Southern Connecticut Conference commissioner Al Carbone has announced the pairings for the SCC girls’ lacrosse tournament and No. 1 seed Cheshire, which has strength and depth on both ends of the field, is the team to beat.

The top challenges to Cheshire should come from Guilford, Hand and Branford.
Carbone also said that he will take it one day at a time as far as the weather reports that predict heavy rain on Monday from tropical storm Alberto and showers on Tuesday-Wednesday.

PAIRINGS

Quarterfinals – Monday, May 21
#8 Shelton at #1 Cheshire – 5 p.m.
# 7 Amity at #2 Guilford – 5 p.m.
#6 Hamden at #3 Daniel Hand – 5 p.m.
#5 Sacred Heart Academy at #4 Branford – 7 p.m.

Semifinals – Wednesday, May 23 @Hamden HS
Amity/Guilford winner vs. Hamden/Daniel Hand winner – 4 p.m.
Shelton/Cheshire winner vs. Sacred Heart Academy/Branford winner – 6 p.m.

Championship – Friday, May 25 @Branford HS – TBA

The 28th annual Eli Youth Lacrosse Jamboree will take place this weekend (Saturday-Sunday) at the Yale University fields on Central Ave. in New Haven with a record 120 teams participatng. The event is for boys and girls in grades 3-8.
Organizer Jon Einhorn can't wait for the event to take place.
"This is the biggest year yet for our jamboree," Einhorn said. "The 120 teams we have coming makes it the biggest youth lacrosse jamboree in New England. We use eight fields simultaneously on Central Avenue with 15-minute games, 5 minutes between each game."
Many lacrosse vendors will be present.
Amistad Academy is sending two teams.

Here is a list of the Connecticut teams that have committed to the event:

Stratford, Newtown, Ticks, Clinton, Litchfield Hills, East Lyme, Groton-Mystic,  Milford, North Branford, Amity, Barracuda, Branford, Danbury, Bridgeport, Ridgefield, Stampede, Canondale,          East Lyme, Shelton, Greenwich, Newtown, Madison, Docs, Avon, New Fairfield, St. Bernard, RELAX, Weston, Wakeman, Southington, Eli, Rye, North Haven, Norwalk, Guilford, New Milford, Pomperaug, Amistad.

Youth lacrosse has helped with the expansion of high school lacrosse in the New Haven area and throughout the state. Here is a link to a feature story on that expansion - http://bit.ly/JTcMsZ.

Avery Giorgio and Krystina Reynolds, midfielders for the Hamden Hall girl's lacrosse team, have been selected to play in the Connie Walkwitz NEPSWLA (New England Prep School Women's Lacrosse Association) all-star game this Sunday at Holy Cross in Worcester, Mass.

Reynolds and Giorgio are among the top 10 girls' scorers in the area. Reynolds has 68 points (45 goals, 23 assists) and Giorgio has 65 points (49 goals, 16 assists). They have led the Hornets to a 7-3-1 record.

The all-star players are selected by the coaches in WNEPSLA (Western New England Prep School Lacrosse Association).

Giorgio and Reynolds also play soccer at Hamden Hall and are on the swim team and basketball team, respectively.

In related news, check out the Lacrosse Spotlight feature video on the Hamden Hall boys' lacrosse team at http://bit.ly/JsAtIT. Check out this other lacrosse feature on the expansion of lacrosse in the New Haven area at http://bit.ly/JTcMsZ.

Heading into last season, the Cheshire boys’ lacrosse team knew the season would be a work in progress with 22 players lost to graduation from the Rams’ CIAC Class L championship squad of 2010. The losses included standouts Todd Heritage (attack), Nate Gaudio (goalie) and Hank Carisio (defense) and the result was at best an up-and-down season.


The Rams lost in the first round of the Class L tournament and ended up 12-10 overall.

Read more about Cheshire here

More lacrosse preview information

The Register Preseason Top 10 poll

Top 10 Boys players to watch

Top 10 Girls players to watch

Boys team by team capsules

Girls team by team capsules


5 Boys Games Not To Miss This Season

No. 8 Cheshire at No. 2 Fairfield Prep, April 10, 4 p.m.: An early key matchup of the top two SCC teams that also happen to be ranked in the Register’s Top 10 preseason poll.


Amity vs. Hingham (Mass.) at Quinnipiac University, April 14, 4 p.m.: The first of two out-of-state games for the talented Spartans.

No. 9 Simsbury at No. 8 Cheshire, April 19, 11 a.m.: The experienced and talented Rams host one of the top teams from northern Connecticut.

No. 1 Darien at St. Joseph, April 21, 1 p.m.: The defending CIAC Class S champion Cadets take on the top-ranked team in the state.

No. 6 Greenwich at No. 2 Fairfield Prep, May 7, 4:30 p.m.: The Jesuits, who boast one of the toughest schedules in the state, face off against one of the favorites to challenge for the Class L title.


5 Girls Games Not To Be Missed This Season

Hand at Cheshire, April 10, 7 p.m.: The two top teams in the SCC face off in the first of two regular-season meetings.


Greenwich at Cheshire, April 14, 6 p.m.: The Rams take on one of the state’s top attackers (Greenwich’s Claire Feeney) and top midfielders (Greenwich’s Tori Dunster).

Hamden at Sacred Heart Academy, April 14, 10 a.m.: Two longtime cross-town rivals face off in the first of two regular-season meetings.

Greenwich at Hand, April 21, Noon: The high-scoring Cardinals face Hand goalie Christy Forrest, one of the top goalies in the state.

Glastonbury at Cheshire, May 17, 7 p.m.: A pair of top players committed to play at Quinnipiac meet with Glastonbury attacker Katie DeVito facing Cheshire midfielder Maria Blois.

Ball possession and domination at the face-off circle did in the Hand girls' lacrosse team as No. 13 Darien defeated No. 2 Hand 15-5 in the CIAC Class M championship at Bunnell High in Stratford.
Darien freshman Dillon Schoen showcased her speed and quick wrist shots as she had the best game of her early high school career with five goals and three assists.
A four-goal scoring spurt gave Darien a 4-1 lead and the Tigers never recovered.
The big story for the Tigers was goalie Christy Forrest who made 16 saves to keep Hand in the game. At one point, she made three successive saves off a shot and two rebound shots. Marykate McNulty led the Hand offense with two goals. Julia Miller, Hannah Morgan and Cat Chatillon also scored for Hand (19-4), which played in its first state tournament final.

Nine high school girls’ lacrosse players in Connecticut who violated CIAC inseason rules have been reinstated for the post-season play but the teams they play on will have to forfeit games played from May 15-23. None of the teams involved are from the New Haven area. They are Avon, Norwich Free Academy, Ridgefield, Staples, New Fairfield and New Canaan.
The nine girls participated in a tryout on May 15 for the Underclassman Games of the Under Armour All American Lacrosse Classic. According to the CIAC, the participation was in violation of the CIAC Student Eligibility rules pertaining to participation on outside teams during the CIAC defined sport season. After reviewing documentation in an appeal today from the member schools and information from Under Armour representatives, CIAC Executive Board members ruled that the girls would be reinstated for the postseason today. But the teams the girls play on will have to forfeit all games played between May 15-23 and CIAC tournament seedings will be adjusted accordingly.
On Monday, the CIAC was informed by the principals of all six schools of the violations.
“This was strictly a communication issue between the players and the schools,” said CIAC associate executive director Paul Hoey. “Nothing maliscious was done and the girls didn’t know they were violating any rules. All the schools self-reported what happened to the CIAC on Monday.
“After the appeal process it was determined that the nine girls would be reinstated today and that they could play in the post season.”
According to a statement issued by the CIAC, the issue will be presented to the full CIAC Board following the 2011 spring season for discussion.