Boys Varsity Lacrosse Wins 2022 Colonial Cup Championship

Boys Varsity Lacrosse ended their regular season with a record of 11-5 and were the number 3 seed in the Colonial Tournament, which was established in 2015 by Gunn, Pomfret School, Canterbury School and The Williston Northampton School. “We’re all like-minded schools, similar size, with like-minded programs,” Marich said. This year’s regular season games among the four schools were all close, and the four teams were evenly matched heading into the tournament, which was hosted this year by Williston in Easthampton, Massachusetts.

Gunn played Canterbury first. It was a hot day, and the start time was moved up to 10:30 a.m. due to the higher than normal temperatures. The Highlanders were excited for the opportunity to take on the Saints again, following their regular season match-up. “​​They had beaten us during the regular season, unfortunately, so for us, we didn’t want to be emotional. We wanted to learn from that game, but concentrate on ourselves. We wanted to play our game and not get caught up in any emotion. We had a really good week of practice leading up to it. I thought the guys were ready and engaged. We played really really well against Canterbury,” Marich said. 

Gunn was able to build a 2-0 lead early. “We were very patient on offense, ran solid sets, and dominated possession,” Marich said. “In the second quarter, we were able to extend our lead to 5-1. We traded goals in the third quarter to keep our four-goal lead (6-2). In the fourth, Canterbury put a full-court press on us, but our guys responded well and after giving up a goal to make it 6-3, we answered to seal the victory 7-3.  We were off to the finals to play Pomfret.”

Pomfret had beaten Williston in their first tournament match-up by a goal or two, another close game, before facing the Highlanders. “Our guys were really able to focus on that second game,,” Marich said. “We were able to jump out to a 5-1 lead at half, but Pomfret to their credit came roaring back.  The guys fought all day long and we were able to hold on for a 6-5 win. It was very exciting. We were up a goal with about four minutes left. It was back-and-forth action, chances on both sides that neither team were able to finish. So it was sort of fast and furious at the end, and we were able make some key stops, get the ball back and run out the clock. We were the Colonial Cup Champions. It was awesome.”

Every member of the team contributed to the championship win, including the managers, who did a great job keeping the team hydrated. Goalie Théo Weidinger ’22 was named the Colonial Cup  MVP. “Théo played really well as did Eddie Rayhill ’22, who was named U.S. Lacrosse High School All-American for the 2022 season, Parker Hoffman ’24, who was named William Labelle Offensive Player of the Year and Andrew Rainville ’24 and Blake Maracle ’22, who were named WNESSLA-First Team All-League,” Marich said. In total, 12 members of the Boys Varsity Lacrosse Team received post-season league recognition:

US Lacrosse - All-American
Eddie Rayhill ’22

WNESSLA - William Labelle Offensive Player of the Year
Parker Hoffman ’24 

WNESSLA - First Team All-League
Owen Laatsch ’25
Blake Maracle ’22
Andrew Rainville ’24
Théo Weidinger ’22
 
WNESSLA - Honorable Mention All-League
Trey Bessett ’22
Luke Calabria ’25
William Marich ’23
Mike Pizzo ’23
Allan Szydlowsk ’22
Christian Wood ’23

In his newsletter to the Boys Varsity Lacrosse parents, Marich summed up the season this way: “When we first met as a team in March, Coach Seth Low and I explained what our goal was for our program. ‘Our goal is to develop young men of character and integrity who will become leaders in our community, outstanding students, and exceptional lacrosse players.’ We are very proud of what they have accomplished on the field, there are true life lessons to be learned on the field (perseverance, patience, resilience, etc.), but we are equally proud of what they have done off the field for our community here at FGS!”