For the second time this week, the Staples girls soccer team lost a hard-fought game by one goal. After her team played what head coach Nicole Ross called a "flat" and "sloppy" game against Westhill on Wednesday, Staples came out much sharper against Greenwich. Unfortunately, the result was the same as they dropped their second straight game, 1-0.
"We made tremendous improvements from the last game, but it's frustrating to come away with a loss," Ross said. "I hope the girls take away the positives from this game, though. We created opportunities and had chances, but we were just unlucky tonight."
Both teams' defenses were airtight in the first half, snuffing out the offense on both ends of the field. Momentum started to favor Staples in the second half. Nicki Brill made some fantastic passes in the offensive end to her forwards, but all of them were outmuscled from taking any threatening shots.
Staples got caught up in their offensive attack in the second half, however, and a clearing kick caught the Wreckers off guard. Greenwich's Shannon Colligan and Naomi Leeds got a two-on-one advantage, easily getting past the last Wreckers defender. Leeds netted the game's only goal. Abbey Lake had two big shots on goal but could not put points on the board.
"If we can keep up this pace from here on out, we'll be OK," Ross said. "It's going to be tough, but they should keep their heads up. It would be great to run into Greenwich again in the tournament."
The two losses put a huge hit on Staples' playoff standings, dropping them from the third seed to the eighth and final spot. Staples holds a tiebreaker advantage over ninth-ranked Fairfield Warde with two games remaining. Staples hosts Trinity Catholic on Tuesday.
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