Senior Mike Galione recorded six goals and an assist Tuesday—all in the first half—powering the Ridgefield High School boys' lacrosse team to a 17-2 victory over Stamford.

Jack Philbin and Aaron Mathias each scored two goals for the Tigers (2-1), who put away the contest early, surging to a 12-1 lead at halftime.

Ian Vazquez and Kurt Mueller also tallied in the opening half for Ridgefield, with Mueller contributing four assists.

Throughout the game, Ridgefield's midfielders were able to outmuscle the younger Stamford team. 

Scott Glucksman, the team's trainer, commented that Ridgefield is reaping the benefits of a strong youth program. The Tigers have become one of the top teams in the state, going 20-2 last season after reaching the state finals in 2008.

Meanwhile, Tigers coach Roy Colsey made sure his troops didn't get complacent with the big lead.

"See those checks—either we are intense or not," Colsey barked. "We need to be intense on defense."

Just before halftime, Colsey started pulling his seniors out of the game to give younger, less-experienced team members a chance to play.

The coach said that there is an unwritten rule that says a team should not win by more than 20 goals. However, he still likes to see his  younger players score goals.

Scott Aidan, Matt Hrvatin, Andrew Buckanavage, Mike Gill and Sean Riley each scored one goal in the second half for the Tigers.

Ridgefield's next game is Saturday at Lawrenceville, a prep school in New Jersey that handed the Tigers one of their two losses last season. The other defeat was to defending four-time state champion Fairfield Prep in the semifinals of the state tournament.

Ridgefield has rebounded with a pair of wins after suffering an 11-10 overtime loss at Staples in its season opener.

Lawrenceville is "a big game for us," Galione said. "If Ridgefield plays its best, we should be able to beat anyone in Connecticut. Our problem is sometimes we start slow."

Stamford, which is comprised of mainly sophomores and juniors, suffered its first loss of the season and dropped to 2-1.

Phil Shapiro (first half) and Zach Fornociari (second half) scored for the Black Knights.