McGuckin, McBride Help Darien Bounce Back Against Manhasset

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A busy weekend of lacrosse was capped off with the latest chapter of a longstanding contest. While both programs' in-state rivalries are more well-known, Darien (Conn.) and Manhasset (N.Y.) have been playing each other annually for decades. The two programs have long traditions of excellence, and many players who have taken the field in this matchup have gone on to high-level college - or in some cases, professional - careers. <br><br>This year's installment was not quite as dramatic. Darien controlled face-offs, controlled tempo, and executed a very well-designed game plan to lean on and ultimately break the Manhasset zone defense. Darien won the game 20-4, and with that lopsided score, plenty of players found the back of the net. These, however, were the players who stood out most. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["17753"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"u003cp style=u0022font-weight: 400;u0022u003eA young player we highlighted a lot in the offseason, McBride started at midfield as a freshman for Darien, and as a sophomore, has moved to attack. He was the best dodger on the field in this game and key in breaking the Manhasset defense. By the middle of the first quarter, and through the second quarter, Darien had identified that two-man game starting from the low wings - with the ball carrying using a pick to get topside and carry to the middle - was causing all sorts of issues for Manhasset. Either the picker would roll to the middle and be open, or a skip to the far side for a time and room shot would open up. The Blue Wave went back to this look for several goals on the day, and McBride served as the dodger. Darien paired him with several different players, and the result was always the same. McBride is elusive enough to get topside without the pick, but by playing the offense with it this way, he showed off excellent vision and decision-making out of his dodges.u003c/pu003e","_player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_1_player":["23342"],"_player_evaluations_1_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_1_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_1_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_1_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_1_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_1_evaluation":"u003cp style=u0022font-weight: 400;u0022u003eA gritty player, McGuckin is a captain for Darien both in lacrosse and football. You won't get the viral BTB highlights from him, but you'll get smart play. McGuckin stood out on both ends of the field in this one and did a bit of everything. In one sequence, he was on as an SSDM and forced a dodger into a low-percentage shot down the alley. When the shot was taken, McGuckin released immediately, ran upfield, and caught an outlet pass from his netminder. In transition, he ran through a poor angled slide and scored on an overhand shot that stung a low corner. It was about as fundamentally sound a two-way midfielder sequence as you'll see, the kind of thing that makes those “back in my day, middies had to do everything” type lacrosse vets beam with joy.u003c/pu003e","_player_evaluations_1_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations":2,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"edit","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-661561f9ca188"} /--> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Maybe a little unfair, but the Darien face-off specialists have earned the spotlight here. It's been a tough start to the year for the Blue Wave at the face-off spot. They had to deal with Fairfield Prep's Ryan Backus (Dickinson) in a season-opening loss, and then ran into the best FOGO in the Class of 2025 in Brunswick's [player_tooltip player_id='14521' first='Aidan' last='Diaz-Matos'] (Notre Dame) against Brunswick. Darien came up on the wrong side of the face-off battle in both of those games. Against Manhasset, the tide turned. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><br><br></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["23398"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"u003cp style=u0022font-weight: 400;u0022u003ePiersol took most of the draws in the early going and owned the face-off spot. Piersol was able to win the clamp and exit very quickly, at times going forward and creating offensive opportunities. His wings are very good, including players like McGuckin and Tufts-bound LSM Will Bonner, u003ca href=u0022https://preplacrosse.com/2024/04/hausmann-garcia-among-standouts-in-12-6-brunswick-win-at-darien/u0022u003ea player I highlighted after the Blue Wave's game against Brunswicku003c/au003e.u003c/pu003e","_player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_1_player":["23348"],"_player_evaluations_1_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_1_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_1_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_1_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_1_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_1_evaluation":"u003cp style=u0022font-weight: 400;u0022u003eMarisca is a sophomore who is still learning the position, but his natural hand speed would tell you that his ceiling is very high. He's been a starter in hockey for two years and brings that wrist and hand strength and speed to the faceoff dot.u003c/pu003e","_player_evaluations_1_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_2_player":["14576"],"_player_evaluations_2_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_2_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_2_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_2_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_2_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_2_evaluation":"u003cp style=u0022font-weight: 400;u0022u003eNot a ton of bright spots for Manhasset in this one, but Kolin is clearly a special athlete and player. The Navy commit scored Manhasset's first goal of the game. Isolating on Penn State commit [player_tooltip player_id='19160' first='Mark' last='McNamara'], Kolin used a quick right-to-left split dodge from X to separate. His acceleration out of the dodge was eyebrow-raising. No sooner had he changed directions, than he was at GLE scoring a goal with a snap shot from a sharp angle. Kolin was used all over the field by Manhasset - he even attempted a few faceoffs to try and stem the tide at that spot. Darien's close defenders are all tall and rangy with very good footwork. To leave any one of them in the dust is no easy task, but Kolin showed very well.u003c/pu003e","_player_evaluations_2_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_3_player":["23343"],"_player_evaluations_3_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_3_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_3_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_3_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_3_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_3_evaluation":"u003cp style=u0022font-weight: 400;u0022u003eThe Amherst commit was the other top dodging threat for Manhasset in this game. Petrucell is shifty and can take advantage of short stick matchups. He does his best work above the goal, and though he didn't show a ton of it, he plays like a dodger who would be very successful out of invert looks. Petrucelli sets up his defenders well on his dodges. He uses head and shoulder movement to start the defender moving in one direction, and then attacks. Sometimes he'll dodge into his man and then roll away to space, sometimes he'll simply drive hard in the opposite direction he sent his man. The way he varies his dodging, paired with how he sets it up, made him a very tough cover.u003c/pu003e","_player_evaluations_3_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations":4,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"edit","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-661561f9ca291"} /-->