Getting a great performance from sophomore goalie Ryan Cornell and its defense, the Darien boys lacrosse team defeated Wilton, 10-2, on Saturday night at Fujitani Field.
The Warriors also played well defensively, but Darien scored four goals in the final quarter to finally put the hosts away.
Kevin Lindley and Colin Minicus gave the unbeaten Blue Wave (9-0) all the scoring it needed, as each netted four goals. Hudson Hamill picked up three assists for Darien. The Darien scores included two man-advantage goals and one-man down goal.
Both of Wilton’s goals came off the stick of Charles McGovern.
“Their goalie came up with several momentum saves in the game,” said Wilton head coach John Wiseman. "I thought Jameson (Hill) played well in goal for us and so did the defense. The score is not indicative of how well we played.
"We went head-to head with them for three quarters. They got several fast-break goals because our middies didn’t get back fast enough and we gave up a few silly scores that we would love to have back. We have to keep working at it, stop making costly mental errors and turning the ball over."
The Warriors (4-5) took an early 1-0 lead just 1:12 into the contest when McGovern scored on an assist from Harrison Koch. Darien finally got on the board with a short-handed goal with 3:43 to play in the first quarter.
Darien took a 2-1 lead into the second quarter by scoring a goal with 4.9 seconds left in the first period. Minicus tallied both goals for Darien in the opening quarter.
The visitors then shut out Wilton in the second quarter while adding two more goals — both by Lindley — to lead 4-1 at the half. One goal came on a man advantage and the other score came in transition.
Darien scored first in the third quarter for a 5-1 lead, but Wilton answered on McGovern's second goal to close within 5-2 with 8:37 to play in the third quarter.
The Blue Wave scored with 7:02 remaining in the third period for a 6-2 lead and then pulled away in the fourth quarter with four more goals, two off fast breaks.
Hill had eight saves in goal for the Warriors, while Cornell recorded six saves for Darien.