Wrecker Ryan Burke looks for daylight in today’s Staples homecoming game 42-6 victory over Norwalk High School. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) WestportNow.com photo

The Staples boys soccer team kicked off Homecoming weekend with a hard-fought 2-1 victory at Danbury tonight.
Staples goalkeeper Michael McCarthy checks in with keeper coach Tom Henske during halftime of tonight’s game. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Carl McNair for WestportNow.com

Brendan Lesch headed in Greg Gudis’s corner kick, then Gudis scored on a 40-yard rocket to give the Wreckers a 2-0 lead. But Danbury answered with a great shot of their own, halving the margin with 12 minutes to play.

It was the first goal scored against the blue-and-whites all year.

The Wreckers responded with fierce defense, securing the win against a tough opponent. Staples, now 5-0-0, hosts Fairfield Ludlowe on Tuesday at 4 p.m.

Westport’s Staples High Schoo boys soccer team extended its record to 4-0-0 tonight with a hard-fought 2-0 victory at Brien McMahon High School in Norwalk.
Brendan Lesch tussles with a Brien McMahon Senator in Staples’ 2-0 win. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Lisa Krosse for WestportNow.com

Mike White started the scoring, following nifty interpassing between Alan Reiter, Greg Gudis, Mikey Fitzgerald and Brendan Lesch. 

Lesch got the insurance tally, on a header off a long throw from Mikey Scott.

The Wreckers are in action Friday at 7 p.m. at Danbury.

Five different players scored in the first half, as the Staples High School boys soccer team topped Darien 5-0 today in Darien.
Court Lake (blue) is all business in Staples’ 5-0 victory over Darien.  (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Lisa Krosse for WestportNow.com

Mikey Fitzgerald, Mike White, Greg Gudis, Brendan Lesch and Sean Gallagher accounted for the goals, while Alan Reiter (2), Luke Yeager, Mikey Scott and White added assists.

Freshman goalkeeper James Hickok – substituting for senior Michael McCarthy, who was ill – turned in an outstanding performance, making several key saves when the match was tight.  He was aided by a strong defense, keyed by sweeper Jack Hennessy.

Staples is now 3-0-0.  The Wreckers are in action again Wednesday at 7 p.m. at Brien McMahon in Norwalk.

Liz Fry: failed same swim in 2008. Nycswim.org photoUPDATE Westport’s Elizabeth Fry, a 50-year-old asthmatic marathon swimmer, has set a record by swimming clockwise around Manhattan in 11 hours, 41 minutes and 5 seconds.

Fry started the 28.5-mile swim near the Willis Avenue Bridge on the Harlem River, near East 125th Street and FDR Drive, at midnight Thursday and finished before noon today. She’s also the first woman to swim around Manhattan clockwise.

The previous record of 17:48:30 was set in 1995 by male swimmer Kris Rutford.

“I feel great. It was beautiful,” she said, back on dry land, the New York Daily News reported. “Swimming at night, with the city’s lights on the water, it was terrific.”

Westport’s Staples High School girls soccer team improved to 2-0 on the young 2009 season today with a 1-0 victory over Stamford’s Trinity Catholic High School in the Lady Wreckers home opener at Loeffler Field.
Jaclyn Katz leads the Staples attack. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Contributed photo

The game winner came at the 55-minute mark when Kate Burke’s 35-yard blast struck the cross-bar and an opportunistic Jaclyn Katz put the rebound into an open net. 

Goals were hard to come by as Staples out shot Trinity 32-2 and took 11 corner kicks to Trinity’s two.

The first half was dominated by the strong midfield play of the Wreckers, resulting in multiple scoring opportunities on through balls to Katz, Burke and sophomore Abby Lake.

Staples senior Matt Kelly pushes ahead as the Wreckers rolled over Stamford Trinity Catholic 24-6 today in the season opener at Stamford. Kelly ran for 113 yards while Ryan Burke had 112 as Staples collected 302 yards on 30 carries. Staples hosts Norwalk High School on Saturday, Sept. 26 at 1:30 p.m. in the home opener. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Dan Gelman for Staplesfootball.com

Westport’s Staples High School boys soccer team opened its 2009 season today with a 3-0 victory over Stamford Westhill in front of a large and enthusiastic home crowd.
Brendan Lesch (white) splits several Westhill defenders in today’s regular season opener. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Carl McNair for WestportNow.com

A first-half strike by Greg Gudis, and second-half goals by Mike White and Mikey Fitzgerald, accounted for the balanced scoring. 

Sean Gallagher, Brendan Lesch and Andrew McNair registered assists.

The Wreckers, now 1-0-0, face Harding away on Thursday (4 p.m.)

UPDATE Westport’s Representative Town Meeting (RTM) early today rejected an appeal by residents seeking to overturn a Planning and Zoning Commission decision that would permit some form of lighting at town-owned athletic fields. Opponents of the decision needed 24 votes to overturn but only 16 members voted to overturn while 17 voted to sustain the P&Z action. The vote came at 12:49 a.m. Residents opposed to lights at Staples High School have already filed a lawsuit against the P&Z decision. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) WestportNow.com photo