Alex Whitten won state lacrosse championships as a player and a coach, and was on the Duke team that won the ACC championship and participated in the team's first Final Four in 1997. Friday night, he can add one more title to his impressive resume.
Whitten will guide New Canaan against Greenwich in the Fairfield County Interscholastic Athletic Conference boys lacrosse championship game. The teams are scheduled to face off at 7:30 p.m. at Brien McMahon.
The third-seeded Rams advanced to the championship with an 11-3 victory over St. Joseph in Tuesday's semifinals. No. 5 Greenwich advanced with a 8-7 win over Darien. New Canaan is playing in the title game for the first time since 2007 and last won a league title in 2003. Greenwich won its only league championship in 2007.
The Rams beat Greenwich, 10-4, in the first game of the season on April 4. Since losing to Darien on May 1, New Canaan has ripped off nine straight wins. In Tuesday's 11-3 rout of St. Joseph, Oliver Norton scored four goals and the Rams dominated from the outset. Norton's goal three minutes into the game set the tone and the Rams clamped down defensively.
"We're better across the board at this point in the season,'' Whitten said. "Diligence has been the thing we've talked about all year. We've playing better than we have all season."
Whitten could join exclusive company tonight. Former Greenwich coach Paul Burke, who played for New Canaan, was the first person to win a league title as both a player and coach. Whitten, who won a state title while coaching at Weston High, was part of league champions at Wilton High playing under his father, Guy.
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