Match Report: Staples vs. Greenwich

Staples and Greenwich played an FCIAC soccer match today, at Cardinal Stadium.

But they actually crammed 3 separate games into the regular 80 minutes.

First, the hosts leaped into a 1-0 lead just 51 seconds after kickoff. Francisco Luzuruga pounced on a failure to clear, to give his side a near-instant lead.

The Wreckers were not rattled. They remembered 2 days earlier, when their own inside-a-minute penalty kick gave them a quick edge, but Darien equalized 3 minutes later.

Yet although both the Cards and Blue Wave came into the Staples matches undefeated, this was not the same type of game.

Greenwich — which kept Staples pinned in their own end — did not allow the first shot until 11 minutes in, by Jonny Costello.

In the 17th minute, the Cardinals stunned the visitors again. A long throw was headed along, then headed in by Santiago Lattuada.

With Greenwich winning a majority of 50/50 balls, they struck again. Another poor clearance led to a close-in shot by Matthew Maloney.

That was the first game. The second took place the moment the second half began.

The Wreckers came out firing. Playing with pace and confidence — looking nothing like a squad down 3-0 — they got a goal back just 56 seconds in. Emmett Nivaud found Josh Whitaker; he laid off to Zach Gorin. The midfielder touched it with his right foot, and rippled the side netting with an important strike.

Less than 3 minutes later, Gorin struck again. His long blast into the far corner made a seeming rout into a very interesting contest.

The Westporters were on fire. The defense tightened up. Passes were crisper. Even the bench was louder.

But then came the third game. In the 50th minute, a Greenwich counterattack from the right side gave them their fourth goal, and some breathing room.

Suddenly, they regained their footing and composure.

In the 64th minute, Rinaldi made an excellent initial save. But the ball was not cleared, and another strong Card shot made it 5-2.

Staples continued to battle. The Wreckers did not give up.

But Greenwich was not through. One more initial save, and another non-clearance, resulted in their 6th goal.

The blue-and-whites fought to the end. They were rewarded with the latest goal in their 66-year-history. Aaron Varsov’s rocket was saved. But the ball rebounded to the feet of Brendan Allen. He powered it home, less than 1 second before the buzzer sounded.

Staples looks to rebound on Saturday. They travel to Wilton’s Lilly Field, for an 11 a.m. match against the winless Warriors. FINAL SCORE: Greenwich 6, Staples 3. SEASON RECORD: 2-3-0.

QUICK KICKS: The Wreckers debuted their new 2024 jerseys and shorts today. They were designed by the captains, and paid for by the Staples Boys Soccer Foundation ….

Ryan Sujnka made his first appearance of the season for Staples. after a long injury layoff ….

In other FCIAC action, undefeated Trumbull knocked Darien from the ranks of the unbeaten, 4-1. Danbury handed Stamford their first loss of the season, 1-0 ….

In the junior varsity game, Zach Gillman scored off Ford Epstein’s assist. But Greenwich quickly equalized, from close in. In a very physical second half, a cross just missed the outstretched leg of Sam DiGiovanni. The Wreckers made a final push with 2 minute left, with a pair of threatening crosses just outside the area. But they could not connect, and the match ended 1-1 ….

The freshmen shut out Greenwich 5-0. Kai Massicott had a true hat trick, scoring the first 3 goals of the game. Two were on breakaways, where he beat the keeper. The final was a penalty kick, after he was taken down in the box. The Wreckers did not sit on their lead, fighting just as hard in the second half. A beautiful pass from Mateo Riera to Jaden Waldman set up the fourth goal; then Sebastian Elizondo megged the keeper for the finally tally. Coach Chris O’Dell called Levi Belzer “a beast on defense, while Sebi Carter and Eli Zev did a great job tripping up Greenwich in the middle of the field.

Zach Gorin (2nd from left) earns congratulations after one his 2 goals from (from left) Emmett Nivaud, Dylan Shackelford, Will Murray and Drew Hill. (Photo/Mike Beebe)