On Friday, May 31, the St. Joseph boys varsity lacrosse team played in the quarterfinals of the CIAC Class L state tournament against Xavier of Middletown and won 7-4.
Xavier is ranked 14th in Class L, while St. Joe’s is ranked 2nd in Class L.
The victory secured St. Joe’s a spot in the tournament semifinals against Fairfield Ludlowe, who won their most recent game against Guilford 15-7.
St. Joe’s and Xavier proved to be very evenly matched throughout the first two quarters.
The first goal was scored by Xavier with 8:38remaining in quarter one. St. Joe’s did not tie the score until about five minutes later, when a goal was scored unassisted by junior Sean Archibald. The score remained 1-1 for the rest of the quarter.
The first half of the second quarter was a show of back-and-forth possession. St. Joe’s scored six minutes in, when sophomore Dylan Greiner was assisted by senior captain James Corry.
Shortly after, however, Xavier scored again and brought the score to 2-2. Thanks to a save by SJ junior goalie Michael Coletti, and overall impressive defense, the score remained tied going into halftime.
The first goal of the third quarter was scored by sophomore Eli Restrepo. Less than a minute later, Xavier tied up the score once again.
The score of 3-3 held for most of the quarter, but during the last three minutes, St. Joe’s scored twice.
The first goal was by senior captain #6, Alex Burbank. The next was by Greiner, assisted by freshman Paul Karafa. St. Joe’s was in the lead 5-3 entering the final quarter.
St. Joe’s secured an even larger lead during the first half of the fourth quarter.
With 9:15remaining, Burbank scored assisted by Restrepo. A few minutes later, Corry scored assisted by Greiner, bringing the score to 7-3. With 3:18 remaining, Xavier scored, but it was not enough to beat the Cadets. The final score was 7-4.
Boys varsity lacrosse plays in the CIAC semifinals against third-seeded Fairfield Ludlowe on Wednesday, June 5.