St. Joseph's Patience Rewarded vs. Colonels

Ledyard boys' lacrosse coach Brian Martin did not need a detailed scouting report on the Colonels' Class S second round opponent - St. Joseph of Trumbull.

The Cadets ended Ledyard's best season ever last year at 18-1 with a 9-7 win in the state semifinals. Martin also saw a handful of St. Joe's players participate while coaching in a summer camp in New Haven.

"They have a good nucleus of kids who play year round, have good stick skills and high lacrosse IQs," Martin said. "Then you have the middle schools kids, say from a town like Stratford, who are thinking about playing at a strong lacrosse program when their high school doesn't have one. St. Joseph is an option for lot of kids in that area."

Much like St. Bernard in the Saints' glory days in the '70s, '80s and '90s, St. Joseph is an athletic powerhouse that attracts superb athletes from a number of towns. Its male enrollment is low, but it is hardly a traditional Class S public school.

St. Joe's football and basketball teams won state titles, its hockey team reached the state final, its baseball team was ranked No. 1 and its lacrosse team is on its way to the semifinals after an 8-1 win over the Colonels Saturday in a second round game.

Fourth-seeded Ledyard (11-7) was the home team by virtue of won-loss record. The Colonels hung tough for two quarters, trailing 3-1 at halftime on the strength of its defense, Mike Delia's goal and fine saves by goalkeeper Slade Baxley. But No. 12 St. Joseph (11-8) parlayed its time of possession edge, superior passing and tight zone defense to pull away with four third-quarter goals.

"St. Josephs plays the best teams in the state in Fairfield County," Martin said. "The won-loss record is not indicative of what kind of team they are."

Mike Marini scored three goals for St. Joseph, which was 8-8 in the FCIAC. The Cadets showed the FCIAC's power, ousting  defending state champ Weston in the opening round. Ledyard had a bye. The Cadets won Class S in 2009 and lost to Weston in the finals last year.

St. Joseph controlled play early, firing six shots on goal to take a 1-0 lead before Ledyard had mounted a single offensive attack. Outplayed but still in the game, the Colonels settled for quick shots when they possessed the ball, resulting in easy saves and counter attacks by St. Joe's.

"We needed to be a little more patient," Martin said. "They'd have the ball for three minutes, we'd rush a shot and or turn it over and they'd possess the ball for two or three more minutes."

Baxley made some nice saves early to keep it close, and Delia finally connected for Ledyard with four minutes left in the second quarter on an assist from Jonathan Schilke. But St. Joseph bottled up Ledyard's top scorer, Connor Sweet (35 goals, 36 assists), and eventually showed enough patience to find shooting angles against Ledyard's defense. Four unanswered goals in the third quarter put it out of reach.

Martin knew the better team won, so he was not overly disappointed with the game or the season for a Colonel team personifying a much different look than last year's ECC  Champion squad.

"We were a young team that grew up a lot and became the third  best team in the ECC," Martin said. "It was disappointing to lose both our post-season games, but it was a solid season. For us to take the next step and compete with St. Joseph, we're going to have to have a nucleus of kids you started playing lacrosse at an early age and commit to playing in the fall, winter and summer. We do our best with kids picking up sticks in spring."

Martin acknowledged that expecting an athlete to specialize in lacrosse at Ledyard will be a challenge, considering many Colonels, middie Alex Manwaring for example, are multi-sport athletes.  Manwaring developed into one of Ledyard's best midfielders and second to scorer (12 goals, 14 assists) playing lacrosse for the first time. The summer is a good time to work on skills, Martin said.

Juniors Baxley, Manwaring, Delia, freshman Nick Lobianco (20 goals), sophomores Kevin Kohlhepp (15 goals) and Conner Wilt (14 goals) return next season, and Martin will welcome a strong influx of youth players into the program. There's no question Ledyard lacrosse has established itself as the school's strongest spring sport.

"We've established one of the ECC's best programs," Martin said. "I look for that to continue."