By Andy Hutchison

WESTPORT — Some of the faces may be different, some the same, but the Staples High boys lacrosse team has picked up where it left off last year.

Winners of the Class L State Championship last spring, the Wreckers opened this campaign with a similar outcome. Staples toppled visiting Stepinac High of White Plains, N.Y. , 13-5, last Thursday. The Wreckers had beaten Fairfield Prep 13-6 for their second straight state crown in June 2023.

Against Stepinac Adam Udell logged four goals and two assists, Charlie Iannone had three goals, Charlie Clark a goal and two assists, Tristan Schaefer and Ben Burmeister two tallies each, Justin Halky a goal and an assist and Jake McGeehan added an assist. Goaltender Josh Marcus made five saves.

The Wreckers also did well in faceoffs, with Jay Anastasi winning eight of 12 draws and Cisco Celotto helping the Wreckers collect the ball on five of nine faceoffs.

The Wreckers hosted another New York school when Rye came to town Saturday, registering a 5-4 win. 

Schaefer recorded two goals and an assist, Clark notched a pair of goals, Halky scored once and Udell, Iannone and Burmeister all had an assist apiece. Marcus made nine saves, stopping 64 percent of the shots he faced. 

Staples was dominant on the draw with Celotto winning 9 of 11 (82 percent) and Anatasi winning both of the faceoffs he took.

A trio of former Wreckers was honored at halftime of the Rye game and inducted into the Staples Lacrosse Hall of Fame: Chris Crummey, Class of 1985; Andy Nadler, C lass of 1999, and Kip Orban, Class of 2011.

Staples is back in action Monday when Fairfield Warde visits at 5:30 p.m.  (Game schedules are subject to change; click for the latest updates.) 

Andy Hutchison has been covering school sports — including Staples athletics — as well as news and feature stories in Fairfield County, since the 1990s.