Lacrosse fans can always expect a matchup between Darien and New Canaan to be exciting. That goes double for times when these two meet in the postseason. But Wednesdays Class M semifinal at Fairfield Ludlowe High School defied those expectations. Both teams played excellently, but in the end it was the Blue Wave who took home the 5-4 victory in the double overtime thriller.
Goals were hard to come by for much of the game. Both defenses played tight with attackers, limiting clean shots. When the ball did head toward the net, stellar play from New Canaans Tom Carey and Dariens Andrew West in goal kept scoring to a minimum. Each of the first three quarters saw just one goal each, all from Darien. Case Matheis started off the action in the first quarter, giving the Blue Wave a 1-0 lead three minutes into the game.
It would be more than 20 minutes of game time before the scoreboard changed, with another Matheis goal in the final minute of the first half. Dariens advantage improved to 3-0 early in the second half when Henry West charged up from behind the net, spun around and fired the ball past Carey. New Canaan had trouble taking shots through much of the third period, and did not get on the board until Oliver Norton put one in with just 1:10 left in the quarter.
But New Canaan came alive in the fourth, stringing together four unanswered goals to take a 4-3 lead. Henry Eschricht won a battle with Andrew West for a ground ball, and took advantage of the distraction to pick up a goal. Todd Bratches followed with the equalizer almost a minute later. Cody Newton finally put his team ahead with a goal just seven minutes before the end of regulation.
It was Matheis who pushed the game to overtime, picking up his third goal of the game on a one-timer from Graham Maybell with four minutes left to play. Both defenses tightened up further after that point, leading to another 12-minute scoreless stretch spanning the end of regulation, most of the two overtime periods. Finally, Bobby Nolan put in the game-winner with just 3.9 seconds remaining.
Darien moves on to the state championship game against New Fairfield, Saturday afternoon at Brien McMahon High School in Norwalk.
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