Two of the FCIAC’s strongest sides, St. Joseph and Staples, met on Wednesday, Oct. 9 at St. Joseph High School. The two teams are widely considered to be the two powerhouses of their conference and entering the contest, both teams were undefeated on the season. That later changed for Staples.

In a possible preview of the FCIAC championship game, the talented St. Joseph Cadets sent a message to the Staples Wreckers, firing four past them in a 4-1 victory. The three-goal margin of defeat was Staples’ biggest loss since 2016 (MaxPreps).

After falling behind 1-0 just before the end of the first half, Staples started the second half well as Natalie Chudowsky ’26 found the back of the net on a penalty kick.

“After [Chudowsky’s] penalty and equalizing the game, we gained back the momentum that we lost after St. Joseph scored in the first half,” Alexis Krenzer ’25 said.

Staples could hold on to that momentum for only so long, as St. Joseph’s star-studded attack ramped things up a notch and responded to Chudowsky’s penalty with three unanswered goals in just 20 minutes of play.

The big win for St. Joseph (13-0-0) extended their streak of winning every game of the season thus far, while Staples (10-1-1) suffered their first defeat of the season.

“As a team, we can learn a lot from a loss like this one in order to move forward,” Willa Shamie ’27 said. “It is important to have confidence in yourself and the team when playing against a strong team like St. Joe’s, which I think we will continue to work on for the postseason.”

Having won two of the past three Connecticut state championships, the Staples girls’ soccer team is still fully aware of what they can accomplish in the playoffs. The girls will look to bounce back and regain momentum in their next game against Westhill on Tuesday, Oct. 15 at Westhill High School.