Eight Wilton rising 8th- and 9th-grade boys have earned coveted spots on premier lacrosse teams that have qualified for the World Series of Youth Lacrosse, an event that will take place over four days this week in Maryland, kicking off with opening ceremonies on Wednesday, June 30 and culminating in a championship game on Saturday, July 3.
For the rising 8th graders, Trevor Galligan will be playing goalie for the 2026 Eclipse team. Charlie Calabrese, Jake Padilla and Grant Stein will play attack, long stick middie, and defense respectively, all for the 2026 Prime Time team. The two teams are scheduled to face each other on Thursday, July 1.
For the rising ninth graders, Joe Hagerty will be playing middie for the 2025 Eclipse team. Cael Dexter will be playing middie for the 2025 Express North Team. Jack Schwartz and Ray Ferranti will be playing defense and long stick middie respectively, both for the 2025 Prime Time team. Hagerty and Dexter will come face to face when Eclipse faces Express North on Thursday, July 1.
The World Series of Youth Lacrosse held five regional qualifiers in the early spring where the nation’s top premier U14 and U13 boys lacrosse teams competed. The top teams from each region advanced to the Championship Series at the Maryland SoccerPlex where they will play against the best teams from the other regions and a select group of international teams.
In all, 24 teams will compete in each of the two age brackets. (This is typically a U13 event but includes U14 this year as last year’s event was canceled due to COVID.) The Championship Game will be played in the Maryland SoccerPlex Championship Stadium on Saturday, July 3 and broadcast live on ESPN2.
During the fall season, club teams practice and play in select tournaments; the winter season is limited to clinics. Once spring arrives, club teams take a hiatus to allow players to compete for their town and school teams. Once spring lacrosse ends in early June, players return to their club teams to practice and compete in weekend tournaments through the end of July. So while the boys all represent different clubs fighting for the title this week in Maryland, they’re all Warriors at heart and will return to the Wilton fields next spring as teammates.