pdf copy - Fairfield College Preparatory School

from Captain Kevin Brown ’13 and 15
saves by senior Goaltender Connor
Henry ’13. Defensively, we were led
all year by Captain Andrew Hatton ’13
and Anthony Johnson ’14, and were
bolstered late in the season by the
return of Strecker Backe ’13 from a
wrist Injury. As our regular season
came to a close, we gained a victory
against another rival Wilton (led by a
stellar effort at the faceoff x by Troy
Foreit ’13) and finished our league
season with a perfect 9-0 record.
As the post season began, our
team followed the lead of Coach
Smalkais as we strove to win each
game in front of us to “earn” the
chance to play in the next game.
We won the SCC championship
13-6 against Guilford, the teams 2nd
straight league championship victory.
Our state playoff run began with
a motto put forth by Coach Smalkais
to win the first five minutes (or 300
seconds) of the game, and work
our way forward from there. After
opening round victories against Amity
(14-4) and Xavier (14-2) we were
set for a semi-final game against
Ridgefield. In a rematch of the last
two state championship games, we
fought to a 12-9 victory, one of the
most rewarding games of our season.
Although we trailed much of the
game, we were led by the competitive
drive of David White ’13, our field
general for much of the season, and
Kevin Brown, who finished with a
game high 5 goals, and solidified his
eventual claim as The Connecticut
State Player of the Year.
After beating Ridgefield, our team
had one more game (and one more
goal) in front of us: a victory in the
State Championship game against
Staples High School. In similar
fashion to the Ridgefield game, we
fell behind early in the game and
were trailing 8-5 late in the third
quarter when we made what turned
out to be the decisive change. Coach
Smalkais decided to implement a
strategy that he fashioned after the
“legion of doom” hockey line on the
1990’s Philadelphia Flyers, a plan that
brought three defensemen into the
midfield to change the momentum
of the game (a rotation of Andrew
Hatton, Strecker Backe, Riley
Hoffman ’13 and James Marusi ’13).
After the change, we went on to
score 9 unanswered goals en route
to a 13-8 lead with just under two
minutes to play.
As we gathered on the sideline
one last time as a group, I remember
saying to the players, “Enjoy these
last two minutes together as a
team.” The ensuing championship
celebration, and the season as a
whole, is something that they (and we
all as coaches) will always remember.
As our seniors move on, they will
recall this season for the positive
impact they made on our team, on
the school, and most importantly on
each other, and always remember to
approach every challenge in life with
a little extra STRENGTH.
By Kevin Reda, Asst.
Varsity Lacrosse
Coach. Kevin was the
valedictorian of Fairfield
University Class of ’13.
lacrosse
Honors
Kevin Brown ’13 - CT Player of
the Year, US Lacrosse All
American, First Team All State,
First Team All SCC, CT Post All
Star, New Haven Register All
Area Player of the Year, New
Haven Register All Area Team
David White ’13 - US Lacrosse All
American, First Team All State,
First Team All SCC, CT Post
All Star, New Haven Register
All Area Team, CT Class L
Championship Game MVP
Tim Edmonds ’13 - US Lacrosse All
American, First Team All State,
First Team All SCC, CT Post All
Star, New Haven Register All
Area Team
Andrew Hatton ’13 - US Lacrosse
All American, First Team All
State, First Team All SCC,
CT Post All Star, New Haven
Register All Area Team
Connor Henry ’13- Second Team
All State, First Team All SCC,
New Haven Register All Area
Team
Sean Henry ’13 - Second Team All
State, First Team All SCC
Troy Foreit ’13 - Second Team All
State, First Team All SCC
Strecker Backe ’13 - Second Team
All SCC
Riley Hoffman ’13 - Second Team
All SCC
Anthony Johnson ’14 - Second
Team All State, First Team All
SCC
Austin Sims ’14 - First Team All
State, First Team All SCC
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