Wilton Boys Lacrosse Drops Heart-breaker To Ridgefield

The Wilton Warriors played their hearts out for a full 48 minutes Thursday night, but in a hotly contested and well-played game, they walked off Fujitani Field for the last time this spring with a 10-9 defeat to rival Ridgefield.

The Warriors (8-5, 7-3 FCIAC) still have a winning record on the year and are poised to make a run in the FCIAC tournament in two weeks.  The key is consistency. 

In previous matches, the Warriors have shown flashes of their talent but had yet to put together a complete game. Thursday was a different story, even though they took the loss.

"These guys finally played for 48 minutes," Wilton Coach John Wiseman said. "You had two good teams going at it, someone has to win."

There are no moral victories, but Wiseman can put this loss into perspective as he notes the growth of his team throughout the season.

"We all play to win, so every loss is difficult," he said.  "But you know what, it was a great team, we played great, they played great, it was a battle to the end and we played 48 minutes. So you can't be that upset."

The entire game was a back-and-forth battle, as both teams played up to their potential.  Wilton displayed their physical nature early on and it resulted in transition opportunities. 

Tigers goaltender Drew Butturini was up to the challenge and responded with several difficult saves that he managed to make look routine. 

Ridgefield responded well with their own aggressive style of offense, ringing shot after shot off the post behind Warriors goalie Devyn Jeffereis before finally cashing in.

Wilton's John Andrews was the man of the match in the losing effort, scoring six of the Warriors' nine goals.

"John Andrews is a player," Wiseman said emphatically. "He comes to play, has huge heart and a will to win and has all the skills to back it up."

Those skills were on display as Andrews led all scorers with his six goals, including the tally to tie the game at 9 with less than five minutes to play.

The score was tied eight times through the match and the lead changed hands four times, with the largest margin being a  two-goal Wilton lead in the third period that was erased by Ridgefield Senior Kurt Mueller. 

Mueller left the game late in the fourth after going down with a left knee injury.  He remained on the ground for several minutes and had to be helped off the field.

Just over a minute later, Tigers Midfielder Andrew Buckanave scored what would be the game-winner, bouncing his shot between the legs of Jeffereis, who despite the loss turned in another spectacular effort.

Wilton has three matches left to conclude their regular season and that provides plenty more opportunities for this team to grow.

"We've kept getting incrementally closer and closer and that's why I was pleased we did it today." 

A complete effort by the Warriors could spell trouble for opposing teams, as it nearly did for Ridgefield tonight.

"I know the team has it within them, I've seen them do it," Wiseman sad. "The question is can you do it for 48 minutes. They did today. We just came out on the wrong end of it."