Match Report: Staples vs. Glastonbury

A topsy-turvy year ended heartbreakingly for Staples this afternoon in Glastonbury.

After a hard-fought first half, in which the #21-seeded Wreckers had the #5 Guardians on their heels for long stretches, the upstaters rode a goal midway through the first half to a 1-0 victory, in round 2 of the state “LL” (extra large schools) tournament.

Glastonbury advances to the quarterfinals against Xavier-Middletown, a 3-0 victor over Stamford. The Wreckers end their season 10-8-0, but with their heads held high after a pair of strong tournament performances. They won their first match decisively, 8-0 at Manchester.

The hosts’ narrow football stadium field pinched Staples, and prevented them from playing their spread-it-wide game. But the Wreckers did play their trademark possession, move-it-quickly style, particularly in the opening 40 minutes — and after the first back-and-forth 10 minutes.

“It’s too easy!” the Guardians’ coach yelled, as the Westporters came through the midfield and defense repeatedly, though the closest they came to a telling shot was a banger by Emmett Nivaud off the crossbar, and fine save by the keeper on a Nivaud breakaway.

Glastonbury plays a more direct, north-south game. Their best first-half opportunities came on a pair of shots in the 10th minute off a corner kick. Keeper Jack D’Amore saved well.

The blue-and-whites forced Glastonbury to play quickly — often too quickly — and their few opportunities were thwarted by defenders Cormac Mulvey, Zach Beebe, Dylan Shackelford and Gabe Hellmann.

Zach Gorin stepped up well, controlling midfield on both sides of the ball. Fellow midfielder Will Murray played some dangerous balls through too. Nivaud played one of his best games in a Staples uniform, while juniors Brendan Allen and Drew Hill quietly but effectively won balls and created chances.

The second half was much different. Rather than sitting back, they took the game to Staples. The game-winner came in the 58th minute, after strong Glastonbury pressure — much better than their first half. A seemingly harmless ball in back slipped through. A bit of hesitation was all that was needed to slot it home.

The Guardians continued to work hard, keeping the ball from Staples as the clock ticked down, on the final seconds of the season. FINAL SCORE: Glastonbury 1, Staples 0. FINAL RECORD: 10-8-0.

QUICK KICKS: The Wreckers graduate 16 seniors: Zach Beebe, Zac Belzer, Luca Caniato, Jonny Costello, Elliot Galin, Zach Gorin, Alex Kuster, Cormac Mulvey, Will Murray, Emmett Nivaud, Christian Rinaldi, Perrin Root, Sam Rossoni, Jack Schwartz, Ryan Sunjka and Aaron Varsov ….

Staples and Glastonbury have had a great state tournament rivalry, dating back to 1959. The CCC team holds an 8-5-0 overall edge, but in their last meeting — 2019 — the Wreckers rallied from a 2-1 deficit in the final 7 minutes to upset the #1 seed, 3-2 ….

In other LL action involving FCIAC teams, Norwalk beat West Haven 4-2, while Greenwich edged Wilbur Cross-New Haven 1-0. In an all-FCIAC matchup, Trumbull prevailed over Darien 2-1.