Ridgefield Dethroned As FCIAC Boys Lax Champs

There will be a new boys lacrosse champion in the FCIAC this season, as Greenwich avenged a regular-season drubbing with an 8-5 victory Saturday over defending champion Ridgefield in the first round of the FCIAC tournament.

A somber Tigers coach Roy Colsey was embarrassed by the outcome. 

"We're the defending FCIAC champs and get knocked out in the first round by a team we beat 16-9 two weeks ago," he said. "It's just embarrassing. It's embarrassing for me, it's embarrassing for the seniors and we have one chance left at the state tournament."

The regular-season meeting between these teams was a one-sided affair, as Ridgefield walked away with an easy win. The playoff intensity was evident from the opening faceoff Saturday, and it was equally evident that this time the Cardinals would not go away quietly.

Greenwich jumped out to a two-goal lead to start the game, due in large part to a physical brand of lacrosse that frustrated the home Tigers.

Cardinals goalie Daniel Feeney surrendered only one goal in the first quarter and the defenders in front of him prevented the Tigers from finding any offensive momentum, resulting in several wasted scoring opportunities.

The field tilted in the second period, thanks primarily to the outstanding play of Ridgefield sophomore goalie Adam Winne. Turning away every Greenwich shot in the period, Winne made six consecutive saves as his attackers evened the game.

"Our goaltender played great," Colsey said. "He started his first big game and played out of his mind." 

The Tigers, who failed to register a shot in the closing seconds of the first quarter, scored with under 10 seconds to go in the half to take a 3-2 lead into the locker room.

But the momentum the Tigers took into the half was not present in the final 24 minutes of play.

Ridgefield's lead was short lived as the Cardinals scored two quick goals and regained the lead at 4-3 . Their advantage swelled to three as Cardinal player Colin Dunster shot two past Winne to swing the momentum decidely in Greenwich's favor.

An unassisted goal by Aaron Mathias brought the Tigers back within two as the teams entered the final quarter of play.

Ridgefield scored again with 10 minutes left in the game to narrow the margin, but two goals in the span of 10 seconds by Greenwich put away the Tigers for good.

As the last minute ticked off the clock, a final shot rang off the crossbar, and the Tigers were left to ponder what went wrong.

"We just couldn't score today," Colsey said.

It was a disappointing result for the 10 seniors who were celebrating their prom just the night before. Colsey felt for his seniors and tried to put the loss into perspective.

"I love them," Colsey said of his seniors. "I get another chance. I'll come back next year, and we'll get another chance, (but) they won't. They have to figure out what they want their legacy to be. We're better than this, but we weren't today."