By Andy Hutchison

NORWALK —  The Staples field hockey team avenged a regular-season loss to Wilton. The win earns Staples a spot in the FCIAC Tournament finals. The No. 3 Wreckers defeated the No. 2 Warriors 3-1 in yesterday’s semifinal at Brien McMahon.

The Wreckers had been beaten 4-1 by Wilton this fall but turned the tables behind a pair of set piece goals in the opening half.

Tyla Ozgen and Emma Larit staked the Wreckers to an early lead. Francine Stevens scored during open play in the second half.

Staples Coach Ian Tapsall noted that Wilton is ranked No. 4 in the North East and Staples is ranked 17. He called this a very complete performance by his squad.

Now the Wreckers seek redemption with the FCIAC championship on the line. They take on top seed Darien, a 3-0 winner against Staples in the regular slate. The pinnacle game is set for Thursday, Nov. 3, back at McMahon starting at 7:00 p.m.

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