Timing is everything and for the Notre Dame of Fairfield boys lacrosse, it's anything but ideal. Notre Dame played at a torrid Weston High Trojans team Tuesday and lost, 14-2. If the Lancers faced Weston earlier in the year when it was cold, they might have caught the defending Class S champions off-guard. Much to Notre Dame's chagrin, who dropped to 5-6, the Trojans (8-5), have been on fire lately and won their third straight game.

"We played a good physical game, but mentally, we started to make mistakes and it got to us," said Lancers coach Frank Skawinski. "We wanted to get a win today but we couldn't complete it."

Weston dominated every facet of the game, outshooting Notre Dame, 40-16. The Trojans took a 3-0 lead in the first quarter on goals by senior co-captain Jeff Ledwick, sophomore Brian Rogers (two goals, one ground ball) and junior Alex Scher (two goals, one assist) with Ledwick assisting on Scher's goal.

Ledwick, who has been on fire of late, finished the game with four goals on six shots and added two goals in the second quarter to give Weston a 5-1 halftime lead. Junior Marc Miller scored for Notre Dame in the second quarter.

The Trojans were stingy on defense with junior Sam Crowell (six ground balls)


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leading the way.

Weston junior goalie Josh Briskman (14 saves) played like an All-Star, robbing Lancers senior tri-captain Anthony Capelli (five shots), Miller (three shots) and senior Kevin Conniff (two saves). Briskman made many saves on breakaways from point blank range.

Seniors Robbie Glascott (four ground balls), Doug Curtis (two ground balls), Ben Miller (two ground balls) and Matt McMahon (one ground ball), junior Adam Block (excellent checks) and sophomores Tucker Drimal (three ground balls), Andrew Baron (two ground balls) and Will Miller (one ground ball) kept Notre Dame's attack at bay. Their defensive prowess enabled Weston to keep the ball in the attack zone all game. Crowell, Baron and Scher intercepted passes, which helped the defense as well.

However, the Trojans didn't put it away because of Lancers senior tri-captain goalie Joe Banno (26 saves). Banno kept Notre Dame in the game in the first half, making saves on juniors Sean Ledwick (two assists, two ground balls), Peter Smith (one goal, two ground balls) and Jon Figliola (one assist), Jeff Ledwick and sophomore Morgan Faller (two assists, one ground ball).

"Joe's a tremendous goalie and he played with a lot of emotion and intensity," said Skawinski.

Capelli (seven ground balls) led the Lancer defense. Miller (five ground balls) doled out some fierce checks and complemented Capelli. Conniff (four ground balls), senior Will Pearce (two ground balls) and juniors Matt Caulfield (two ground balls), Eddie Johnston (one ground ball), Todd Christian (one ground ball) and Ryan Doughan (one ground ball) also played well defensively for Notre Dame.

"Our defense did a good job today but our offense had trouble possessing the ball," said Skawinski.

Weston started to put it away in the second half when senior co-captain Dylan Hannum (one goal, one ground ball) picked up loose balls all game and opened the second half by running downfield and scoring with 11:19 remaining in the third quarter, making it 6-1.

The Trojans added four more goals in the quarter with senior Nick Figliola scoring twice and Jeff Ledwick and Smith garnering the other tallies. Nick Figliola assisted on Smith's goal, Sean Ledwick set up his brother's goal and both Ledwicks set up a Figliola goal.

Caulfield scored for the Lancers in the third quarter.

It was a career night for Nick Figliola, who finished the game with four goals, adding two more in the fourth quarter.

Jeff Ledwick was a playmaker, finishing the night with three assists.

Smith and Scher also scored in the quarter.

"We stayed with them [for one half], but they took advantage of their opportunities," said Skawinski.