Wave Crushes Rams With Second Half Surge

By Darius Majd - Last week was critical for the Darien Boys’ lacrosse team, as they faced three nationally ranked teams from New York with their national reputation on the line. After going 2-1 during the three game stretch, the team was ready for an even more important task this week: Ram Week. “Ram Week”, a phrase coined by some of the players on the team, of course refers to the important showdown with New Canaan, and the hard work in practice in the days ahead. All of the excitement and preparation of the week culminated at 4 PM on Saturday (5/7) at Dunning Stadium in New Canaan, in front of a packed house and a live broadcast for MSG Varsity.

After a tense first quarter, in which Darien fell behind early, the score was 1-1. But from that point on, the Blue Wave took control. Middies Bobby Weaver (junior) and Graham Maybell (senior) fired in blistering shots as Darien took advantage of two extra man opportunities. Darien stretched the lead to 5-2 before New Canaan scored off a rebound with one second left in the half. Whilst Darien’s defense continued to fluster the Rams, New Canaan’s senior goalie Jimmy Joe Granito (18 saves on the day) kept his team in contention, trailing only 7-4 late in the third quarter. But in a startling run of play that lasted less than a minute, Darien struck the winning blow with a quick 1-2-3 punch to end the quarter with a 10-4 lead. The two teams traded goals at the start of the quarter, before Darien began to hold the ball and run off the clock, clinching an 11-5 victory over their archrivals.

The Darien defense, led by defensemen Eric Parnon (senior), Christian Kolderup (senior), Tony Britton (junior), LSM Baylis Treen (senior), and d-middie JP Walsh (senior) was dominant in the victory, causing turnovers, which led to several transition goals. Senior d-middie Scotty Waters was particularly strong in transition, and finished with a goal and an assist. On the off chance that a New Canaan player was able to slip through, senior goalie Dylan Torey was their to make the save (Torey had 14 in all). On offense, the story was senior attackman Richard Gregory, who netted a game-high five goals. Gregory expertly cut to the goal for scores, and was also formidable dodging one-on-one. Overall, the team was happy to get another commanding win over their rivals. Maybell was very happy with the effort: “We were solid in all aspects of the game. Bobby Weaver is starting to come out of his shell and is lighting it up. The defense as usual disabled NC's offense with very limited opportunities. When opportunities did arise, Dylan Torey shut them down immediately.”

The Darien Boys’ Lacrosse Team will be back in action next week as they continue their pursuit for a seventh straight state title. The Blue Wave will next play at Fairfield Warde on Tuesday (5/10) at 4 PM.