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04/29/2017 12:00 AMThe Guilford boys’ lacrosse squad has seen its fair share of success during the regular season, the SCC Tournament, and the Class M State Tournament throughout the last few years. However, right now, the Indians aren’t too worried about the full scope of their season or improving upon the achievements of their previous teams. Instead, they’re focused on staying in the moment and building success one step at a time behind a unique collection of talented athletes.
Head Coach Brian White’s squad is coming off a 2016 run that saw the Indians reach their third SCC Tournament final in four years, as well as the Class M quarterfinals, on their way to a record of 14-6. In last week’s action, Guilford took a 13-11 loss to North Haven on April 24 before rebounding with a 14-11 victory versus East Lyme two days later to move to 5-4 on the spring. Coach White said that he’s currently more concerned with his team being better than it was the day before, rather than any records or standings.
“We’re just trying to take things in a game-by-game situation to see where we are going and what we need to do,” said White. “We don’t worry so much about living up to expectations of previous years because we have guys in here with mixed experience. Some guys have played for a couple years; others haven’t. Still, we want to get to our league and state playoffs.”
Guilford features two seniors manning the captain’s position in Austin Wallace and goaltender Evan Hilgert. White said that both athletes constantly answer the call when it comes to leaving it all out there and making sure that everything is moving smoothly on the field.
“Both Austin and Evan are great communicators and leaders by example,” Coach White said. “They do a good job in doing the things you want to see your role model players do.”
Joining the fray alongside the Indians’ captains is an eclectic mix of upperclassmen and underclassmen in which each athlete brings his own special ingredient to the mix. Senior midfielder Shane Molloy returns following an All-State and All-SCC First Team campaign, classmate Ben Levy has earned some time on the turf, and fellow senior Declan McDermott is making noise everywhere between the white lines. The Indians have also been sparked by a few sophomores in returning starter John Delucia and Jack Ring.
“Shane also handles our face-offs and is one of our leading scorers and point producers. He is very integral to the things we do on the field. Ben has been a kid on the verge of playing the last few years, but he stepped it up for his senior year. He helps all over the field, forcing turnovers and scoring when we need him to. Declan has been doing things all over the field and improved head and shoulders from last year,” said White. “John is hard-working kid with a great attitude and great hands. Jack is an end-to-end guy. He will go up and down the field. He transitions the ball well and has a great skill set.”
In its loss to North Haven, Guilford saw Delucia and freshman Jack Dacey score three goals apiece. Ring and Molloy both scored two goals, plus Wallace had one. Delucia also assisted on three goals and Wallace added one helper. Hilgert made 11 saves for the Indians, who were outshot 24-21.
While Guilford has weathered an early storm of stiff competition, the team still has to take on some formidable SCC foes as it embarks on the second half of the regular season. Coach White feels that no single task or adversary will be too tall for his team to handle, and he believes that the Indians are just beginning to hit their stride.
“Our first game of the year, we played against a good Glastonbury team in which we were both hurt. Since then, we’ve gotten better and started to click,” said White. “We are starting to beat teams that we should beat, and we are showing signs that we are making progress.”
From the Sidelines
This is Brian White’s 13th year as the head coach of the Guilford boys’ lacrosse squad.
The Indians’ assistant coaches are Scott Davidson, Brian Healy, and Jeff Sullivan, along with volunteer assistants AJ Leary and Bob Noonan.
In addition to their SCC clashes against rivals Hand, Fairfield Prep, Xavier, Amity, and Cheshire, the Indians have two non-conference contests against New Fairfield and Barlow remaining on the schedule this year.