Staples Varsity Boys Soccer dominated the second half of their game against Wilton on Sept. 22, which culminated in a game-winning goal with five minutes remaining, giving the team a record of 3-0.

The goal came from Terrence Gibbons ’12 with an assist from Jake Malowitz ’12 who ran up the right side and crossed it to the middle.

Throughout the first half, both teams were playing defensively while only making a few shots. Malowitz, Alex Tonsberg ’12, Taylor McNair ’12, Ben Root ’12 and Harry Birch ’11 stayed tight at the back.

By the end of the half, Staples outshot Wilton 5-4.

By the second half, the momentum picked up. The entire defense pushed up, with Max Hoberman ’12 and Dylan Evans ’12 making runs up the side and Steven Smith ’12 dominating the middle. Immediately, Hoberman took a shot that rebounded off the goalie and Smith shot it in. However, the goal was called offsides.

This did not stop the Staples’ team’s energy, however.

Whenever the ball went back, McNair pushed up and challenged it, while Malowitz was quick to run back and stop any Wilton Warriors that went too close to the goal.

With many failed shot attempts and a near goal from forward Diego Alanis ’14, the team was frustrated, but still dominating.

Finally with five minutes and 36 seconds left of the last period, Hoberman made a run up the right side and crossed it in where Gibbons side-volleyed it in the right corner for the game-winning goal.

Wilton pushed back, and there were key saves by McNair and Malowitz in the last few minutes. McNair, Root and Birch continued to win all the goal kicks in the air.

Goalie James Hickok ’13 also played a great game, with a save on a shot that could have easily tied the game. There were some close calls, with the ball landing just over the net twice.

“He trains so hard,” said Coach Dan Woog.

Staples came into the game knowing it would be a tough one. Wilton had beaten St. Joes 4-0, while they had only beaten St. Joes 1-0.

“Right from the start we came out hard and staying compact and playing like a team. We had several goal scoring opportunities that the goalie made good saves on, but we dominated the game for the most apart aside from their counter attacks,” said Hoberman. “Our team doesn’t have any single player that will single handily win the game for us, but as one unit and a team we can beat anyone.”