Darien boys lacrosse routs rival New Canaan to remain perfect in-state

DARIEN -- Nothing like making a statement to the rest of the league at the expense of your biggest rival.

Senior Brian Annechino had a hat trick and six other players scored as the Darien High School boys lacrosse team overcame a strong start by New Canaan and pulled away 11-5 in a matchup of perennial FCIAC powerhouses.

Saturday's showdown was much-anticipated in part because both programs had yet to lose an in-state game, and in part because, well, it was Darien-New Canaan.

"This is the best feeling in the world," Annechino said. "We tend not to get off to the fastest starts, but it's nice having a goalie that's as dependable as Andrew West. It was a pretty incredible team effort for the better part of three quarters. A win like this gives us a lot of momentum moving forward."

Ranked No. 1 in the state by LaxPower.com, the Blue Wave (9-2) have been dominant in their nine contests against Connecticut opponents.

The Rams (6-3) rolled in the first quarter, taking a 2-0 lead on unassisted goals by seniors Ian Knechtle and Cody Newton before classmate Sam Stanton made it a 3-1 game with 13 seconds remaining.

Unfortunately for the visitors, the good times wouldn't last.

Darien ripped off eight consecutive goals and held New Canaan scoreless for more than 28 minutes, owning the second and third quarters.

Junior Graham Maybell, who had two goals and one assist, gave the Blue Wave a huge lift heading into halftime when he scored with 12 seconds left in the quarter. That put Darien ahead 4-3, and it would never look back.

"That was a big goal for us," Blue Wave head coach Jeff Brameier said. "We had our strategies coming into the game, and finally we were able to put the pedal down. I was very happy with this performance because we did it on both sides of the ball against a very good team. All six of our offensive guys got in the scoring column, so everyone got involved."

After outshooting the Rams 15-4 in the second quarter, the Blue Wave kept the pressure on following the intermission, taking 10 shots to just two by New Canaan in the third quarter.

Darien made three of those shots count over the final 2:39 of the period and turned a one-goal game into a 7-3 cushion.

Firing on all cylinders heading into the final quarter, the Blue Wave left no doubt by scoring twice in a span of 23 seconds before eventually punctuating their performance with a man-up goal by Annechino with 3:09 remaining.

New Canaan senior Oliver Norton had two goals in the fourth quarter, including the game's final score with 2:30 left on the clock. But clearly, it was too little, too late.

"We did a lot of great stuff early on but today was about execution," Rams head coach Alex Whitten said. "It was a real struggle to get anything going and our big guns didn't step up. Darien outplayed and outhustled us."

Brian Gleason scored twice in the victory, while Case Matheis and Alden Frelinghuysen each had one goal and one assist. Henry West and long pole Eric Parnon rounded out the scoring for Darien, which has allowed only two opponents this season to top the five-goal mark.

Cornell-bound goalie Andrew West is a main reason why as the senior stopped 14 shots, and was supported by defenders like Parnon, Tony Britton and George Benitez.

"This was a real team effort," Benitez said. "Defensively we were able to turn it up after the first quarter, and eventually we turned on the jets. New Canaan is a great team but I'm not even gassed right now. That's how well our attack and middies played. They got possession and kept it."

Junior Jimmy Joe Granito made 12 saves for New Canaan, which broke its long scoring draught on a feed from Henry Eschricht to Norton with 7:52 left in the fourth quarter.

"It was poor execution on our part," Stanton said. "When we did get shots on goal, we put them right in his chest. What we can take away from this game is that we need to work a lot harder to be at the top of the FCIAC."

As satisfying a win as this was for the five-time defending CIAC Class M champions, the Blue Wave realize they're not quite done with the Rams just yet. They plan on knocking helmets with New Canaan again, likely in both the league and state tournaments.

"This was our second big win in Connecticut," said Brameier, whose squad has lost only to Pennsylvania's Conestoga and New York's Manhasset with another out-of-state showdown coming up against Yorktown, N.Y., on Friday. "This is more like round one though. We'll be seeing New Canaan again for sure in the postseason."