By Andy Hutchison

WESTPORT — Two state playoff games, two FCIAC rivals … two shutouts for the Staples High girls soccer team.

Coming off a 5-0 win over Greenwich in the second round following a first-round bye in the Class LL State Tournament, the No. 3 Wreckers blanked No. 27 Wilton at home in Saturday afternoon’s quarterfinals.

Annabel Edwards had two goals and helped set up the third scored by Neva Mermagen, and Natalie Chudowsky had a pair of assists.

“It’s definitely a good sign,” Edwards said of Staples posting two clean sheets in as many games to begin the tourney. “We’re on the right track.”

Defender Charlotte Franklin, who helped shut down the Warriors, said Staples did a nice job of moving the ball wide to midfielders to set up plays.

“We’re utilizing what we have,” Franklin said.

Edwards scored the lone goal of the first half and made it 2-0 when she one-timed a bouncer on a cross from Chudowsky from just inside the top of the 18 yard box with 25:30 to play.

A left-to-right cross by Reilly McGeehan set up Chudowsky for a shot that was turned aside. Edwards got her foot on the rebound and created some chaos in front of the net. Mermagen pounced on the opportunity and cashed in when she deposited the loose ball for a 3-0 cushion with 21:01 left.

Goalkeeper Cami Kolek, who started the game and played most of the time, helped preserve the shutout behind strong defense from Franklin, along with Sami DeWitt, Gabriela de Brito and Parker Pretty.

With the win, the Wreckers move on to the semifinal round (site and time to be determined sometime from Nov. 15-17). Staples will take on No. 2 Glastonbury, a 1-0 winner over No. 7 Fairfield Warde. 

The Wreckers were that close to a rematch with Warde and yet another all-FCIAC clash. The Wreckers won a wild 5-4 thriller over Warde in the regular slate.

If the Staples team reaches the championship round, the Wreckers may have yet another FCIAC foe standing in the way, however, as No. 4 Ridgefield is in the other half of the bracket’s semis.

Facing familiar foes in states is a double-edged sword for the Wreckers. 

“We know who we’re going up against, but everybody knows the FCIAC is the strongest division,” Edwards said.

“I think that’s the reason we see so many FCIAC teams in the state tournament — they’re great teams,” Franklin added.

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.