The blazing hot Staples boys’ soccer team kept their unbeaten season alive as they defeated Fairfield Warde 3-0 this past Friday, Oct. 6 in an under-the-lights contest.
A pair of goals from Emmett Nivaud ’25 and a goal from star forward Avery Mueller ’24 was plenty for the Wreckers to beat the Mustangs; the exciting battle was fueled by an intense crowd looking on.
The FCIAC foes both came into the game hoping to keep their respective successful seasons going, as Staples entered the game undefeated and Warde entered the game with just one loss to their name.
The game started off fairly even as both teams had chances but neither team was able to break the deadlock. Then, approximately 30 minutes in, Mueller put his athletic and technical ability on display by skillfully maneuvering through two opponents before finding Emmett Nivaud who acrobatically finished a ball to the back post to put Staples up 1-0.
“I was doing my best to set the tone early,” Mueller said. “If we could get that first goal, I knew the momentum for the rest of the game would shift in our direction.”
Fairfield Warde responded well to the adversity of seeing the ball going into their own net as they created several more opportunities before the conclusion of the first half, but they just couldn’t see the ball past Staples goalkeeper Nick Sikorski ’24.
“Even after we took the lead, it was important for us to keep our heads and not get too overconfident,” Cormac Mulvey ’25 said. “I thought we did a great job of doing just that.”
An evenly matched first half of play set up what was evidently going to be a chippy second 40 minutes of play.
“Even after we took the lead, it was important for us to keep our heads and not get too overconfident.” — Cormac Mulvey '25
Midway through the second half, Zach Gorin ’25 turned into an open pocket of space before delicately lifting a ball with the outside of his foot into the path of Mueller, who was able to burst away from Warde defenders using his speed to double Staples’ lead.
“Right when I turned and started driving at the Warde defenders, I saw Avery making a run forward,” Zach Gorin said. “I knew if I could just lift the ball up over the backline then Avery would be able to get to it.”
After seeing the ball hit the back of the net, the Wreckers’ student section rose to their feet and the Staples players followed Mueller to the corner in celebration of taking a two goal cushion against the Mustangs.
Sporting a 2-0 lead, widely considered to be the most dangerous lead in soccer, due to its vulnerability, the Staples players knew that the game was far from finished, especially as there were still 20 minutes worth of ticks left on the clock.
Stellar defending and game management by Staples’ backline killed the game off and took some life out of the Fairfield Warde players and their fans alike. The icing on the cake came with three minutes left in the game, as Nivaud met the Warde goalkeeper face-to-face and slotted the ball into the bottom right corner for his second goal, putting the Staples Wreckers up 3-0 over the Fairfield Warde Mustangs.
“I took a touch by a defender and I looked up and saw the keeper coming out,” Nivaud said. “I opened up my hips, buried the ball into the bottom right corner and ran to the corner to celebrate with the team. It was truly an unreal feeling scoring in an environment like that.”
The final buzzer sounded and the Wreckers picked up three points over the Mustangs in an impressive 3-0 victory. Staples look to continue this strong form this upcoming Tuesday, Oct. 10, as they visit Fairfield again to take on Fairfield Ludlowe.
