Logan Phillips
Senior Editor
In a 18-5 run last year, the boys’ lacrosse team came within an inch of winning the FCIAC Championship in a game they lost by only a point. With their first taste of championship lacrosse since 2006, the Rams are hungry for more. But, if the Rams are going to get another swing at winning it all, they will have to overcome the likes of Staples, McMahon and Wilton to even be considered a top contender in the FCIAC. Then, of course, there is the Greenwich Cardinals, the very team who upset the Rams in the FCIAC Championship.
The real challenge of course will come from the Darien Blue Waves, ranked number four amongst all high school lacrosse programs in the country by ESPN, but Inside Lacrosse ranked them 3rd. New Canaan’s archrival is shooting for their seventh straight State Championship. With 17 returning players, people are talking about the 2011 Blue Waves having a chance to be one of the best teams in Connecticut history.
While the Rams might not match up with the Blue Waves on paper, but, fortunately for the rest of FCIAC, the game is not played on paper. Lacrosse coach Alex Whitten’s Rams do not look like your typical underdog team and are led by future Tar-Heel senior Joe Costigan, who many believe might be the best player in the state. There are an impressive array of players including senior captain defender Willie Gould, tag-team goalies junior Tom Carey and senior Jimmy Joe Granito and senior Scott O’ Brien. Regardless, 17 players graduated from the Rams last year. While the talent is certainly there, the lack of experience might be a problem.
According to Coach Whitten, this year’s FCIAC is the toughest it’s ever been, and it will likely take an excellent season for the Rams to be a top contender. Even if they aren’t quite able to get one of the top seeds, once the play-offs begin all bets are off. And with the pieces that the Rams have, there’s no reason why they wouldn’t be capable of upsetting a team like Darien to win their first championship of the Alex Whitten era.
