Darien boys lacrosse dominates Wilton

DARIEN -- A year after a down season, at least by Darien boys lacrosse standards, the Blue Wave have begun the 2014 campaign with a renewed focus and commitment to the program. Nothing perhaps symbolized the renewal more than Thursday's dominating 17-6 win over the team that knocked them out of the state quarterfinals last season, Wilton. Darien coach Jeff Brameier said the turnaround began at a meeting in September where he urged the players to focus on Darien lacrosse instead of individual goals and the college recruiting process. "We had a meeting in September because we had a lot of things going on that were kind of plague oriented," Brameier said. "There was a lot of me-ism on the team and attitudes in the town that we were more worried about recruiting than the Darien High School team sometimes. Yes you want to play in college, but when it comes to spring it is all Darien and you better put your little personal gains aside and play good team lacrosse." Brameier says this senior class has helped refocus the team and he hopes it is a trend which continues in years to come. "They are good leaders and the seniors are doing a good job," Brameier said. "And we are trying to send a message to the parents and the up-and-coming kids who think that they are the king of the walk." With a recommitment to a team first attitude, the Blue Wave have run out to a 6-0 record, going 4-0 in FCIAC games. Feeling like they are clicking on all cylinders, the Blue Wave were motivated to beat the team that ended their season a year ago. "Wilton handed us our worst loss last year, ending our season and knocking us out of states and today we just came out shooting," Darien senior Harry Gillespie said. "We are locked in and our schedule really ramps up the next couple weeks and we have a lot of momentum going into that and it feels like a really special year but we have some really tough games coming up." The Blue Wave did indeed come out shooting and kept right on shooting all afternoon, finishing with a 48-23 edge in shots on goal. Gilllespie finished with a goal and four assists, Peter Lindley had four goals and two assists and Ian Burgoyne had three goals and an assist to pace a balanced attack that saw 10 players score goals. For Wilton, (2-5, 1-4 FCIAC) it was as much about its defense not performing as it was about Darien's relentless attack. "It is far less about them than it is about us," Wilton coach John Wiseman said. "We have to get better. I don't know if it is because we are a young team but we need to play defense better and we need to sort it out." The Warriors were led by two goals by Charles McGovern. Scott.Ericson@scni.com; @EricsonSports Darien 17, Wilton 6 DARIEN 6 3 5 3 -- 17 WILTON 2 1 1 2 -- 6 Records: D6-0, 4-0 FCIAC; W 2-5, 1-4 FCIAC Scoring: D--Colin Minicus 1 g; Jack Kniffen 1g; Harry Gillespie 1g, 4a; Peter Lindley 4g, 2a; Owen Koorbusch 1g; Daniel Traver 1a; Kyle Cornell 2g; Christian Trifone 1g; Aidan Brannigan 1g; Ian Burgoyne 3g, 1a; Hudson Hammill 2g. W--Harrison Bardwell 1g, 1a; Charles McGovern 2g; Dan Baird 1g; Michael Lynch 1g; Brendan Devane 1g, 2a Goalies: D--Paul Huffard (7 saves), Robert Juterbock (2 saves); W--Jameson Hill (15 saves), Joshua Worley (4 saves). Shots: D -- 48; W--23

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