Rams Boys Lax Makes Short Work of Daniel Hand

New Canaan's boys lacrosse had little trouble handling the Daniel Hand Tigers in a 10-5 victory at Dunning Field on Saturday in the CIAC Class M Quarter Finals.

The Rams will now face their nemesis Darien on Tuesday. Darien beat Wilton 10-9 Saturday to advance to the semifinal game.

"This was the last home game for the seniors on the team, so we played with a lot of pride, a lot of passion," explained New Canaan's senior co-captain Cody Newtown who had two goals on the day. "To win 10-5 against a solid team like Daniel Hand is really exciting," he added.

After an inauspicious start in which Daniel Hand senior Eli Ouelette scored 40 seconds into the contest, New Canaan took control and dominated on all fronts, including time of possession, take aways, and shots on goal.

New Canaan reeled off five unanswered goals before the half. Sophomore middie John Brainard led off the barrage, netting the Rams' first goal at the 5:29 mark.

Then, in order, Ollie Norton, Newton, Peter Kraus, and Joe Kahman added to the Rams' tally.

A strong Rams defense led by seniors Ian Knechtle and Kevin Campbell bottled up the Tigers' offense throughout the day.

A solid performance in goal by New Canaan's Tom Carey kept the Tigers off the scoreboard until the third quarter when Daniel Hand's Chad Crisco scored one of two on the day.

In the final quarter, the Tigers came to life notching three goals, but it was too little too late.

The game marked the return of New Canaan starters Sam Stanton and Joe Costigan, who had sat out due to sickness and injury. Both players tallied goals.

The other Rams goals came from juniors Henry Eschricht and Scott O'Brien. All told, nine players scored for New Canaan.

"We had a lot of guys step up," said New Canaan Head Coach Alex Whitten said. "We held the ball for long periods of time, and we started shooting better. Plus, the defense played outstanding; they cleared the ball very well."

In looking ahead to the Darien game to be played at Fairfield Ludlowe Tuesday at 5 p.m., Newton said, "We will definitely have to work hard to play against the zone and tweak a few things here and there, but if we keep playing the way we've been playing, that 'W' will come."

Coach Whitten had a similar take on the upcoming semifinal, "We will have to play with a lot of poise and confidence and reduce our mistakes as much as we possibly can. If we do that, we'll be in great shape."