John Walker ’29

Staples boys’ soccer celebrates after winning their 28th State Championship.

Four months ago, Staples boys’ soccer had no coach. But on Nov. 16, the team celebrated after winning the CIAC Class LL State championship, earning a spot as the #9 ranked Soccer team in the country according to the United Soccer Coaches Poll. 

Last May, former head Coach Russell Oost Leviense was  released from his position as the boys’ soccer head coach. Some members of the community pushed back against this decision. Students orchestrated a school walk out and over 150 students, parents and alumni attended a 14 hour Board of Education hearing in Leviense’s support. During this, an uncertain future of the program loomed.

“We were a very close-knit senior and junior class at the end of last season,” Captain Dylan Shackelford ’26 said. “It was during this time when we had no coach that we all worked harder to maintain our bond and build our chemistry for the upcoming season.”

 In July, Athletic Director VJ Sarullo hired Coach Liam Witham as the new head coach. A former player at the Arsenal Football Academy in England, as well as a former assistant soccer coach at the College of Mount Saint Vincent, Witham was new to the Staples community.

“Anytime there’s a vacant coaching position, there’s always a little bit of angst,” Sarullo said. “Once Liam and his staff came in, it was pretty seamless. They’re good coaches, but most importantly, they’re good for our kids.”

Coach Liam knew the team faced an uphill battle with the coaching change and after not making the playoffs last year. But after speaking with the captains, they invited him to watch a summer league game (a league they went on to win). This was Coach Liam’s first experience with the soccer team.

“When I first saw the boys at a summer league game, I said we will win the FCIAC this year,” Witham said. “I knew from the get go that they were definitely a winning mentality team.”

And he was right. The team started off hot with an impressive 5-1 record. But their first true test was against the #7 team in the country and the undefeated FCIAC powerhouse the Greenwich Cardinals. The Wreckers got off to a big lead, but Greenwich ended up coming back to win the game. Despite the loss, the Wreckers showed promise.

“After the loss to Greenwich, we knew that we were at their level and could 100% do something special,” Captain Gabe Duque ’26 said. “Coach Liam also installed a new goal- make the FCIAC finals as the two seed and beat Greenwich.”

The Wreckers ended the regular season on a nine game win streak and only allowed three goals in their final stretch. At 13-2, the Wreckers were the FCIAC two seed and were ready for the playoffs. However, more adversity followed.

“Everybody got hit with the flu at one point,” Witham said. “We were playing a couple of really important games where not many people could practice and we were going into games not knowing if players would be able to get through the full 80 minutes.”

Yet, the “flu-ridden” Wreckers pursued, winning their first two games of the tournament and making the FCIAC finals: an anticipated rematch against an undefeated Greenwich team (16-0).

On Oct. 27, the Wreckers defeated Greenwich 3-2 in the FCIAC finals to win the FCIAC title for the first time since 2010. The finals were headlined by the Wreckers’ offense which scored three goals in the first half. Goalie Jack D’Amore’s ’27 made some crucial saves at the end of the game to preserve the win.

“We overcame adversity by winning the FCIAC tournament after not making it last year,” Shackelford said. “We gained a lot of doubters and some negativity from preseason polls, predictions and even our fellow classmates.”

However, the FCIAC championship was not the ultimate goal for boys’ soccer, as they were the four seed in the State tournament. They drew a tough bracket, with three FCIAC teams as opponents in their first three games.

“Our state run was really difficult, but on the flip side I feel like that kind of helped us because we didn’t have a game off,” Witham said. “We had to keep the switch on at all times.”

After four intense games, the Wreckers made the State Championship. Staples would face Greenwich for the third time.

On Nov. 16, less than 150 days after Coach Liam Witham was hired, the Staples Wreckers dominated the Greenwich Cardinals in the State Championship winning 3-0, with Captain Dylan Shackelford being awarded the tournament’s most valuable player award. 

The Wreckers became the first soccer team since 1982 to win both the FCIAC and State Championships. This win solidified the Wreckers as one of the greatest soccer teams in Staples history, pulling off a historic season with 17 straight wins, to end as the #9 team in the country.  And all this happened with a brand new coach.

“Since the first game we played freshman year we knew we had something special and told ourselves we would win it all,” Shackelford said. “To actually fulfill these goals means so much to everyone on the team. I am so thankful and honored to be awarded the [tournament MVP], but I would argue anybody on the team could’ve won it. We all have worked so hard and each one of us deserved to be rewarded for it.”

Coach Liam Witham was named FCIAC coach of the year and winger Josh Whitaker ’26 was named an All New England Player. The main message Coach Liam wants his players to take away from this season is to cherish these moments and understand how working hard will always trump adversity.

“Enjoy this moment that you created, you all worked very hard and success doesn’t come around very often,” Witham said. “Twenty years later when I walk down the halls of Staples and see me and the boys in a picture, I will remember this team that went down in history.”