Several lacrosse players from the area helped the Guilford-based Southeastern Shoreline boys’ lacrosse team win the gold medal in the U-14 bracket at the ShopRite Nutmeg State Games. The U-14 bracket featured five teams from various parts of Connecticut, including West Hartford and Stratford. Playing five games under the hot sun, the Shoreline team finished with a record of 4-0-1 in the tournament and clinched the gold by posting a 6-0 shutout in the championship final in Newington.

Chris Watson and Neil Willis, the coaches of the Guilford Youth Lacrosse Seniors 7/8 Black team, wanted to put together a diverse squad to enter into this year’s Nutmeg State Games. Watson and Willis were looking to extend the team’s season into the summer and accomplished that mission behind a skilled and competitive team of committed athletes from Guilford, as well as some other athletes from nearby towns, who all had the opportunity to play lacrosse against fellow talented players from around the state. The team held practices and, within a two-week time frame, formed the team that took the title at the Nutmeg Games.

The athletes on the team are Guilford residents Joe Ehrlich, Sean Filley, Santino Gambardella, Jack Jardine, Nick Gangemi, James Mahoney, Sean Mandel, Will Petrick, and Jackson Skoczylas; North Branford’s Gavin Dow and Mason Dudley, Clinton residents Ethan Madura and Aidan McEnanny, East Lyme’s Jackson Breneck, Jake Kozlowski, and Austin Zwick; and Ben French and Will French of Stonington. Coach Watson and Coach Wills are also Guilford residents.