After falling behind 1-0 to Bassick, the Staples boys’ soccer team was able to fight and claw their way back against the Lions to a 4-2 victory.

The game, played at Loeffler Stadium on September 18th, started off evenly paced. Soon after though, Bassick struck in the 15th minute, scoring the first goal of the game.

However, the Wreckers wouldn’t let up.

In the 26th minute, Gabe Pensak ’15 sent a line drive into the box where Josh Berman ’17 was able to poke it past the keeper for the equalizer. This marked Berman’s second goal of the season and sparked the momentous push that lead Staples to gain a lead going into the second half.

Andrew Puchala ’15 was able to follow up with the go-ahead goal in the 30th minute. Michael Reed ’15 blasted a shot on the ground where Puchala was able to slide and make connection, drilling it into the back of the net.

The scoring spree didn’t end there. In the 33rd minute, Nate Argosh ’15 dribbled along the right wing past Bassick’s last line of defense where he sent a cross to the wide open Patrick Beusse ’15. Beusee put it past the goalie to give the Wreckers a 3-1 lead.

Argosh followed up his assist with a goal of his own coming in the 35th minute, giving the Wreckers a 4-1 lead going into the half.

Staples dominated much of the first half taking 12 shots against Bassick and following that up with two corner kicks.

In the 2nd half, Bassick scored off a header in the 50th minute, but the lead that Staples had built in the 1st half was too large for the Lions to overcome. The Wreckers slayed the Lions with a final score of 4-2.

Goalie Noah Schwaeber ’16 believes this game gives his team a tremendous amount of confidence. “It was nice to see Pooch [Andrew Puchala] back in the defense, and I believe that we were able to really work well together and string nice passing combinations together. This will definitely set us up well for the remainder of the season,” Schwaeber said.

Coach Dan Woog agrees that this game will give his team confidence moving forward.

“We have been playing our game in terms of spreading the field and dictating the tempo,” Woog said. “This is the second straight game that we have let up the first goal, and it’s good to work hard to get that goal back.”

The Wreckers next game is September 22 at Ridgefield High School.