Ludlowe Boys' Lacrosse Falls To Powerful Darien

Signs of promise were on display for the Ludlowe boys'  lacrosse team on Tuesday afternoon, especially at the defensive end, as the Falcons kept the host Blue Wave at bay for much of the game. 

However, in the second half, a program that has been the benchmark for success in local lacrosse for years proved too mighty to overtake, as Darien eventually worked its way to an 11-3 win over the visiting Falcons.

"Our effort was strong all game long, but we couldn't get enough shots on cage,"  Ludlowe coach Chris Parisi said. "They (Darien) are the team to beat year in and year out for a reason, so when facing them, you have to play excellent lacrosse.

With a goalie as outstanding as the one we faced today, you need to shoot early and often. You know they (Darien) are going to score goals, so you need around 40 shots to keep pace. For the most part, their defense kept us in check and our scoring wasn't where it needed to be."

That goalie in question was Cornell-bound captain Andrew West, who helped the Blue Wave bounce back from a tough road loss to Manhasset to move to 6-3.

With 23 shots on cage, several Falcons saw quality chances go by the wayside, as West and company held the visitors scoreless through one half of action.

The Blue Wave mustered a few goals of their own through two quarters, earning a 4-0 advantage behind two goals apiece from Case Matheis and Andrew Annecchino.

"(Ludlowe) played tough today," Darien coach Jeff Brameier said. "At the same time, we forced some early shots, we rushed through things and didn't allow our entire team to run the sets we called. We've got plenty of work to do."

Fairfield (6-3) brought a physical brand of lacrosse to the field, with aggressive slides and stout man defense limiting the potent Blue Wave offense to a single goal in the second quarter.

Along with a determined collective effort on the defensive end, Falcons goalie Robert Mattis stood tall with 19 saves. Mattheis seemed destined to make it a 5-0 lead just before the break for the Blue Wave, but Mattis stymied him on the crease to keep it a four-goal contest.

"I thought that was really solid defense in the second quarter," Parisi said. "Any time you hold an offense like that to a single goal for a quarter, you know you are doing your job on the defensive end."

Following halftime, the Falcons showed brief flashes of offensive life, as attack man Connor Charles manufactured a pair of sudden Ludlowe goals courtesy of deft draw-and-dump moves from behind the cage to find cutting teammates.

With fellow Falcons Chris Stern and Sam Cannella able to finish what Charles started in finding the back of the Blue Wave cage, Charles and company could not succeed in beating West for the next 15 minutes of lacrosse.

"We got things a few things going in that quarter offensively, but that's not enough," said Charles, who finished with two assists. "We need to sustain that for 48 minutes if we are going to win this type of game. We gave a strong effort though as a team and we definitely have a determined group of guys.

"There are still plenty of big games left this spring, so we just need to keep working hard."

With a 5-2 lead, the Blue Wave pulled away late in the third quarter. Scoring strikes by Mattheis, Brian Annecchino, Alex Brown and Henry West pushed Darien's lead to 11-2 in the closing stages, before Ludlowe midfielder Nate Ryan finished on a last-second fast break effort to make it an 11-3 final.

For the Falcons, there is no time to wallow in defeat.