Newtown’s Tristan Rosenschein’s 13U club lacrosse team, Express North, which is based in lower Fairfield county, reeled off seven straight wins to capture the Lacrosse World Series Championship, June 28 through July 1. The top 25 teams from around the world qualified in March and went to the Mecklenburg County Sportsplex in Matthews, N.C. for high-level competition.

This was a Cinderella story as Express North was the No. 11 seed going in and took out several highly-ranked teams. Rosenschein, the lone representative from Newtown, was the youngest player and is age eligible again next year. Players from all over Westchester and Fairfield counties compete on the team. The team qualified to go during the Northeast regional qualifier, which took place in Frederica, Del. in March.

On the first day, Express North defeated Upstate New York Navy, the No. 8 seed, 11-8 and topped True Minnesota 14-3. On day two, Express North beat No. 2 BBL from New Jersey 9-2 and won against Riot Lacrosse from New Jersey 7-1.

The playoffs began on day three and Express North emerged as the top seed following those earlier wins. Express North edged the Boston Blue Jays, originally a No. 6 seed, 7-6 in a close, back-and-forth game. In the next tilt, versus Team 91 Venom of Long Island, the original #1 seed and defending 2022 champion, Express North won 8-6 to earn a spot in the championship match.

Express North took on 2Way of Connecticut, which went into the tourney as a No. 3 seed. Express North won 12-6 and claimed the esteemed world title.

The Express North team made history as the first team from Connecticut to win the Lacrosse World Series Championship. This was a historic and great year for Connecticut lacrosse as two teams from the state battled it out in the final game. Teams from afar in attendance included Beast Lacrosse from Canada and Team Israel. The World Series rules are such that each competing team must only have players who live within a 100 mile radius of where the club is based. The team is AA interchangeable with Elite, which is the highest, most competitive level of play in the sport.

On the Express North team, Rosenschein plays long stick midfield and takes faceoffs from time to time. His contributions in the games were primarily takeaways, including against top seed Team 91 Venom, and pushing transition to offense.

“This has been one of the greatest experiences of my life. I could not have done it without my great teammates, dedicated coaches, and a lot of support from my family. I plan to keep working hard to improve my skills and I look forward to where lacrosse can continue to take me in the future,” Rosenschein said.

Express North is led by Program Director Chris Schreiber, Head Coach Ben Potash, and Assistant Coaches Rick Schulman and JR Sherman.

Sports Editor Andy Hutchison can be reached at andyh@thebee.com.