Match Report: Staples vs. Bridgeport Central

Staples arrived at Kennedy Stadium tonight far below full strength.

Keeper Nick Sikorski was out, after a red card at Darien for a foul outside the box. Leading scorer Avery Mueller was out too, after receiving his third yellow card of the season in that same Darien match. Several other Wreckers were out too, with injuries.

But Aldo Lopez picked up where Sikorski left off in goal. Several attackers picked up the scoring slack.

And head coach Russell Oost-Lievense deployed his deep bench well, giving plenty of playing time to fill-in starters and reserves. He showed confidence in his entire roster, and they responded with gusto.

As they’ve done so often this year, the Wreckers struck very early. Then they scored again, leading 2-0 after just 6 minutes. That sparked a 5-0 win, over a Bridgeport Central squad whose players’ individual talents and speed belied their 1-7-0 record.

Alex Kuster and sophomore Dylan Shackelford made their first varsity starts in back; James Corridon did the same at midfield. All played strong, steady Staples soccer.

In the 4th minute Zach Gorin picked up a loose ball. His pass hit Lucas Carpi in stride. The tall striker zeroed in on goal, and finished clinically.

Two minutes later a poor clearance landed at Emmett Nivaud’s foot. He did not hesitate, blasting into the back of the net.

Oost-Lievense soon substituted liberally. Archie Lynch, Brendan Allen, Michael Brennan and others came on, giving their teammates much-needed rest. This was Staples’ fifth match in nine days — and there’s another 48 hours from now: Friday, 7 p.m. at Fairfield Warde.

Christian Rinaldi came on after halftime, making his varsity debut as goalkeeper. Like Lopez, he was in command of his box physically and verbally.

Midway through the second half, Jack Schwartz’s laced a free kick over the wall to Sam Rossoni. His fellow slammed home a smooth, textbook shot.

in the 64th minute Allen assisted Eli Rosenkranz’s blast. Rossoni closed out the scoring with 8 minutes to go, off of Shackelford’s free kick. It was a carbon copy of the Staples’ first goal, and a fitting ending to a strong showing by every healthy Wrecker. FINAL SCORE: Staples 5, Bridgeport Central 0. SEASON RECORD: 7-0-2.

QUICK KICKS: The junior varsity beat Bridgeport Central 7-1. Josh Whittaker, Karsten Langone and freshman Adrian Rodriguez led the way with two goals each. Gabe Duque added a solo striker.