We’re about two months away from the start of varsity practice, but there’s still plenty of recruiting news and schedule info going on throughout the Hudson Valley/Long Island/Connecticut region, the nation’s No. 1 lacrosse hotbed.
If you checked out the comments portion of our “Schedules galore” post today, you saw the completed John Jay scheduled for the 2011 season.
One of the most talked about dates on that schedule isn’t even a game.
It’s the Indians’ March 24 scrimmage against Darien.
Though the teams don’t play during the regular season, a thread that asks which of the teams is stronger is closing in on the 200-comment mark.
But for Darien, John Jay is the least of its worries.
In addition to FCIAC rivals Greenwich, New Canaan, Wilton and Ridgefield, the Blue Wave face many Northeast powerhouses both inside the region (St. Anthony’s, Manhasset and Yorktown) and outside the region (Niskayuna and Haverford).
University of Maryland-bound senior defenseman Eric Parnon of Darien weighed in with his thoughts on what lies ahead.
Today, we get the perspectives of a player who has been featured regularly here, most recently this story after his verbal commitment to defending national champion Duke.
We’re talking, of course, about star attackman Case Matheis.
Matheis, of course, registered a school-record nine goals to go along with three assists as the Blue Wave won their sixth straight Class M state title by beating New Fairfield 17-5 in last year’s final.
An all-America and all-state selection last year, Matheis, of course, is the No. 2-ranked junior in the nation by Inside Lacrosse. He narrowed his college choices to Duke and Virginia.
In a moment, Case will tell us what the Blue Wave’s motto is for the 2011 season. (Hint: They will know if they achieve it on June 11, the date of the Connecticut state championships).
Without further ado, here are Case’s thoughts on the upcoming season.
What have you been doing to get ready for the season?
I have been doing weight, speed, and conditioning training and have been practicing lacrosse with members of the team since September. I’m working to be noticeably stronger and faster than last year.
How does your schedule look, including scrimmages, and what games are you looking forward to?
We have an outstanding schedule this year. The highlight of the schedule has to be our game against the likely preseason No. 1 team in Haverford. Our other notable games are against Manhasset, Yorktown, Niksayuna, and the recent addition of St. Anthony’s. We also play a good FCIAC schedule with the addition of Ridgefield this year, which I’m happy about. As far as scrimmages go, I’m looking forward to the hyped up John Jay scrimmage and the Salisbury scrimmage. I think we may also be scrimmaging Somers again like last year, but I’m not positive.
What players on your team do you think will surprise some people this season?
The ones that will step up into the roles of key seniors who graduated last year. This includes Dylan Torey (Quinnipiac commit), who will take over for Andrew West at goalie, Richard Gregory (Union) who will move to left attack for Brian Gleason, JP Walsh (Lehigh) who will have a more offensive role this year and become a do it all middie, and Bobby Weaver who is a junior middie that has really stepped it up in the offseason.
What do you think the strength of your team will be this year?
The strength of the team will undoubtedly be our defense. We have Dylan Torey (Quinnipiac) in goal, Eric Parnon (Maryland), Christian Kolderup (Villanova) and junior Tony Britton (Cornell) at close defense, and then Baylis Treen (Hamilton) and Justin Shaw (Loyola) at long-stick middie. Going up against that group everyday in practice will really help the offense improve. The offensive group is also very strong with junior Henry West (Cornell) as well as Graham Maybell (Villanova), JP Walsh (Lehigh), Bobby Weaver, and junior Tim Murphy at midfield, and then Ben Preston (Trinity), Richard Gregory (Union), senior Alex Brown, and junior Jamie Kerr all competing for time at attack along with myself.
How do you view the race in the FCIAC and in the state as a whole and who do you think the contending teams will be?
The team motto this year is “Seven in 11” and that goes to the first priority of defending our streak in state titles. The competition in Class M will be good as always with New Canaan, Wilton, and New Fairfield as our main competitors. Darien has not won an FCIAC title in the last two seasons which is very unusual for our program, so we are definitely looking to bring the title back. The competition here is very strong with Greenwich, Wilton, New Canaan, Ridgefield, Staples and St.Joseph’s.
* For background info on Case, check out his recruit profile by clicking here.
Darien 2011 schedule
SCRIMMAGES
March 24 Thurs John Jay home 4:15 p.m.
March 26 Sat Darien Jamboree home 8 a,m.-1 p.m.
March 30 Wed Salisbury away 4 p.m.
April 2 Sat Darien Jamboree home 8 a.m.-1 p.m.
GAMES
April 6 Wed St. Joseph’s home 4 p.m.
April 9 Sat Greenwich away 1 p.m.
April 12 Tues Danbury home 4 p.m.
April 14 Thurs Wilton home 4:30 p.m.
April 16 Sat Haverford away TBA
April 20 Wed Yorktown home 4 p.m.
April 23 Sat McMahon home 1 p.m.
April 27 Wed St. Anthony’s away 7 p.m.
April 30 Sat Niskayuna home 3 p.m.
May 3 Tues Fairfield-Ludlowe away 7 p.m.
May 5 Thur Manhasset home 4:30 p.m.
May 7 Sat New Canaan away 4 p.m.
May 10 Tues Fairfield-Warde away 4 p.m.
May 12 Thurs Westhill home 4 p.m.
May 14 Sat Norwalk home 1 p.m.
May 18 Wed Ridgefield home 4 p.m.
* For schedules for teams from throughout the region, be sure to check out the “Schedules galore” thread, and scroll down to the comments portion for the most recently released schedules.
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Posted In: Fairfield lacrosse, fciac, Player's perspective
Great job Case. It will be interesting to see if the Blue Wave can make it seven straight.
Have a great year Case!
Case, Eric and you did a great job summing up this year’s team and season. Its good to see you continue to work as hard as anyone to improve your performance. “7 in 11”.
Not only is Case the best player in the nation he is by far the cutest. 🙂
Casey’s accomplishments are impressive with more to come!
We had such bad weather earlier today I saw Case go behind the back with the snow shovel.
Great job as always on the interview.
Did he eventually sign your poster?
HA, I wish.
I haven’t looked into it at all, but I suppose you can send Fathead an action shot of your kid and they’ll turn it around for you for a more than nominal fee. Cant wait to see which DYLAX team this guy winds up assisting with this spring.
All kidding aside, he and the team really seem to be pulling in the right direction which could spell bad news for the rest of the FCIAC.
The most significant change I see for this coming year is that the are a lot of juniors at midfield who have size and athleticism to step in this season and play big important minutes. Nothing against last year’s seniors who were major factors in the State Championship, but you have boys like Weaver, Murphy, Magnusson, Kerr, Lyons, Eppley, Barker who are all over 6 ft and will lend the depth needed to compete with the Haverford’s and St. A’s. My other keys are Henry West moving back to midfield and J.P. Walsh who is going to have a very big year on offense. We’ll see how it all comes together.
Lax Novice —
Lyons and Eppley are LSMs, and Kerr plays attack. Murphy, and Kerr are good players, but they are nowhere near 6 ft. Also, of those guys I would only feel comfortable with Weaver, Murphy, and Magnusson on the field against Haverford and St. A’s (last year Brameier hardly put in guys like Gregory, Winter, and Sullivan in the non-conference games, and I think they had much more experience than the guys you listed). Also, not sure JP is needed on offense given the depth. I’d say that Darien is much thinner at ssdm, and JP is one of the best d-mids they’ve ever had.
Why did bayless treen back out of his commitment to lafayette in order to go to hamilton? anyone know?
Make Coach Danowski proud of your final two years with the Blue Wave Case!
Hey Case – Nice job! Looks like the Wave is setting the table for another great season. Can’t come soon enough. Good luck to you and all the guys!
I like how all the hype for the JJ-Darien scrimmage on this blog hasn’t escaped Case’s notice.
Yes – I wonder if he’s read all 200 comments about it haha.
Hard to believe Case has a chance to win not one but two more state titles.
Darien’s out of conference schedule has got to be one of the toughest in the country!
Good luck this season Case!
Go get ’em, Tiger !!!!
Awesome!!! Very well done.
Good luck accomplishing more big things Case!
Case do ya thing big guy