The St. Paul boys lacrosse team has had an amazing run the past few seasons, no more so than 2021.
The Falcons went 15-5 overall and won another Western Connecticut Lacrosse Conference championship, doing so at home against Watertown. St. Paul earned the No. 4 seed in Class S for its efforts, along with a first round bye. The Falcons erupted for a 15-3 victory over No. 13 Lewis Mills in the first round on June 2. Next up for St. Paul was something special. The Falcons had never been a state semifinal, but that changed on June 5.
St. Paul defeated No. 12 Somers, 13-11, in a quarterfinal matchup at McPhee Field. That victory sent the Falcons to the semifinal round. St. Paul’s amazing run ended with a semifinal loss to No. 17 St. Joseph-Trumbull on June 9 at McPhee Field, but the memories will live on.
There were four first team all-state members, including two who made it for multiple times. Senior attackman Brycen Kennedy made all-state for the third time. Senior midfielder Christian Decker made all-state for the second time. Senior goalie Connor Matthews and sophomore defender Erik Suzio made first team all-state for the first time. Senior midfielder Ryan Bogdanski was second team all-state for the first time.
There were seven All-WCLC selections. They were Decker, Bogdanski, Kennedy, Matthews, Suzio, senior Nick Jackson and senior Dylan Kelly.
There have been three WCLC championship games contested since 2018, including that season. St. Paul has won all three of them. It could have been four in a row if not for the COVID-19 pandemic.
There were three state tournament appearances. The Falcons were the No. 1 seed in 2018 and 2021, and the No. 2 seed in 2019. St. Paul won a tournament game in both 2018 and 2021. The Falcons tripled their victory total in the state tournament since 2018 by winning twice in 2021.
It was the final run for St. Paul’s seniors, who are: Decker, Bogdanski, Kennedy, Matthews, Jackson, Kelly, Joshua Konikowski, John Passander and Evan Zimnoch.
