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There’s never an introduction needed when New Canaan and Darien renew acquaintances.
Two of Connecticut’s top public programs are perennially locked into battles for state and FCIAC supremacy. There’s not much love lost between the two teams, either, and the fact that they often play multiple times a season only adds fuel to that fire.
“I think that only amplifies it,” Rams junior midfielder Matt Reed said. “I believe that the FCIAC is one of the best conferences in the country. We were definitely playing with some extra fire after we lost to them in states last year and had a little scrum at the end.”
New Canaan Buzzes All Game Long
Reed was at the forefront of New Canaan’s 13-8 win over the Blue Wave on Saturday. The Eclipse 2027 standout and Holy Cross commit put forth an incredible performance, scoring three times and dishing out a whopping six assists. Running mate Grey Wildman (Eclipse) continued his stalwart sophomore campaign with three goals and two assists, senior Brady Mazabras (Eclipse) pocketed a hat trick and five-star junior goalie Jack Crowell (Eclipse / Princeton) stopped nine shots in the win.
Max McBride (Express North / Lafayette) and Wes Scallen (Eclipse / High Point) led the Blue Wave with a hat trick. Sophomore goalie Blake Wilson stayed busy with a dozen saves for Darien, which also got some impressive D-mid and faceoff play from junior Teddy Baum.
“Any time we play Darien, it’s always a battle,” Wildman said. “They’re a really talented team with great coaching. We just executed our gameplan really well. … It’s one of the biggest rivalries around and we know that we’re going to get their best every time. I think that if we execute and stick to the gameplan, we should be just fine against anyone.”
New Canaan never left any doubt in this one. The Rams scored the game’s first three goals and six of the first seven. Sophomore Nick Cerami controlled the faceoff stripe early, claiming victories on seven of the first nine faceoffs. Every time Darien started to chip away, New Canaan found a way to squash a comeback. The Blue Wave only scored consecutive goals once, and that came in the fourth quarter when the game was in hand.
Reed Rolls to a Nine-Spot
Reed was a big reason for that. The trigger man on the Rams’ EMO collected three of his assists on the man-up, including two to Mazabras, who did an excellent job of lurking on the crease to catch and finish. Reed got in on the scoring with a second-quarter hat trick, scoring on a stepdown, a dunk on the crease off of a Wildman feed and then getting under a defender at GLE and tossing it home. Reed’s had some big games before, but a nine-spot against a team of Darien’s caliber isn’t going to be forgotten about any time soon.
“We jumped on them and got a big lead and just kept going and sharing the ball,” Reed said. “My teammates found me open and I found them open and it worked out for us. This win is huge for team morale. We’ve had a couple of guys down to injury and we’re facing adversity. Jack Crowell, there are no words to describe how he’s playing after Cam (Lyden) went down. Our defense has stepped up and the offense is sharing the ball. We have a lot of great guys on this team that can finish. Moving it and not being selfish or trying to just get your own is how you win games.”
Let’s see how Round 2… and potentially Round 3 go.
New Canaan vs. Darien Standouts
Teddy Baum ’27, SSDM/faceoff, Darien (Conn.) / Eclipse
Baum brought so much energy and intensity to the Blue Wave lineup, even when Darien struggled to find its footing throughout the game. He started taking faceoffs after the Blue Wave lost seven of the first eight and immediately rattled off four straight wins. Baum wasn’t there to be technical at the dot. Rather, he used his explosiveness to cause havoc and turn things into a 3v3 battle. Unofficially, I had him at 10-for-15 at the dot, and he had to have had close to a half-dozen ground balls. Baum also had an excellent takeaway at X where he showed great footwork and then drove through his man to cause the turnover. He closed out the game with an assist off of a nice dodge from the low wing to set up a Wes Scallen dunk.
Jack Crowell ’27, goalie, New Canaan (Conn.) / Eclipse – Princeton
Four-star senior Michigan signee Cam Lyden was the Rams’ usual starter and then recently got hurt for the year. At most programs, that’s a death knell for the season. Chip Buzzeo simply just goes to a five-star in the next class. Also a standout hockey and football player for New Canaan, Crowell’s really good at the sport he’s going to play in college. A freak athlete for the position, Crowell has excellent footwork and is very confident out of the cage on the clear. He took one coast-to-coast that just missed, and he’s very difficult to contain in the clearing game. Crowell stopped nine shots on the day, perhaps none better than a pair of takeaways on Blue Wave standout sophomore Bruce Hopkins, including one high stuff in tight off of a great Ryan Thurlow feed.
Ryan Thurlow ’26, attack, Darien (Conn.) / Eclipse – Villanova
It’s always so fun to watch a great passer, and Thurlow more than fits that bill. He is incredibly poised with the ball in his stick and does an excellent job of pressing the corners to draw slides and open things up for his teammates. He set up the first of three Max McBride (Express North / Lafayette) goals by coming up the hash, sweeping and spying an open McBride for a stepdown. The two linked up again on a man-up when Thurlow pressed the corner to set up a McBride bouncer. Thurlow capped his three-assist day late when he drew three defenders and snapped a pass for Wes Scallen‘s (High Point) third of the day.
Grey Wildman ’28, attack, New Canaan (Conn.) / Eclipse
One of the premier attackmen in the sophomore class, Wildman has carried the mail for New Canaan all year and did it again Saturday. Wildman, who finished with three goals and two assists, got the party started by taking a four-star defender out to space and beating him down the alley before uncorking a low-and-away blast. Later, he once again took advantage of the open space afforded to him when dodging from up top and snapped an off-stick bouncer that found the back of the cage. Wildman also showed off his playmaking chops by setting up two of Matt Reed‘s three goals, including a particularly nice feed when he pushed the corner and spied Reed open for a stepdown.