A pair of second-half goals, a lockdown defense and smart, passionate play led the Staples boys soccer team to a 2-1 victory over Bridgeport Central today at Westport’s Albie Loeffler Field.
The win vaulted the Wreckers over the nationally-ranked Hilltoppers into first place in the FCIAC.
With two games remaining, Staples is 10-1-2; Central drops to 11-2-0. The Westporters’ next match is Monday (home, 3:45 p.m.) against Norwalk’s Brien McMahon.
Staples’ first goal, soon after halftime, came from Ross McGibney. The junior controlled a long ball from Chris Meinke, then struck with authority.
Eleven minutes later, Charlie Reiter dug out a ball at midfield and fed Jon Zimmerman, whose 35-yard shot rooted the keeper to the spot.
McGibney and Brendon Cristobal had excellent chances to pad the score, but Central sliced the margin to one with 16 minutes remaining.
Staples then shut the door, thanks to excellent goalkeeping by Sean Milligan, strong defense by Colin Nangle, Matt Geringer, Dave King and Nick Renzulli, and continued smart possession play all around.
“I’m glad for our guys, who worked so hard from beginning to end,” said head coach Dan Woog.
“I’m particularly glad that we learned our lesson from last Saturday, when Norwalk came from two goals down to tie us.
“This was a nice win—physically, tactically and emotionally. Now we have to keep focused, and take things one game at a time.”
