Match Report: Staples vs. Fairfield Ludlowe
Fairfield Ludlowe made the short trip to Wakeman Field today, with a sparkling 7-1-1 record.
The only blemishes were an opening day 2-0 loss to Greenwich, and a 0-0 draw with Fairfield Warde last week.
But Staples — which fell 1-0 to Warde the game after that intra-town derby — matched the Falcons’ up and down the turf.
And outscored them.
An opportunistic 71st-minute goal was the difference in the hard-fought, evenly played match.
The Wreckers’ 1-0 victory raises their record to 6-4-0, and sets the stage for Saturday’s noon clash at Trumbull. The Eagles were 5-2-2, prior to tonight’s match at Norwalk.
Staples’ score began with one of their many corner kicks. Some had been dangerous, but the Ludlowe defense had been equal to the task.
This time, Zach Gorin’s in-swinger into a crowd was particularly hard to handle. Under pressure from Brendan Allen, the keeper — sure-handed and confident all game long — was right on his line, and dropped the ball into the net.
That sparked the hosts. The Falcons resorted to long balls. But Cormac Mulvey, Alex Kuster and Dylan Shackelford led the Wreckers’ defense. Will Murray dug out balls at midfield. Jonny Costello applied pressure up front.
Ludlowe had started the game by dictating the tempo, preventing Staples from settling balls, while playing a very direct-to-goal style.
But Staples was not deterred. Josh Whitaker and Gabe Duque worked the sidelines smartly. Adrian Rodriguez pressed up top. Gorin and Murray spread out the field. Keeper Jack D’Amore came through big in the first half, saving a breakaway, then tipping away the rebound.
And Staples did something only one other team had done all season: took 3 points from Ludlowe. FINAL SCORE: Staples 1, Fairfield Ludlowe 0. SEASON RECORD: 6-4-0.
QUICK KICKS: This was Staples’ 4th straight home match. They’re on the road for 4 of their final 6 contests ….
The junior varsity thrashed Fairfield Ludlowe 8-0. Owen Goldfarb scored twice; Nico Reyna, Zach Gillman, Max Hill, Adriano Carpi, Max Triscari and Sam DiGiovanni rounded out the scoring with solo strikes …
The freshmen racked up an enormous advantage in shots — preventing Fairfield Ludlowe from taking any — and won 3-0. All 3 goals came late in the match. Kai Massicott one-timed a shot off a great Henry Green pass. Eli Zev pounced on the rebound of a free kick, and Zach Selig nailed a penalty. Alessandro Montresoro and Zev switched well from the middle, while Max Caro and Sebi Carter were terrors on the wings.
