Year in and year out, Yorktown plays one of the toughest schedules in the country to prepare for the postseason. It’s a philosophy that has stood the test of time and produced 42 sectional titles and seven state championships.
Playing such tough competition gives the Huskers plenty of chances to come away with statement victories. Yorktown (3-1) earned one of those victories with a 9-6 triumph against Darien on Thursday, which entered the game ranked No. 21 in USA Lacrosse’s national top 25.
Darien has won 14 Connecticut state titles and the 2017 national championship since the program began in 1984.
“When you’re playing one of the top public school teams in the country, you have to be completely dialed in,” said Yorktown’s Hunter Mezzatesta, who made 10 saves.
He added that the team “stayed focused and trusted each other” and “learned a lot from our loss to Cold Spring Harbor [on April 3], and having a full week to prepare really helped us reset and lock in on what we needed to do.”
The Huskers’ familiarity with one another was one of the reasons they were able to earn such a victory.
“This group has been playing together since first grade, so we know what we’re capable of when we play as a team,” Mezzatesta said. “Rankings don’t mean much once you step on the field—it comes down to execution and playing for each other. This is the first time Yorktown has beaten Darien since 2013, so it’s a great feeling to be part of something that not many teams here have done in the past 20 years.”
Frank Ofrias was the Huskers’ leading goal scorer against the Blue Wave with three goals.
“It was a huge win,” Ofrias said. “Coming into the game we knew we had a tough matchup especially coming off a tough loss but we worked hard, kept our heads up and had a great week of practice. It showed that we are here and can compete with these top teams.”
Yorktown’s defense turned up the intensity in the second half, giving up just one goal after trailing 5-4 at halftime.
“That was a total team effort,” Mezzatesta said. “It started at the faceoff X—Tyler Caricati was outstanding and helped us control possession. Offensively, we were smart with the ball, worked the clock and continued to finish our opportunities.”
Caricati won 13 of his 20 faceoffs.
“I was able to [win those faceoffs] because I’ve been working hard in the offseason, training at the faceoff academy and have all my teammates supporting me no matter what,” Caricati said.
It took everyone on the Huskers’ defense to hold the Blue Wave to just one goal after halftime.
“Defensively, we played a great game,” Mezzatesta said. “Holding a team like Darien to one goal in a half says a lot about our communication, effort and trust in each other. It’s an honor to play behind that group, especially in a game like this that we’ll all remember for a long time.”
Gianluca Marchini (3A), JT Carney (2G), Ryan Fastigi (2G), Tommy Carney (1G, 1A) and Brady Sheridan (1G) joined Ofrias in producing the Huskers’ offensive output.
Ofrias said Assistant Coach Tim Fallo “really prepared us for this game.”
He added that th team “played aggressive, confident and passionate. We communicated well, moved the ball, and took good shots. The offense and the entire team played together and did their jobs.”
Evan Kurth, Nick D’Andraia, Michael Desiderio, Danny Weissman, Vinny Marchini, Jayden Tyndal, Cooper Constantine, Chase Reynolds, Aidan Concannon, Rowan Larsen, TJ Sammon, Sean Munnelly, Dom DeBellis, Anthony Cappelli, Kellen McGuire, Tim Schurr (head coach), Colin Houlihan (assistant coach) and Mike Salazzo (assistant coach) also were on the Huskers’ game-day roster against Darien.
“Our coaches also had us really well prepared with a strong game plan, and we executed it,” Mezzatesta said. “Now it’s on to the next one.”
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