By: Jack Shapiro ’19
As the temperature continued to soar into the high eighties, the Staples boys’ varsity soccer team took home the win 1-0 over the Norwalk Bears on Sept. 27.
The action on Albie Loeffler Field started off fast with a goal coming off the foot of Timmy Liles ’18. Liles was able to net the Staples goal in the first five minutes giving Staples confidence early in this match.
“The loss to Central was a real wake up call for our team and we are making sure to never let that happen again,” Wreckers midfielder Steven Frost ’18 said. “We just focused on playing harder and with more heart against Greenwich and Norwalk.”
Norwalk entered this game as the team to beat in the FCIAC. With an undefeated record of 5-0-1. Norwalk also showed a strong senior class entering this game with 10 returning players including former All-Fciac first team player Sebastian Echeverri ’18.
Staples held the Norwalk offense scoreless with strong defense from Nick Ambrose ’19 and Callum Wisher ’20. Both Ambrose and Wisher played the entire game with no break as the sun beamed down on Loeffler Field.
Ry Cohen ’19 also played a solid game in goal and turned out to be a true help for the Staples team. Although Cohen didn’t end the game with lots of saves, he was still a reliant member for the Wreckers team on Wednesday.
Norwalk also saw help from senior captain goalkeeper Cole Judkins ’18. Judkins did allow an early goal to the Wreckers but clearly bounced back and did not allow another shot to find the net behind him.
After coming off a huge 1-0 win over Greenwich on Monday, Staples is looking to move up the standings in the FCIAC West.
After speaking to Westport News, head coach Dan Woog spoke about the Wreckers’ push late in this season. “The weather’s been hot; we’ve faced two very strong teams, and we’ve been able to play our game. My hat is off to our guys. They’ve done a ton of work,” Woog said.
After the win, Staples is now 4-2-2 with 14 points in the FCIAC West. Staples is currently fifth in the west and are trying to make a push for the top spot in their division. The Wreckers’ next matchup will be on Oct. 3, when they face off against the Brien McMahon Senators.
As for Norwalk, they fall to a 5-1-1 record in the east and after the crushing lost to Staples, are now second in their division behind Ridgefield. Their next matchup is also on Oct. 3 when they travel to Greenwich and take on the Cardinals.