News

Champions Once Again: NC Boys Lax Defeats Daniel Hand for 2nd Consecutive Year to Defend CIAC Class M Title

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Going into this season, New Canaan head coach Chip Buzzeo knew that despite graduating an incredibly talented class of 23 seniors the prior year—a class whose final victory as Rams was a Class M state championship—that his squad, led by its 15 seniors, could put together a repeat performance and cap its season off with another title win. And on Saturday afternoon at Jack Casagrande Field in Norwalk, the top-seeded Rams (17-4) made their coach’s belief in them come to fruition when they defeated the No. 6 seed Daniel Hand Tigers (10-6 regular season) for the second consecutive year in the finals, 13-2, to retain the Class M title. “This is my fourth year with this senior class,” Buzzeo told NewCanaanite.com. “It’s the first time that I’ve had four years with a group.

Sports

NC Boys Lax Falls at Rival Darien in Battle of Unbeatens

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As if New Canaan and Darien residents need any more incentive to go see their respective high school boys lacrosse teams square off, Saturday afternoon’s contest pitted the longtime rivals up against one another with both squads coming in undefeated. And the stadium field at Darien High School was packed because of it. While New Canaan’s senior attacker Clayton Burt recorded four second-half goals in the hopes of sparking a late New Canaan (9-1, 4-1 FCIAC) rally, a pair of Darien (9-0, 5-0 FCIAC) hat tricks from senior Jack Kniffin and junior Kevin Lindley and—coupled with untimely turnovers and penalties—proved too much for the Rams to overcome, as they fell to their rival for their first defeat of the season, 10-7. “They [Darien] rode us really well,” New Canaan head coach Chip Buzzeo told NewCanaanite.com. “We probably were in the double digits when it comes to failed clears, and hats off to them for forcing those mistakes. We can’t give Darien extra possessions, especially when we were winning faceoffs. We should’ve dominated that game, and we didn’t.

News

‘A Win’s a Win’: NC Boys Lax Pulls Out Close Contest, 8-7, vs. Fairfield Prep

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Coming off a terrific, 9-8, win over Loyola Blakefield down in Towson, Md. on Saturday, many wondered how New Canaan Boys Lacrosse would follow such a feat when they stepped onto the turf of Dunning Stadium for the first time in 2016. And while it started off great, with five first-quarter goals from five different contributors, 10 penalties and both forced and unforced turnovers pinned New Canaan (2-0) into a nail-biter versus Fairfield Prep (1-1). Ultimately, the Rams were able to thwart the Jesuits’ comeback attempt and leave with an 8-7 victory—thanks in large part to some outstanding goaltending from junior Drew Morris and stellar defense from those in front of him. “Last year we lost a game like that, where we had too many turnovers and penalties, and we were upset with ourselves,” head coach Chip Buzzeo told NewCanaanite.com. “Today the same thing happens and we pull out a win. It’s a good sign that we pulled out the win—especially against another great team like Fairfield Prep. But you’re a hundred percent right.

News

Reloaded and Ready: 2016 New Canaan Boys Lax Preview

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It was a season that many of those who either were part of, or witnessed, the 2015 New Canaan Boys Lacrosse team (13-3, 10-1 FCIAC) will not soon forget—a year that culminated in a Class M State Championship. On a team that had 23 seniors, including All-American attackmen Michael Kraus and Justin Meichner; outstanding defensemen in Frank Cognetta, Logan Hart, Sterling O’Hara, Liam Harris, and Chris Keeffe; midfielders Owen Toland and Max Begoon, as well as face-off specialist, Teddy Dumbauld, the 2015 Rams were blessed with some of the finest senior talent in the history of the boys lacrosse program. But while those guys will be missed by their former coaches and teammates, Rams Head Coach Chip Buzzeo has his 2016 roster reloaded and ready to repeat. “It was great to end last year with a state championship,” Buzzeo told NewCanaanite.com. “We’re going to miss those guys.

News

Eight NCHS Seniors Sign Early Letters of Intent To Play Sports in College

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Five lacrosse players and three swimmers rounded out a group of New Canaan High School student-athletes who on Monday signed early Letters of Intent to play sports in college starting next year. What follows are photos from a signing ceremony overseen by NCHS Athletic Director Jay Egan (also a parent of a signee on this day), held at in the auxiliary gym at New Canaan High School. We also asked each student about what went into their choice of college. (Harvard-bound senior David Strupp’s letter could be called a “likely letter” in that the university, though it offers no athletics scholarships per se, can issue an agreement signifying that it’s committed to admitting a recruited athlete.)

Samantha Stewart, U.S. Military Academy at West Point lacrosse, with parents Terri and Michael: “When I was little, I always heard stories from my family about West Point. I have a really big military background in my family. So I was always interested in going to the service academies.