the Tigers their fourth goal of the game. Senior defender Luke MacKenzie found junior defenseman Jonathan Mirra, who took the ball across the midfield line and threw a bullet to White, who raced towards the net and fed Galione for a one-timer.
The Tigers’ momentum was silenced by Dysenchuk’s second goal, assisted by junior attackman Chas Brickman, giving Darien a 7-4 lead at the half.
Dysenchuk’s goal was the first of seven straight for the Blue Wave, who outscored the Tigers 4-0 in the third quarter and deflated Ridgefield’s upset hopes. After two goals from Dysenchuk and one from Delaney, Dysenchuk fed Foley with 2.6 seconds left in the third to give Darien an 11-4 lead going into the fourth.
Eppley and Ryan added the next two goals, increasing Darien’s lead to 13-4 early in the final period and effectively sealing the deal.
Again, the Tigers could have tucked tail, but instead finished strong as head coach Andy Stockfisch called time-outs and encouraged his team to leave it all on the field.
Ridgefield ended the game on a 3-0 run with goals from Colin Scott, Brendan Walsh and Galione.
Despite the loss, Stockfisch remained positive.
“Absolutely,” he said after the game when asked if the Tigers could beat Darien were the teams to meet again in the post-season. “But our kids have to bring everything to the table. They have to come hard every play. Today, Darien proved they are the best.”
But before the playoffs start, Stockfisch said his team must focus on its two remaining regular-season games against New Canaan and Fairfield Warde this week.
“We’ve got to take care of them first before we can look ahead,” said Stockfisch. “We’re teaching them [the RHS players] never to be satisfied and that’s there’s always stuff to work on, always stuff to improve on. They never give up, they just need to learn not to live and die by one game. They need to learn to put constant pressure on their opponents.”
Notes: The Tigers beat Trumbull, 16-3, last Wednesday. Leading the team in scoring were White, who had four goals and two assists, and sophomore Kurt Mueller, who had two goals and four assists. Also scoring were Baker (one goal, three assists), Walsh (four goals), Tiger, Galione, Kevin Sparacino and Aaron Matthias (one goal and one assist apiece) and Duncan Morrissey (one goal). DePrima had four saves and Kyle Eichman seven.
© Copyright 2008 by Hersam Acorn Newspapers
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