By Caroline Coffey

All-around dominance on both sides of the field lifted the Wreckers over the St. Joseph Cadets in a 8-0 shutout yesterday, extending the Wreckers’ winning streak to nine games. 

The Cadets defense proved to be no obstacle as the Wreckers came out strong, scoring four goals in the first quarter, two by Emma Larit and one apiece by Romy Nusbaum and Sofia Fidalgo. 

In the second quarter, Romy Nusbaum navigated through traffic in the circle to score again for the Wreckers, striking the ball past Cadet goalie Sara Sabin.

Halfway through the third quarter, with Staples up 5-0, Sophia Blum scored on a forehand shot past a diving Cadet.

Capitalizing on a corner shot with 8:36 remaining in the fourth quarter, Emma Nahon redirected a shot by Chloe Hackett into the cage. A mere 40 seconds later, Jess Leon weaved through three defenders to score the final goal to put the Wreckers up 8-0. 

On the other end of the field, the Wreckers defense smothered the Cadets.

Sabrina Didner made several key defensive stops and goalie Ella Williams had a dozen saves. The Wreckers defensive pressure stymied the Cadets, who seldom had position of the ball. This pressure worked hand-in-hand with the Staples offense, which repeatedly took advantage of the Cadets addled offense. 

The Wreckers balanced offense and defense was no anomaly; Staples has shutout six of their last eight opponents and, over the course of the 14-game season, have scored 86 goals while allowing only nine. 

In the final challenge of the regular season, Staples travels to undefeated New Canaan today at 4 p.m. Not only are the Rams undefeated, they have allowed only two goals all season and they just beat the FCIAC’s other championship contender, Darien, 2-1. 

Archival photos above show some of the stars from yesterday’s game against St. Joseph.