UMass-bound Peter Lindley (fourth from left), with seven fellow 2014 commits from Connecticut power Darien, from left: Kyle Cornell (Bryant), Phil Huffard (Yale), Owen Koorbusch (Rhodes), John Reed (Bucknell), Kyle Gifford (Washington & Lee), Sam Meyjes (Haverford) and Brad McCarthy (Colby).
End the season in a pile.
Simply stated, that’s the annual goal at Darien High School, which has not only one of the premier programs in Connecticut, but the entire nation.
Last season though, the Blue Wave lost in the state quarterfinals after winning state title six of the previous seven seasons.
What is Darien’s chance of returning to state title form?
For more on that, we check in with Peter Lindley.
The senior attackman is a feeder/finisher who will be headed off to UMass.
Darien, guided by 31st-year coach Jeff Brameier (who is 17 wins away from 500), has a strong senior nucleus that includes Lindley, three-year starting goaltender Phil Huffard, who is headed to Yale, midfielder Kyle Cornell (Bryant), attackman John Reed (Bucknell) and defenders Kyle Gifford (Washington & Lee), and Sam Meyjes (Haverford).
The annual regular-season showdown against rival New Canaan will be Saturday, May 3 at DHS Stadium.
The Blue Waves’ traditional out-of-state rivals are also back on the schedule, led by Manhasset, Yorktown, Niskayuna and St. Anthony’s. You can check out Darien’s complete schedule here.
Now, here are Peter’s perspectives on the upcoming season.
What have you been doing to get ready for the season?
I’ve been lifting three times a week, playing lacrosse two times a week and working on agility one time a week.
How does your schedule look, what games are you looking forward to most, and who are some of your scrimmages against?
Our schedule looks very similar to last year where we play out-of-state teams like Yorktown, St. Anthony’s, Manhassett and Niskayuana.
I’m looking forward to all of these games as well as games against New Canaan, Greenwich and Wilton, where we look to avenge our defeats from last year.
What players on your team do you think will surprise some people this season?
I think our whole team will surprise some people this year after last year we were very disappointed about how we played and didn’t end the season in a pile. I think our team has a chip on our shoulder to regain both the FCIACs and state tournament.
What do you think the strength of your team will be this year?
I think the strength of our team will be the fact that we all played last year together for the most part, other than losing two key shortstick d-middies and an attackman.
Once we fill those roles, I believe our experience together will help us achieve out goals. Also we are very hungry team to win so we will be very motivated throughout the season.
How do you view the race in your league and who do you think some of the contending teams will be?
The race in our league this year will be the same as it always is very challenging and tough because there are great teams all fighting against each other.
I believe FCIACs will be between us, New Canaan, Greenwich and Ridgefield and the state tourney will, with hard work, hopefully be us vs. New Canaan.
* Preseason player perspective archive
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Posted In: CCIAC, Connecticut, fciac, Player's perspective
