Rebels Win SWC Championship in 2OT

May 28 would prove to be the beginning of a historic weekend for New Fairfield lacrosse. The night began with the girls SWC final with the Rebels (11-7) facing off against powerhouse Newtown (18-1). The Rebels were not able to compete with the crisp passing and the athletes of Newtown and fell 20-4. The Rebels have qualified for the Division 1 state tournament and play Southington in the qualifying round today at 3:30 at Southington High School. If the Rebels win they will play New Canaan in the first round of the tournament Thursday, June 3.

The boys game began at 7:30 and would be a very different affair than the girls game. The energy was clearly there during warm-ups and as the game began. Weston (16-3) and New Fairfield (17-2) had previously met May 12 when the Trojans won 7-6, Friday night would be another one goal game.

Through the first quarter Nick Costabile had a number of saves to keep the shutout alive. Unfortunately the Rebels had a number of errors clearing the ball and running their offense, and failed to score. Through the first quarter and into the second the Trojans looked to be the superior team. With under two minutes to go Morgan Faller of Weston broke the 0-0 tie, and at halftime the score was a surprisingly low 1-0.

Scoring resumed at the 9:56 mark in the third quarter when Morgan Faller notched his second goal of the game. The Trojans would not score again for over 21 minutes. Andy Scalesi finally got the Rebels on the board at the 6:43 mark firing a righty shot over the goalie's right shoulder. Mallon then tied the game up three minutes later. The unforced errors continued for both teams as they entered the fourth quarter tied at 2. The critical Rebel possession came halfway through the fourth quarter when sophomore Dylan White controlled the ball for what seemed like an eternity, then found a streaking Dan Miley from behind the net and Miley finished to give the Rebels a one goal advantage.

The Rebel defense was truly impressive for the last six minutes of the game, highlighted Jesse Broderick consistently guarding his man one-on-one and forcing turnovers leading into fast-breaks. It was clear watching the game that Broderick was the best player on the field. The Trojans last chance came with thirty seconds to go in the game. The crowd was on their feet as a Trojan shot was fired, saved by Nick Costabile and launched straight up high into the air. Costabile left his goal to attempt to win the jump ball, but Matt Brooks came away with it and fired a shot that somehow found its way through the traffic in front of the goal and tied the game at 3 with 15 seconds to go.

The Trojans entered the first four-minute overtime with momentum and the Rebels needed their goalie to step up big and make some saves. The Trojans also hit a crossbar in overtime where if the shot was placed two inches lower the Trojans would have been SWC champions. In the second overtime Sam Reynolds was given the ball on the left side of the goal and knew what to do with it, firing a low shot and waiting to see the net ripple, which it did, and the Rebels were SWC champions for the second time in four years.

After the game it was announced that Jesse Broderick was the MVP of the match, an award that will not be questioned, however if there was a second MVP it would be without question goalie Nick Costabile who held the Trojans to just three goals. The Rebels have received the number 1 seed in the Class M state tournament and will face the winner of Brookfield vs. Avon in the quarterfinals of the tournament. The complete bracket can be viewed here.

The historic weekend continued on Sunday when Andrew Fiamengo, a 2009 Rebel graduate won a Div. 3 national championship with the Tuft Jumbos, and on Monday CJ Costabile, a 2008 graduate won a Div. 1 national championship with the Duke Blue Devils. As is common knowledge now CJ scored six seconds into overtime after winning the faceoff to win Duke's first national championship. The video of CJ's soon to be legendary goal can be seen below.