Staples boys soccer finding its game

Coming into the season as the defending Class LL champion and two-time FCIAC champion, the Staples (Westport) boys soccer team was suitably anointed in the preseason as the team to beat.

It was a shock to everyone when the Wreckers lost two of their first three games to Trumbull and Bridgeport Central. Since, Staples has slowly built itself back up, winning 10 times and tying once, including victories over then-No. 1 Norwalk and No. 9 Greenwich this past week.

"At the end of last season, we gave the players until about January to look back and be pleased with what they'd done and then start looking ahead," Staples head coach Dan Woog said. "There was a long period, longer than we expected, when players were thinking about the previous year and thinking we have all these returning players (five starters) coming back, we shouldn't have any problem. That's probably the nature of high school kids.

"When the reality sunk in, that it was a new group and they had to figure things out in their own way, it took a couple of games and they realized, 'Hey, Staples soccer is about looking forward not looking backwards. It's about working together as a group. It's about playing a certain way.' They resolved to turn things around and they did."

Woog, who has been at Staples in various capacities since 1983 and took over as head coach in 2003, brought the Wreckers their 12th state title and first since 1993. He said the concept of having his players defending collectively and their realizing it didn't matter who scored as long as they got the goals on the board were keys to the turnaround, but he also sighted moving senior Greg Gudis, a forward last year, to midfield as an important element.

"He's a great distributor," Woog said. "It's also taken the pressure off him to score. He's getting his goals but so are other people."

Gudis scored twice in the Wreckers' 3-0 defeat of Greenwich.

Traditionally, Staples soccer emphasizes midfield play and the Wreckers have one of the state's best midfielders in all-state player Brendan Lesch, who is headed to Notre Dame next fall. Two key defenders are seniors Sean Gallagher and Frankie Bergonzi. All four are four-year varsity players.

Mikey Scott, another senior midfielder and the fifth returning starter, possesses a long throw that Woog says is a "great offensive weapon." And two role players from last season have stepped up: Senior Court Lake, who has played at six different positions, and senior Jake Krosse, another midfielder.

"Staples has always built from the back forward," Woog said. "Our mantra has been if nobody scores on us, all we need is one to win."

Woog says sophomore James Hickok, a tall, rangy keeper, has worked "real hard" and Woog is looking forward to having him around for a while. Staples allowed five goals during its 11-game unbeaten streak.

Heading into the FCIAC tournament this Friday, Staples will likely be the No. 2 seed and despite the slow start, should probably be just as feared as it was last season in the postseason.

"A lot of times (the tournament is) what hurts FCIAC teams in the state tournament because we beat each other up," Woog said. "The kids would definitely like to make their mark by making it three in a row.

"Last year we peaked at exactly the right time and hopefully we're doing the same, but the kids especially have been around long enough to know that nothing is a given."

STORYLINES
* In football, unranked St. Joseph (Trumbull) shocked No. 2 New Canaan 28-27. Buoyed by the return of running back/linebacker Tyler Matakevich from a broken foot, the Cadets held on as the Rams failed on a 2-point conversion after scoring with two seconds left.

* Unranked Warde (Fairfield) girls soccer tied large school No. 3 Greenwich 2-2 with two second-half goals provided by Kate Allen and Emily Pullen. The Cardinals, who scored once in each half, received goals from Alex DiStefano and Allie Haid.

* Small school No. 7 Lyman Memorial (Lebanon) girls soccer clinched its fifth ECC Small Division title in a row, getting goals from four different players in a shutout of Tourtellotte (Thompson).

* Small school No. 6 Somers boys soccer tied with NCCC rival and No. 7 Ellington 1-1. Josh Fredette scored for Somers, and Stone Oliver netted Ellington's goal.

TOP PERFORMERS
* Sebastian Tamayo, Bunnell (Stratford) boys soccer: Made 10 saves on 10 Newtown shots in the Bulldogs' 2-0 victory over its SWC rival.

* Trevor LaFontaine, Tolland cross country: Won the CCC East league championship race in 16 minutes, 3.9 seconds over 3.1 miles, leading the Eagles to the team title at Wickham Park in Manchester.

* Lindsay Crevoiserat, Glastonbury cross country: Ran an 18:25.53, the best girls time of the day, to capture the CCC North championship race over 3.1 miles at Wickham Park in Manchester. The Tomahawks also took the team title.

* Zac Falconeri, Lyman Hall (Wallingford) football: Rushed for 176 yards on 15 carries and scored five touchdowns in a 55-27 victory over Law (Milford).

* Mike Mastrioanna, Xavier (Middletown) football: Scored the game-winning touchdown on a 33-yard run with 3:57 left for the top-ranked Falcons in a 14-7 victory over Shelton. Mastrioanna finished with 125 yards rushing on 24 carries and scored the other Xavier touchdown on a 30-yard reception from Pat D'Amato.

* Bryan Boderick, Stamford football: Completed 14 of 26 passes for 280 yards, including a 54-yard scoring pass to Chandler Foster with 30.7 seconds left to ice a 29-17 victory over No. 6 Trumbull.

50-POINT DISASTER
Many state coaches and quite a few writers have expressed their dislike of the nearly three-year-old CIAC score management football rule, dubbed the 50-point rule, in which a coach can be suspended one game if his team wins by a scoring margin of greater than 50 points.

When a blowout approaches the magic number, you can hear all types of grumbling in the press box and in the stands from writers to clock officials to PA announcers to fans about how the rule has to go, and coaches I've spoken with almost to a man say it's unnecessary.

But nothing brings it home like seeing the rule in action as I did last week at the Masuk-Bunnell game, a 45-0 blowout for the Panthers. During one stretch in the fourth quarter Masuk took seven consecutive knees on offense with its second- and then third-string teams in the fourth quarter.

Just think. Those kids finally get into a game and instead of actually running plays, they have to basically give the ball up on offense.

When you see how the rule affects a game like that, you truly see what a disaster it is. I really don't believe coaches in our state are trying to humiliate an opponent during a blowout victory, but it's humiliating to all involved to see unwarranted knees, punts and players running out of bounds simply for the purpose of not scoring.

Run the clock, put in the second and third teams, don't pass, but don't reduce football to this. The CIAC doesn't do it in any other sport. Even the mercy rule in softball just ends it. Don't shut the football game down like that, but don't arbitrarily have a number shut it down.

Paul Rosano, the former assistant sport editor of The Hartford Courant and sports editor of The New Haven Register, covers Connecticut for MaxPreps.com. He may be reached at pjrosano@cox.net.