By Andy Hutchison

NORWALK—Staples field hockey is headed back to the Class L State Championship game for a third straight year.

In Tuesday’s semifinals, the top-seeded Wreckers outlasted No. 4 Fairfield Ludlowe 2-1 in a shootout following double overtime on a cold night at neutral site Brien McMahon.

With the win, the Wreckers will take on No. 3 Darien, a 1-0 winner over No. 2 Wilton in the other semifinal. The title game is set for Saturday, Nov. 15 at Wethersfield High beginning at 2:30 p.m.

Daisy Hackett was assisted by Mary Stevens in regulation and Leah Larit scored the decisive shootout tally. Ava Pattinson also scored in the shootouts which were tied 1-1 after the initial round of five shots per team. Larit deposited the winner when things went to sudden victory shots.

Staples’ goaltender came up huge with the game on the line.

“Paige Knesich played amazingly, making incredible saves during the shootouts,” said Staples captain Ella Ledenko, a key player in the middle of the field and on defense. “The game was super intense, but I was super excited and proud of the team for the result.”

Tense games and dramatic finishes go hand-in-hand with Wrecker field hockey on the McMahon turf.

This outcome was fitting and provided the Wreckers with some redemption after losing to Darien on the same field in, what else but a shootout, in the FCIAC title game.

Now, the Wreckers will get a shot at even more of a bounce back with everything on the line against their foes from Darien.

“I can’t wait to play Darien again in the final and am definitely looking forward to another chance to play them after the loss in the FCIAC finals,” Ledenko said.

Darien, meanwhile, is also looking for some payback of its own having lost to Staples in each of the last two state finals — 3-1 in 2023 and 5-2 last fall.