http://www.casciac.org/

Looking good in the 'ol lacrosse neighborhood....

In the boys’ Division I tournament, entering the post season I predicted a Cheshire-Fairfield Prep CIAC Class L final and so far both teams are making me look good.
No. 2 Cheshire (19-2) faces No. 3 Glastonbury (14-4) in one semifinal on Tuesday at West Haven High at 7:15 p.m. Glastonbury will likely have some revenge as motivation. Cheshire defeated Glastonbury 8-4 in a regular-season game on April 10 and the Rams also defeated the Tomahawks 11-10 in the 2002 Division I championship.
The problem for opponents is Cheshire has a huge amount of depth with 8-9 players who can score. The Rams have arguably one of the best all-around players in the state with scoring phenom Todd Heritage and goalie Nate Gaudio is extremely tough to beat.

In the other semifinal, the No. 4 Jesuits (16-5) face No. 1 Staples (18-1) on Tuesday at 7:15 p.m. at McMahon High.

Four-time Class L defending champion Fairfield Prep is still the team to beat with its own brand of depth front to back led by Griff McGoldrick, Brendan Rotanz, Mike Carey, Darric White and Alex Matarazzo. The Jesuits have the toughest overall schedule in the state and the elite out-of-state games have been serving them well in the postseason. Staples has its share of balanced scoring and a solid goalie with Austin Waiter.

http://www.southernconnecticutconference.org
The championship games have been set for the boys' and girls Southern Connecticut Conference tournament to be held Friday at Branford High.
In the boys' tournament, No. 1 seed Cheshire (16-2) faces No. 2 Fairfield Prep (14-4) at 3 p.m. The game was originally scheduled for 7 p.m. but has been moved to 3 p.m. because the Prep seniors have their prom on Friday night.
In the girls' tournament, No. 1 seed Hand (16-2) will face No. 2 Cheshire (14-4) at 5 p.m.
Awards ceremonies will take place at the end of each game.

http://www.casciac.org
Wow....
It's only a regular-season win, but the Cheshire boys' lacrosse team certainly sent a message on Tuesday with it's 9-8 SCC win at Fairfield Prep.
The big thorn in the Rams’ side the last four seasons has been Southern Connecticut Conference foe Fairfield Prep. Entering Tuesday's game, in their last 10 matchups the Rams were 0-10 against the Jesuits, including a loss in the SCC tournament final last season and first round of the CIAC Class L tournament the last two seasons.
As deep and talented as the Rams are this season with 17 returning players from a year ago, the players and coaches know any postseason success in 2010 likely means getting by the four-time defending Class L champion and four-time defending SCC tournament champion Jesuits.
The 0-10 mark has clearly been on the minds of the Rams, especially seniors like Todd Heritage, Nick Carisio and goalie Nate Gaudio.
The loss was the first in the state for the Jesuits who are 12-3 with their only other losses to out-of-state national powers Chaminade (N.Y.) and St. Anthony's (N.Y.). The Rams are 14-1 with their only loss to Lynnbrook (N.Y.).
Certainly the real season doesn't begin until two weeks with the Class L tournament that begins on June 1. And the Jesuits aren't going to lose any sleep over this regular-season loss to the Rams.
But I am looking forward to the potential postseason matchups between these two teams. The Rams and Jesuits will likely meet two more times and you can expect no prisoners to be taken by either team in both matchups. In my opinion, because of the heated rivalry between the two teams, I believe the only team in this state that can derail the Jesuits from winning five straight Class L and SCC titles are the Rams.
The SCC tournament begins on Monday with quarterfinal games and Cheshire now becomes the No. 1 seed with Fairfield Prep No. 2. Both should meet in the championship game on May 28 at Branford High at 7 p.m.
With due respect to the other teams in Class L, hopefully the tournament seedings will have the Rams and Jesuits in different brackets with the potential for a final 2010 matchup in the Class L championship game.
That would be a game for the ages....

http://www.casciac.org/

A key Southern Connecticut Conference matchup takes place today (Friday) when the Hand boys' lacrosse team travels to Cheshire for a game at 5:30 p.m. in a rare Friday game for both teams.
Coming into this season, Hand lost a great deal of talent to graduation and had a rough start at 1-4. But the Tigers have reeled off three straight wins to climb to .500 at 4-4 and hope to keep that momentum going. They are 2-2 in the league.
Cheshire, one of the top two teams in the New Haven area this season with SCC foe Fairfield Prep, is off to a 6-1 start led by an extremely talented and deep team front to back. The Rams are actually unbeaten against state competition at 6-0 with its only loss to Lynnbrook, N.Y. on April 17. The Rams are 2-0 in the SCC.
Both teams have a balanced scoring attack with each team boasting a half dozen players contributing on offense.
Hand is led up front by Andy Bushnell and Paul Alberti and midfielder Jack Willson, who also excels on defense and in the transition game.
The Rams are led by "Mr. Everything" Todd Heritage who is among the top three scorers in the area with over 40 points this season. Midfielder-attack Mike Devine, coming off a solid ice hockey season where he was a Register All-Area selection, is right behind Heritage with over 30 points. Nick Carisio is another who contributes on both sides of the field each game and has over 20 points.
Hand and Cheshire have developed into one of the fiercest rivalries in the SCC and the matchups are always wild and exciting events no matter what the records might be. This is a key matchup for Hand to give them an indication of how far they have improved/developed since a 14-3 thrashing by Prep on April 13.