By Christopher DeMuth
Following one of the harshest winters in a long time, spring is finally here for New Canaan High School. With spring comes our spring sports, which are quickly moving out of winter training and into the regular season.
Following our defeat to Darien in the Class LL Semifinals of the State championships last season, our Lacrosse team has been hard at work for a shot at the elusive state title in 2026. Starting in mid-winter, our boys team meets weekends to play box lacrosse. Then, approximately one month before the start of the regular season, the team convenes daily for conditioning and a more normal practice. This is of course not considering the massive effort individual players make over the summer and in free time to improve their abilities. All put together, the program made by coaches, parents and players helps to position our team to be as competitive and prepared as possible going into the season.
Our varsity team this year has many dominant players rostered, including many players committed to colleges for their talent in this sport. Notable standouts include senior Cole Campisi, who has played on the varsity level since freshman year and will be attending Denver next year. Senior Rogan Lowe, another strong player, will be going to Colgate next year for lacrosse. Seniors Blake Schwartz and Cam Lyden will be attending Trinity and Michigan respectively. In addition to senior talent, our junior and underclassman hold strong skills and potential that will develop over the course of the season as they move up in seniority. As always, one of the greatest strengths of the New Canaan program remains its deep bench, able to maintain the same quality of players into the lower lines, which efficiently wears out many other teams who cannot field as many players without compromising skills.
As tradition for New Canaan, the season starts with an exhibition match against teams that would not normally be played against in the FCIAC. This is valuable for the team as a way to shake off the rust that inevitably grows without playing games for a year, but also as a way to test out new playing strategies without risking scored games.
Having observed the March 26 game against Wolcott Tech, I can confidently sing the praises for this year’s team and look confidently toward future games. This is good, considering the 2026 season has a highly competitive lineup of teams, with no easy games.
Compared to last year, the major differences appear to be in the offense and passing game compared to the defense. I noticed a marked increase in ball mobility through passing, especially on the offensive side of things. Given the impressive physical capabilities of our players, this tactic plays to the program’s strengths, because it forces defenders to move constantly and creates openings before they can fully settle into position. Rather than relying on long individual possessions, the offense often moved the ball quickly from behind the cage to the wings and back up top, keeping pressure on the defense and making it difficult for opposing players to predict where the next attack would come from.
The pace of play during the Wolcott Tech exhibition stood out immediately. New Canaan controlled possession for long stretches and looked comfortable moving between settled offense and transition opportunities. Several players rotated through attacking positions without any visible drop in speed or organization, which reinforced how much depth the roster has this season. Even when first-line players came off, the next group maintained the same tempo, which is often one of the defining traits of strong New Canaan lacrosse teams.
Another clear strength was communication. Throughout the game, players consistently called out switches, directed movement, and adjusted spacing without hesitation. That type of communication matters especially early in a season, when many teams are still trying to find chemistry. New Canaan looked unusually settled for an exhibition game in late March, which suggests that the winter work and preseason preparation have already had a strong effect. To give credit to coaches, our NCHS coaches drill communication into players by requiring it during practice when arguably not required, which causes this communication to become a second nature to players during games.
The attack also appeared more patient than in some stretches last season. Rather than forcing low-angle shots early in possessions, players often recycled the ball until a cleaner lane developed. This patience allowed midfielders to cut through open areas and gave attackers behind the goal more opportunities to create movement before feeding inside. On several possessions, defenders were drawn out far enough that the middle briefly opened, creating the kind of inside looks that become especially important later in close conference games.
Defensively, the team still showed many of the traits that have made New Canaan successful in recent years. The unit played physically, stayed compact near the crease, and generally forced outside opportunities rather than allowing direct approaches to the goal. However, compared with the offense, the defense looked slightly less polished at this early stage, which is normal for March. Defensive timing often sharpens only after several full-speed games, especially when new combinations of players are rotating through matchups. Senior players such as Sam Schoonmaker are the backbone of the defensive program.
The close defense group still showed strong fundamentals. Slides generally came on time, and when the first defender was beaten, help usually arrived quickly enough to prevent a clean scoring chance. Long-stick midfielders were active in passing lanes and created several turnovers simply by extending pressure at the right moment. Ground ball work also looked strong, an area that often decides possession margins over the course of a season.
Goalkeeping remains another major part of the program’s stability. Even in preseason settings, New Canaan goalkeepers tend to command the defense well, and that was visible again in this exhibition. Clearing communication started immediately after saves, helping the team move from defense to offense quickly rather than allowing opponents to reset pressure. Here, it is star Cam Lyden that stands out.
That is part of why exhibitions matter more than they may appear from the outside. While scores in preseason games are not official measures of success, coaches use these games to test line combinations, evaluate defensive matchups, and identify where younger players fit best under pressure. It also gives returning varsity players a chance to settle into leadership roles before conference play begins.
The younger players will still play an important role as the season develops. New Canaan’s depth has historically allowed coaches to trust younger midfielders and defenders earlier than many programs can afford to do. That not only keeps top players fresher late in games, but also strengthens the team by midseason when rotations become fully established.
What stands out most entering the season is that this team appears aware of what last year’s semifinal loss represented. Falling short against Darien in the state tournament remains a strong point of motivation, especially for returning seniors who were part of that run. The early practices, winter work, and preseason intensity all suggest that this group understands how narrow the difference is between a strong season and a championship season.
It is still early, and much will change once official games begin, but the early signs are promising. The offense looks quicker, the passing sharper, and the roster deep enough to sustain pressure over full games. If the defense reaches the same level of rhythm as the offense over the next few weeks, New Canaan should again be one of the strongest teams in Connecticut.
For now, the start of spring has brought exactly what many around the program hoped to see: a team that looks prepared, experienced, and capable of competing at the highest level from the first whistle onward.
