Staples Boys Lacrosse Crushes Newington, 12-0, In State Tourney Opener

After being upset by St. Joseph in the quarterfinals of the FCIAC playoffs last week, the Staples boys'  lacrosse team bounced back to rout Newington, 12-0, Thursday in the first round of the CIAC Class L  state tournament.

Staples posted its first win in the state tournament since 1999 and improved to 17-1. The Wreckers will host No. 9 Simsbury, a 10-5 winner over Trumbull on Thursday, in the quarterfinals on Saturday at 3 p.m.

 Behind hat tricks from senior quad captain Nate Greenberg and senior Jeff Kelly,  the top-seeded Wreckers had no problem handling the 17th-seeded Indians on Thursday. Staples exploded for seven goals in the fourth quarter to turn the contest into a rout.

While the score was lopsided at game's end, the visiting Indians kept things close early on. The combination of strong goalkeeping by freshman Matt Gajowiak and physical defensive play kept the Wreckers off the board for most of the first quarter.

However, junior captain Kip Orban quickly changed that when he scored the first goal of the game by faking a pass and firing the ball past the stick of Gajowiak.

The freshman goalie helped the Wreckers' cause later in the first when he hit the ball into his own net to make the score 2-0.  The goal was credited to Greenberg because he was the closest to the ball.

The Wreckers continued to put pressure on the Indians' defense in the second quarter when Kelly cut through the middle of the Newington zone to score his first goal of the game to give the Wreckers a 3-0 lead.

The story of this contest was the Staples' offense,  as starting Wreckers' goalie Austin Waiter needed to make just four saves all game. The smooth transition from defense to offense made Waiter's work easy,  as senior captain Jack Ambrose and juniors Matt Yeager and Greg Lewis kept Newington out of the offensive zone.

While they missed out on several good looks in the front of the net, the Wreckers ended the second quarter on a high note when sophomore Jake Frimet sneaked his way inside the Indian zone and flipped the ball in off a quick pass from Kelly for a 4-0 lead at the half.

After coming out flat in the first half, the Indians began to turn the tide in the third quarter by increasing the physicality of the game. Hard hitting from the visiting team forced the Wreckers to resort to a slow-down set on offense.

However,  this did not put an end to the scoing for the Wreckers as Greenberg registered scored his second the game midway through the third period when he split two defenders to make the count 5-0.

With room to breath, the Wreckers sat in a comfortable position,  heading into the fourth quarter up five.

However, the team clearly was not satisfied and erupted for seven more goals.

Greenberg began the offensive exhibition with a pretty move in front, giving him a hat trick.

Seniors Brandon Waiter and Keith Gelman each followed with a goal of their own. With the score at 8-0, Kelly and junior attack Charlie Ross took over, each scored two goals in the final period.

Ross' proved to be the most impressive since he scored both goals on long drives from the top of the box after he had seen the head of his stick completely fly off just minutes before.