The Wreckers suffered their fourth loss of the season to the Ridgefield Tigers in a 6-5 defeat on May 13. In a largely defensive battle, the Wreckers found themselves chasing the game right off the bat as the Tigers took an early 2-0 lead and never trailed. Despite a late push from the Wreckers, scoring two goals in the final minutes to cut the Tigers’ lead to one, it wasn’t enough to force overtime.

Throughout the whole game, the Wreckers struggled to unlock the compact Tigers defense; however, captain Tyler Clark ’23 was able to grab a hat trick, using his speed and quickness to get shots off and put points on the board for the Wreckers. Clark was able to cap off swift ball movement from the Wreckers with explosive dodges, showing why he will be playing for Army West Point next year. Similar to Ridgefield’s Kyle Colsey’s goal to complete his hat trick to make it 3-2 for the Tigers, Clark was able to create space after a great move from behind the goal and give Staples their first tally of the game. 

“Ridgefield’s defense did a good job knocking down passes and were good on ground balls,” Clark said. “We were able to score on them with hard dodges and long possessions, but they were able to shorten our possessions by causing turnovers.”

Having been forced to fight back from two deficits of two goals or more after a slow start to the game, the Wreckers were forced to play catch-up the entire match, posing a difficult task against an already talented and organized side in the Tigers. 

“We need to take more pride on executing early and when we get the chances on offense we have to bury them,” Max Maurillo ’24 said. “Putting ourselves in holes has fortunately worked out a couple of times this season but we know we need to avoid that come playoffs.”

Despite the loss and some uncharacteristic mistakes, the Wreckers still showed their quality and potential as a team, staying toe-to-toe with the Tigers and sticking to their brand of lacrosse. 

“I think we played very well defensively and moved the ball well and with patience when we had it, but we just couldn’t get it in the net,” Adam Udell ’25 said. “We manage to stay calm because we practice game situations like these.”

After the result against Ridgefield, the Wreckers end the regular season with a stellar record of 12-4. Despite entering the postseason having dropped out of the top 25 rankings for high school boys lacrosse, the Wreckers are still set on retaining their state title and achieving what they couldn’t last year: The FCIAC championship.

“We have to wait and see who we are playing, but no matter what our goals stay the same,” Maurillo said. “We have been working all season for this and we are going to do everything to win these championships.”