Fairfield Prep boys lacrosse rallies past Cheshire, wins sixth consecutive SCC crown

WEST HAVEN — With the top two seeds playing and a close regular-season contest already in the books between the two teams, a thrilling Southern Connecticut Conference boys lacrosse final was shaping up. Fairfield Prep’s depth took over. Constantly rotating players in and out, the Jesuits seemed to always have fresh legs and the reward came in the second half. Scoring eight straight goals in the final 24 minutes, top-seeded Fairfield Prep rallied to defeat second-seeded Cheshire 13-6 at Ken Strong Stadium in West Haven Thursday evening. The title was Prep’s sixth in a row and 16th overall. This title for the Jesuits has significant meaning with the death of junior James McGrath less than two weeks ago. “It’s one game and you try and do as many good things as you can,” Fairfield Prep coach Graham Niemi said. “We’ve been through a lot. These kids have basically had three practices and three games the last six days. We haven’t practiced much. You saw how good we can be, and you saw the rustiness we had. These kids have been through so much. You see how they love being together. The game heals you. I am so proud of these guys. They needed this so bad.” Trailing 5-4, Most Outstanding Player Tyler Fox righted the ship for the Jesuits as he scored twice in a span of 2:01 to give the Jesuits the lead they never relinquished. When Luke Shannehan’s great individual effort produced a goal with less than five seconds remaining in the third quarter, Prep had a 7-5 lead. “In the first half, we were playing really well,” Fox said after finishing with four goals. “The shots weren’t falling. We had one possession where their goalie had five saves. We had the same offense the whole time. The key was just making one more pass. We kept moving the ball.” The Jesuits then poured it on in the fourth quarter, scoring five times in a span of 3:17 to take a 12-5 lead with 4:04 remaining. Peter Grandolfo, who finished with four goals, scored twice in that span to seal yet another Prep title. “We were saying earlier in the game we had to play a few more bodies,” Niemi said after his team improved to 13-4. “It is a testament to the team how deep we are and how many guys can help us.” For the Rams, it was a matter of keeping up with the depth of the Jesuits and Cheshire finally broke after playing outstanding for three quarters. “It hurts,” Cheshire coach Mike Devine said after his team fell to 15-3. “It definitely hurts. We got some guys injured and they have 45 guys on just their varsity roster. We just played a lot of defense. Against a team like that, they wear you down and we just didn’t have the depth tonight. They’re a great team. They find a way to win. That’s a credit to them.” The opening half saw plenty of offense, but also plenty of fantastic saves by both teams. After 24 minutes, the game was even at four as Prep’s Grandolfo and Cheshire’s Benjamin Thompson and Matthew Jeffrey each scored twice. The Jesuits opened the scoring in the game when Grandolfo circled and scored in front 1:12 into the contest, but the Rams responded with a pair of goals in a span of 1:39 to take a 2-1 lead. Jeffrey scored from in front and Thompson followed with a nice tally after great Cheshire ball control to set up the go-ahead goal. After Prep’s Fox evened the game at two, Prep goalie Gregory Hilinski made a great leg save on a shot by Jason Raba. Seconds later, the Jesuits had a 3-2 advantage when Maddux Little scored with 4:39 left in the opening quarter. Jeffery was denied in front, but Cheshire responded with 2:08 left in the quarter on a goal by Thompson to even the game at three. The Jesuits swarmed to the ball for the majority of the opening quarter defensively and the pressure paid off as the Jesuits took control of the ball and scored 40 seconds later with a tally by Grandolfo for a 4-3 lead. While Cheshire’s Jeffery scored the lone goal of the second quarter to even the game at four 2:17 in, the quarter was all about defense. Cheshire’s Andrew Benjamin was denied in close two minutes in, but Ram goalie Connor Atwater came up huge, denying Timothy Shannehan from the side with 3:44 left, and turning aside a blast by Fox 1:23 later. Player of the Game Tyler Fox, Fairfield Prep: Junior finished with four goals, including three in the deciding second half. Quotable “He is part of us. That’s the way I have said it to the kids. Carrying that weight is a lot for a young person. These guys have lost one of their closest friends. He’s part of us forever. He would want us to play hard and compete. The outcome of the game is the outcome of the game. His spirit is with us and we are going to keep working hard and try to be the best version of ourselves every time we are out there.” — Fairfield Prep coach Graham Niemi on the team playing with a heavy heart with the death of James McGrath FAIRFIELD PREP 13, CHESHIRE 6 CHESHIRE3 1 1 1 — 6 FAIRFIELD PREP4 0 3 6 — 13 First quarter: F - Peter Grandolfo 10:48; C - Matthew Jeffery 8:40; C - Benjamin Thompson 6:21; F - Tyler Fox 5:29; F - Maddux Little 4:39; C - Benjamin Thompson 2:08; F - Peter Grandolfo 1:28; Second quarter: C - Matthew Jeffery 9:43; Third quarter: C - Andrew Benjamin 8:13; F - Tyler Fox 7:33; F - Tyler Fox 5:32; F - Luke Shannehan 0:05; Fourth quarter: F - Peter Grandolfo 7:21; F - Luke Shannehan 6:38; F - Peter Grandolfo 5:22; F - Marco Firmender 4:34; F - Tyler Fox 4:04; C - Andrew Benjamin 2:56; F - Brendan Mullahy 1:01; Records: Cheshire 15-3; Fairfield Prep 13-4

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