The Staples boys’ lacrosse team battled New Canaan, winning 7-6, on April 24. The game marks an important win for the Wreckers after suffering an unexpected loss to Greenwich earlier this season.
New Canaan was ranked number one in the state prior to the game. The Wreckers knew how crucial this game was to win. After their success, Staples rose to first in Connecticut.
“After that Greenwich loss, we knew a lot of the state was counting us out, saying we weren’t as good as we thought we were,” Justin Haulky ’26 said. “But, this game I feel like showed the state who we are as a team.”
Haulky scored the only wrecker goal for the first quarter. New Canaan also successfully shot, resulting in a score of 1-1 going into the second quarter. During the second quarter, a majority of time was spent with Staples on defense. New Canaan was able to score another two goals. However, the Wreckers’ defense protected the goal well.
“On defense we knew that we just needed to continue to get stops and get the ball to our offense in order to get more points on the board,” Nate Maurillo ’27 said.
Haulky scored again in the second quarter, making the game 3-2. In the third quarter, New Canaan was able to pick up another two goals. However, the Wreckers fired up their offense. Tristan Schafer ’25, Cameron Prior ’25 and Adam Udell ’25 — assisted by Charles Clark ’26 — all scored within the third quarter, bringing Staples a 5-4 lead.
“The goals in the third quarter were important,” Prior said. “They helped us go into the lead and give us more momentum to rise above New Canaan and continue playing aggressive.”
In the fourth quarter, William Flemming ’25 added to the Wrecker’s points, resulting in a score of 6-4. New Canaan was able to get a shot. But, Clark scored, finalizing the Wreckers at seven goals. New Canaan scored two more late goals, but the Wreckers were able to run out the clock for a 7-6 win.
“We know we can beat any team in the state,” Haulky said, “if we play the way we should play and the way we can play.”
