Greenwich Stuns Darien In FCIAC Boys Lacrosse Semifinals

No. 5 seed Greenwich came into the FCIAC boys lacrosse tournament with something to prove.

The Cardinals did that Saturday when they beat reigning conference champion Ridgefield and kept the momentum going with Tuesday night's hard-fought 8-7 victory over top seeded-Darien.

Greenwich's Colin Dunster scored the tie-breaking goal late in the third period, as the Cardinals (10-7) held the Blue Wave scoreless in the fourth quarter to advance to Friday's championship game against No. 2-seeded New Canaan.

 "Everyone on our team stepped up," said Greenwich head coach Scott Bulkley. "[Darien] has one of the best attacks in the state, and we were able to control the clock and hold our own."

The Cardinals took early control in a battle that see-sawed back and forth throughout the night. David Dickson gave Greenwich its first goal and its first lead. Daniel Palmer followed up with an unassisted goal of his own.

Darien (15-3) answered with a quick goal from Henry West, but that was as close as the Blue Wave would get in the first quarter, as David Fraser scored with eight seconds left to put the Cardinals up,  3-1.

"This was the kind of game where I don't think either team was comfortable," Darien head coach Jeff Brameier said. "Greenwich wasn't comfortable until the final score; it was anybody's game."

Darien turned up the heat in the second quarter, putting together the best offensive series of the game. After giving up another goal to fall behind by three, Alden Frelinghuysen answered for Darien with his first of the contest.

West traded goals with Greenwich's Connor Wesson to make it 5-3, but Darien closed the half with goals from Case Matheis and Frelinghuysen to knot the score at five before the break.

"Every possession was crucial and every shot was crucial," Brameier said. 

Darien took its first and only lead of the game 30 seconds into the third quarter on a laser from Brian Annechino that went right over the left shoulder of Greenwich goalie Daniel Feeney.

The Cardinals then scored twice to go up, 7-6, but with 31 seconds left in the quarter Blue Wave midfielder Graham Maybell took a pass from Brian Gleason and put it into the net to even the contest again.

The tie was short-lived, howver, as Dunster took the ensuing faceoff down the field and fired the ball into the back of the net to give the Cardinals the lead for good.

The fourth quarter saw Greenwich go into a "prevent" strategy, as the Cardinals controlled the clock and kept the ball away from the Darien attackers.

Darien pressed as much as it could in the final minutes—seeing two shots ricochet off the posts—but it wasn't enough, as time expired with Greenwich still holding the slim one goal lead.

"For them, it was perfect," Brameier said. "Slow down the game, win face-offs, and possess the ball. It was a very patient offense."

Next on the horizon for the Wave will be the CIAC Class M state championship, which they expect to be ready for.

"We always (bounce back)," Brameier said. "It's something we don't relish, but every team has to do it."