Not allowing a single goal for the first two games of the season, the Staples girls’ field hockey team is appearing to be pretty unstoppable in the early going.
The Wreckers played Stamford High School on Sept. 6, beating the Knights 8-0. This brings their season record up to 2-0, previously beating Ridgefield 10-0 on Sept. 4.
In the first half of the game, the Knights sustained good defense, crowding a lot of their defenders around their goal circle. In the first quarter, the Stamford goalie only let one goal in when Emilie Russell ’27 hit a cross shot from an assist made by Mary Stevens ’26.
In the second quarter one more goal was made by Sofia Fidalgo-Schioppa ’25 from a penalty shot. The Wreckers had nine other opportunities to take a penalty shot in the first half, but all were blocked by the Knight’s goalie.
“We started our first half pretty slow,” Fidalgo-Schioppa said. “We couldn’t really capitalize on our opportunities inside the circle.”
But, going into the second half, the team reevaluated how they would organize their offense by spreading out around the circle. This allowed them to make cleaner passes and shots, which led them to find more success offensively.
“We had to reset and look at the lanes that we needed to put the ball through,” Head Coach Ian Tapsall said, “and if that meant looking up for a pass backwards, then we would do that.”
The score quickly reflected the Wrecker’s new approach and mentality going into the second half. In the third quarter, Fidalgo-Schioppa quickly scored two back-to-back goals and the Wreckers scored two more, bumping the score up to 6-0. The team finished the fourth quarter with goals from Oakley Wilson ’27 and Alex Hackett ’25. Tapsall recalls his favorite play from the game.
“The ball came out of defense, there were three quick passes,” Tapsall said. “It went out to Mary Stevens, back to Alex Hackett who tapped it in the goal. Watching the girls make those plays is really rewarding.”
Although the Wreckers led a strong game against the Knights, they are still pushing to improve, especially as they start to face tougher competition in the upcoming weeks. As state champions and FCIAC runner-ups last year, they want to prove that they are just as strong of a team, if not stronger. Tyla Ozgen ’25 talks about what the team must improve upon going forward.
“We need to work together and learn how to move the ball more efficiently and quickly,” Ozgen said. “Once we figure out how to do that, we are going to be pretty much unstoppable I think.”
