Brunswick lacrosse team edged by rival Darien in the final seconds, 12-11; Bruins rebound with victory at Loomis Chaffee

By David Fierro on April 9, 2023 • ( Leave a comment )

**Contributed photo courtesy of Brunswick School:** Brunswick School’s Payton Anderson looks for an opening during a recent game against Darien at Darien High School. The Bruins were defeated by one goal, their first loss of the season.

Brunswick School renewed its rivalry with formidable non-division foe Darien Thursday night at Darien and though it fell behind, 8-3 at halftime, it rallied to take the lead against the Blue Wave on several occasions late in the fourth quarter of the much-anticipated matchup.

However, a goal by junior attack Brady Pokorny with just 1.7 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter lifted host Darien to a dramatic 12-11 win over Brunswick, before a large crowd on Thursday night.

**Contributed photo courtesy of Brunswick School:** Andrew Greenspan of Brunswick takes the faceoff against Darien during a game held on April 6, 2023, at Darien High School.

The Bruins entered Thursday’s game against the Blue Wave ranked No. 1 in the Nike/USA Lacrosse Magazine Top 25 High School National rankings, while Darien was ranked No. 11.

The game first quarter ended with Brunswick holding a 2-1 edge. In the second quarter, the Darien’s offense exploded for seven goals to Brunswick’s one. Many of the Blue Wave goals came in transition, pushing the ball up the field and burying shots quickly.

The Bruins got on track offensively in the third quarter and proceeded to rally to even the score at 9-9 going into the fourth quarter.

**Contributed photo courtesy of Brunswick School:** Jackson Wolfram of Brunswick dodges toward the goal, while being defended by William Bonner of Darien at Darien High School on April 6, 2023.

With the game tied at 11-11, Payton Anderson buried what looked like the go-ahead goal with 50 seconds left to play in the final quarter, but the goal was disallowed due to a crease violation.

After some back-and-forth play in the middle of the field, with both teams turning the ball over, Darien secured possession with 12 seconds left and ultimately scored a last-second goal to win it, with Pokorny tallying the game-winner for the home team.

Max Warden recorded a hat trick to pace Brunswick’s offense.

**Contributed** **photo courtesy of Brunswick School**: Tomas Delgado of Brunswick, right, looks to move the ball, while being defended by Briggs McGuckin of Darien during a recent game.

Junior attack Payton Anderson and freshman midfielder Rick Giordano scored two goals apiece, while Wolfram and senior midfielder Tomas Delgado each registered one goal and three assists for the Bruins.

Danforth had a goal and senior midfielder Patrick Mullen assisted on the goal for Brunswick, which received an outstanding performance from Andrew Greenspan at the faceoff X.

**Contributed Photo courtesy of Brunswick School:** Brunswick faced Darien in a lacrosse matchup in Darien.

Greenspan ignited Brunswick’s comeback against the Blue Wave. The senior FOGO consistently gave the Bruins possession by winning faceoff after faceoff. He won 25 of the 26 faceoffs he took for the game.

Junior goalie Tucker Williams made seven saves for Brunswick, which suffered its first loss of the season and was 3-0 against Darien heading into Thursday’s matchup.

**Photo courtesy of Brunswick School:** Brunswick goalie Tucker Williams gets ready to face a shot from Jake Wilson of Darien during a night game at Darien High School on April 6, 2023.

Brunswick posted a 12-10 triumph against Darien at Cosby Field in 2022. For Darien, Pokorny scored three goals, Briggs McGuckin had two goals and one assist and Morgan Ruppenstein tallied twice.

Elliott Lancaster scored two goals, while Ben Bilodeau had one goal and one assist for the victors. Following the loss, Brunswick was back in action against host Loomis Chaffee School on Saturday.