Boys Lax Steps Past Ludlowe Into State Quarterfinals

In a game where the hits were as frequent as the goals, it was fitting that the Wilton Warriors had to overcome a team wearing black and blue.

Junior attacker Mike Francia scored five goals - and assisted on four - to lead the Warriors past Ludlowe, 12-9, and into the quarterfinals of the CIAC Class M boys' lacrosse state tournament.

Next up for Wilton is a showdown at No. 2 seed and FCIAC rival Darien in the quarterfinals on Saturday afternoon at 3 p.m.

It was a tale of two halves for both teams.  The first half was an even affair,  as the high level of physical play forced turnovers on both sides of the field. 

Wilton was able to score early to start both quarters, but Ludlowe responded to every goal by ramping up their aggressive defense and midfield play leading to scoring opportunities of their own.

The physical play on both sides of the ball took its toll on each team. Two Falcons players - seniors Conner Charles and Patrick Tommins - had to temporarily leave the field with injuries suffered in the fierce ground ball battles in front of each goaltender.

The aggressive style of play led to plenty of scoring chances for each side but goalies Devyn Jefferies for Wilton and Henry Boyd for Ludlowe played very strong to keep the game tight. The defense in front of both goalies was tenacious as opposing attackers routinely hit the turf afterward, a result of the physical play.

"The defense, for the most part, was there to support them," Wilton head coach John Wiseman said. "But at times the defense needs the goalie to come up big, and both of them (Jefferies in the first half and Sam Somers in the second) came up with some saves when they needed to."

Junior Nate Ryan scored a first-half hat trick for the Falcons and saw his team take a 6-4 lead with just under six minutes left in the half.

These Warriors have responded to adversity all season, and facing a two-goal deficit on their home turf was precisely the motivation necessary to play their brand of lacrosse. Francia picked up his teammates and began to take over the game.

With three minutes to play in the half, Francia scored to cut the deficit in half.  Then, as the seconds ticked off the clock, he fired home a shot to tie the game with eight tenths of a second left in the half.

Although the score was tied, the field had tilted in Wilton's favor, and the Warriors never trailed again. Wiseman and his coaching staff knew they could capitalize on the momentum.

"We challenged the whole team to actually come out and put together a better 24 minutes than they had,"  he said

The late first-half heroics were only the beginning for Francia, who was off to an uncharacteristically slow start.

"Mike is typically unflappable," Wiseman said.  "I got in Mikey's face a little bit, which I normally don't do, because he's just so consistent and so solid, but I knew he would rise to the challenge and he'd be there for me."

Francia did not disappoint, either scoring or assisting on the Warriors' first five goals of the seond half. 

Somers started the second half and stood on his head, allowing only three goals and making several saves to preserve the lead.  The change in goalie was a decision made by Wiseman prior to the game and had nothing to do with Jefferies, who himself had a strong game.

"The rationale was pretty simple: Devyn has been our starting goalie of late, he's a senior, he earned the spot, so he's going to start in his last game on this field," said Wiseman, "but I also wanted to make sure that Sam had a chance in a competitive situation to get back into it, and this was the opportunity to do it."

The Warriors will need their seniors against Darien.

"We're a young team, so, yeah, we like senior leadership and we have good strong captains, but we've got a lot of juniors and sophomores out there, and that's a good sign for the future," Wiseman added.