Final GameTimeCT / Register Top 10 Lacrosse Poll: DARIEN is No. 1

While most high school sports teams dream of having a perfect season, each season the Darien boys lacrosse team chases perfection.

In 2017, the Blue Wave were favored to win their fourth straight Fairfield County Interscholastic Athletic Conference tournament title and fourth straight state title.

On May 25, Darien defeated Ridgefield 20-4 for the FCIAC title. On Saturday, Kevin Lindley had seven goals to lead Darien to a 16-3 win over Cheshire in the CIAC Class L championship game. It was the Blue Wave’s fourth straight state title with the last three Class L titles and a Class M title in 2014.

Darien ended the season 23-0, the fourth unbeaten season for the Blue Wave program. They were also unbeaten in 2016, 2014 and 2007.

Darien High School players celebrate a goal in the Class L boys lacrosse championship against Cheshire High School, played at Brien McMahon High School in Norwalk. Saturday, June 10, 2017

As a result of the postseason success, Darien finished the season ranked No. 1 in the final Register/GameTimeCT Top 10 Lacrosse Poll getting all 13 first place votes and 130 points. New Canaan finished second with 113 points and Glastonbury was third with 87.

“This year was a culmination of a lot of hard work and dedication from the players, the coaching staff, the families and the town and their commitment to excellence,” Darien coach Jeff Brameier said. “The senior class is leaving a mark of 89-3 and leave as four-time FCIAC champs and four-time state champs, which is almost incomprehensible.

“To chase perfection and achieve it is an awesome feeling for all involved. We have reached the pinnacle of our sport and should be ranked No. 1 in the nation in at least one of the prominent polls, a huge testament to our program, our town and our state.”

Darien’s Kevin Lindley. The CHSCA 2017 Boys Lacrosse Player of the Year. (Photo Matthew Brown / Hearst Connecticut Media)

Many of the state’s top players played for Darien this season with the Blue Wave selected as the Connecticut High School Lacrosse Coaches Association 2017 Team of the Year and six players named United States Lacrosse All-Americans.

The All-American selections are goalie Ryan O’Connell, defender Arden Cohen, midfielders Finlay Collins and Riley Stewart and attackmen Kevin Lindley and Logan McGovern. The complete list of All-Americans and CHSLCA all-state players can be found online at GameTimeCT.com.

“Ryan Cornell has led us to three FCIAC and state titles as a starter in goal,” Brameier said. “Kevin Lindley has started at attack for three years and is our all-time record holder in goals scored in a season (106), goals scored in a career (219) and points in a season (134). Arden Cohen was a tremendous lock-down defenseman this year who took on every teams’ best player and held them in check.

“Quinn Fay was another guy that took on all comers and gave us a great presence of size and strength. Riley Stewart and Finlay Collins were not only great captains, but the top two middies in the state. They were great two-way middies that could do it all on both sides of the field, on offense, defense, man-down, man-up and clearing. They did it all.”

Brameier added, “Winning the Class L title, which is arguably the best Class in the state, is a great feather in their cap. Beating a formidable out of state line up of Yorktown (N.Y. state finalist), Manhasset (L.I. finalist), Niskayuna (Upstate N.Y. champs) and St. Anthony’s were all icing on the cake that helped prepare us for the big stages of the FCIAC and state championship.”

The Final 2017 GameTimeCT / Register Top 10

	TEAM (1st place votes)	REC	PTS	LAST	CLASS
	1. DARIEN (13)	23-0	130	1	L
Final result: Defeated Cheshire 16-3 for the CIAC Class L championship. Bottom line: Dominating Darien finishes the season with its fourth straight FCIAC and state tournament titles (Class M in 2014, L last three years).
	2. NEW CANAAN	15-6	113	4	M
Final result: Defeated Hand 9-6 in the Class M final. Bottom line: Rams won their third straight Class M title with all three wins coming against Hand.
	3. GLASTONBURY	17-4	87	8	L
Final result: Lost 15-9 to Darien the Class L semifinals. Bottom line: Tomahawks made a deep run in the Class L tournament led by their talented attackmen including U.S. Lacrosse All-American Mike Hawkins.
	4. WILTON	15-6	85	2	L
Final result: Lost 15-14 to Cheshire in the Class L semifinals. Bottom line: Warriors produced another solid run in Class L led by All-American defenseman A.J. Hoffman.
	5. CHESHIRE	17-6	66	NR	L
Final result: Lost 16-3 to Darien in the Class L final. Bottom line: The experienced Rams made a suprising deep run in Class L led by goalie Peter Brown.
	6. RIDGEFIELD	16-5	60	5	L
Final result: Lost 14-9 to Glastonbury in the Class L quarterfinals. Bottom line: The Tigers went 8-2 in their last 10 games led by All-American midfielder Greg Gatto.
	7. GREENWICH	14-6	55	3	L
Final result: Lost 17-6 to Darien in Class L quarterfinals. Bottom line: Cardinals had an impressive season led by All-American Bailey Savio, one of the state’s top face-off specialists.
	8. HAND	14-8	36	NR	M
Final result: Lost 9-6 to New Canaan in the Class M final. Bottom line: Coming out of the Class M qualifying round, the Tigers won four straight games to return to the Class M final for a rematch with New Canaan (Rams beat the Tigers in the last three Class M finals).
	9. FAIRFIELD PREP	16-4	34	6	L
Final result: Lost 12-5 to Wilton in Class L quarterfinals. Bottom line: Led by All-American attackman Chris Brown, the Jesuits won the SCC tournament title and ended up 11-1 in its last 12 games against state competition.
	10. SOMERS	20-1	20	NR	S
Final result: Defeated Waterford 19-5 in the Class S championship game. Bottom line: Led by All-American attackman Christian Paley, the Spartans went on a 6-0 run in the second quarter to take control in the Class S final on Saturday.
First-place votes in parentheses and points tabulated on a 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis.
Dropped Out: Staples (7), New Fairfield (9), South Windsor (10). Others receiving votes: Staples (11-7) 13, New Fairfield (18-3) 8, Waterford (18-2) 5, South Windsor (16-1) 2, North Haven (15-4) 1.
The following voted: Brian Adkins, Foran coach and Connecticut secondary schools assistant liaison to U.S. Lacrosse; Sean Patrick Bowley, GameTimeCt.com; George Baldassare, Laxpower.com director of high school boys lacrosse; Frank Barron, Emeritus U.S. Lacrosse Area Rep; Jeff Brameier, Darien coach; Scott Hinchey, Glastonbury coach; Greg Lederer, Cheshire Herald; Joe Lombardi, LaxLessons.com; John Mathews, Weston coach; Dan Nowak, New Haven Register; Chris Dehnel, Patch.com; Rich Pulisciano, Cheshire coach; Mike Sportini, Bunnell coach. Poll compiled by: Dan Nowak.