FCIAC teams Darien, Staples, Wilton, New Canaan, and Ridgefield are ranked first through fifth, respectively, in the GameTimeCT Top 10 Boys Lacrosse Poll which was released April 20.
The FCIAC has seven teams among the top nine as Greenwich is No. 7 and Fairfield Ludlowe is No. 9.
Darien, the unanimous No. 1 choice in the previous poll as the recipient of all 15 first-place votes, suffered its first loss of the season April 16 at New Canaan, 11-10. New Canaan took an 11-6 lead into the fourth quarter and withstood Darien’s rally.
Darien maintained the No. 1 ranking over undefeated Staples (6-0) and third-ranked Wilton by a very slim margin even though No. 2 Staples had twice as many first-place votes as Darien.
Defending FCIAC champion Darien (4-1) received three first-place votes and 132 polling points. Staples had six first-place votes and 130 polling points, while Wilton (4-1) received four first-place votes and 125 polling points.
Coach Chip Buzzeo’s New Canaan’s Rams (4-2) vaulted up two spots to No. 4. They received the other two first-place votes and 114 polling points. Carter Connors fired in four goals to lead the Rams to that big 11-10 victory which snapped Darien’s nine-game winning streak over New Canaan since New Canaan’s 9-8 victory over Darien on May 19, 2015.
Ridgefield (4-3) had a 1-2 record since the previous state poll, so the Tigers dropped three spots to No. 5.
They lost at Darien, 15-9, in a No. 1-vs.-No. 2 showdown of unbeatens on April 12 and were still ranked second in the following state poll. Four days later they lost their third straight game with a 15-12 loss at Wilton.
Coach Roy Colsey’s defending state Class L champion Tigers ended their three-game losing skid with a 29-2 home victory April 19 over Fairfield Warde, which took a 6-0 record into that game.
This current Top 10 poll includes the respective teams’ records after the games played through April 19.
Fairfield Prep (2-3) dropped down one spot and is ranked sixth as the highest-ranked non-FCIAC team.
Greenwich (4-2) moved up one spot to No. 7.
Cheshire (5-1) also moved up one spot and is No. 8.
Fairfield Ludlowe lost its first game April 14 at St. Joseph, 7-6, and that was the main reason why the 5-1 Falcons dropped two spots down to No. 9.
Daniel Hand (4-1) completed the Top 10 for the second straight week.
There are four matchups among those top five ranked teams from the FCIAC in the eight days from April 23-30. The top three ranked teams each have both of their games against the other two top three teams.
Second-ranked Staples hosts third-ranked Wilton this Saturday (April 23) at 3 p.m.
Top-ranked Darien hosts Staples on April 28 (4 p.m.). Two days later Darien plays a 7 o’clock Saturday evening game at Wilton.
Also on that same Saturday night, fourth-ranked New Canaan visits fifth-ranked Ridgefield on April 30 (6:30 p.m.).
The 2022 FCIAC Boys Lacrosse Tournament commences with the quarterfinals on May 21, a Saturday. The semifinals and final will be hosted at Brien McMahon High School. The semifinal doubleheader is scheduled for May 24 and the championship game is set for May 26, which is the Thursday leading into the Memorial Day weekend.
Top-seeded Darien defeated fourth-seeded Staples, 15-3, in last year’s conference tournament final to give veteran coach Jeff Brameier his 18th FCIAC championship in the 29 seasons played since he won his first one in 1992.
Colsey’s Ridgefield Tigers were seeded 14th in the 2021 CIAC Class L Boys Lacrosse Tournament. They won five consecutive games, culminating with an 8-5 victory in the championship game against an eighth-seeded Fairfield Prep team which upset top-seeded Darien, 14-10, in the quarterfinals.
That earned Ridgefield the No. 1 ranking and Darien was No. 2 in the Final 2021 GameTimeCT Top 10 Boys Lacrosse Poll. Fellow FCIAC teams Wilton, Staples, Greenwich, and New Canaan were ranked 4-through-7, respectively.