By: Ryan Burg ’18
On Friday, Oct. 20, the Staples boys’ soccer team had a mission when they went to New Canaan. They succeeded and clinched a spot in the FCIAC playoffs. Their mission was accomplished with two second half goals by the Wreckers and a penalty kick save by Ry Cohen ’19, which resulted in a 2-0 victory in a close and very important game.
Goals from Patricio Perez Elorza ’20 and Timmy Liles ’18, as well as Cohen’s four key saves, helped in the Wreckers’ shutout win.
In the beginning, the game was tight and scoreless. The second half looked similar to the first, even with the Wreckers pushing the play. Later in the match, with an assist from Will Birch ’18, Perez Elorza scored a toe tap goal, giving Staples a late lead with 17:19 remaining in the match.
“I thought that I wouldn’t have put it into the back of the net without my teammates. Soccer is a group effort, I didn’t score, the team did,” Perez Elorza said about his goal.
Minutes after the Wreckers’ goal, there was a well-headed ball from the opposition that put New Canaan into good position. Ryan Fincher ’18 made contact with an opponent who had the ball. The New Canaan player fell to the turf resulting in a penalty kick. Cohen saved the shot by diving right and grasping the ball to prevent a tie game.
“It was a great feeling,” Cohen said about the save. “I felt a sense of relief that I was able to help change the game in a positive way.”
Directly after Cohen’s save, Staples took hold of the momentum and pushed the ball forward with Liles scoring a goal on a powerful kick, beautifully set up by Matthew Engler ’18.
The boys wrecked New Canaan’s season by officially eliminating them as contenders for the state and FCIAC playoffs. The soccer team has a 8-4-4 record which left them a win ahead of Danbury for seventh place in the FCIAC rankings.
Their final regular season game was on Oct. 23 at 4 p.m. at Loffeler Field against a winless St. Joseph’s team. The boys won the game 3-1, solidifying their seventh place seeding in the FCIAC standings. The playoffs begin Oct. 26 in Greenwich.
