By Greg Setos ’19

The Staples Wreckers boys’ soccer team captured another win on Tuesday, Oct. 23, beating the St. Joseph Cadets 4-1.
St. Joseph struck first as Sawyer Meehan drilled a goal from 30 yards out off a throw-in and gave his team an early lead of 1-0.
“Every goalkeeper makes mistakes,” Ry Cohen ’19 said. “I shook it off and just focused on helping my team win for the remainder of the match.”
With about 20 minutes into the match, Lefty Pendarakis ’19 had a strong shot on the Cadets goalkeeper that was deflected and gave an opening for Nick DiMasi ’19 to score into the back of the net, tying the game at 1-1.
“We went into this match with a strictly business attitude,” Pendarakis said. “We started off slow, but good teams get themselves out of holes and that is exactly what we did.”
DiMasi was not done, as he launched a rocket into the top right net 15 minutes later, giving his team a 2-1 lead into halftime and capturing his second goal of the day.
“I have been practicing shots like that my whole life,” DiMasi said. “I saw an opportunity and had to capitalize for my team.”
After halftime, both teams played very physically. The Wreckers kept attacking on offense, while the Cadets were playing both sides of the field evenly.
However, it was not long before the Wreckers scored once again as Austin Sholes ’19 outran the defense and scored off an assist from Sam Liles ’20, giving the wreckers a 3-1 lead.
“We played really well offensively today and moved the ball efficiently, combining passes for long periods of time,” Vaughan Sealey ’19 said. “If we can continue this form into FCIACS, I think we will be able to please everyone.”
With 10 minutes to spare, Sholes captured his second goal off a 40-yard free kick that slipped right through the goalkeeper’s hands and gave his team a 4-1 lead.
“This was not a match we could take lightly,” Captain Gabe Baltierra ’19 said. “Home field advantage is going to be a big factor come playoff time.”
After the win vs St. Joseph, the Wreckers finished the season (10-2-4), which placed them 3rd in the FCIAC standings and set them up for a home match on Friday versus Greenwich.
“We have a great rivalry with Greenwich and I think it is great we got them first round,” head coach Dan Woog said. “We played poorly against them this year and got knocked out by them last year, but our guys are focused, motivated and ready to compete on our home field Friday.”
No. 6 Greenwich (9-3-4) will take on No. 3 Staples (10-2-4) on Friday, Oct. 26 at 3 p.m. on Albie Loeffler Field.

Photo by Greg Setos ’19