New Haven Register (New Haven, CT)
Cheshire denied in title game as Staples repeats
HARTFORD — Getting a hat trick in any soccer game is a notable accomplishment. Doing it in a postseason game is even more memorable.
But accomplishing it in a CIAC state final in less than a 7-minute stretch? Annabel Edwards did just that for Staples on Sunday at Trinity Health Stadium.
Edwards’ three goals early in the second half lifted No. 3 seed Staples to a 4-1 victory over top seed Cheshire in the Class LL girls soccer state championship final.
“It was like momentum after I scored the first one. My confidence kept growing and I was lucky enough to get great assist after great assist,” Edwards said.
Staples (16-2-4) repeats as Class L champion after sharing the crown with Wilton last year, a scoreless tie. That, and the cochamps in Class M last year, led to the change to do away with shared titles and bring in penalty kicks to decide an outright champion if need be.
Ironically, both Staples and Mercy were able to win outright titles this year in regulation.
“What was important for us was making that happen on the field and not having to go that far,” Staples coach Barry Beattie said. “Cheshire, a young talented team, we knew we had to be at our best in order to put them away.”
This time the Wreckers thoroughly enjoyed their celebration.
“I couldn’t stop smiling the last 20 seconds of the game, it’s so great,” said Staples defender Sami DeWitt, who will play at Colby next season.
Said Edwards: “We all remember that feeling of not getting what we wanted last year. I think that definitely let us complete this game with a lot of intensity and a lot of energy and I think it showed that we were the better team and we deserved to win this time.”
This was a matchup of the second and third ranked teams in the last regular season state coaches poll.
Natalie Chudowsky, a freshman, got Staples on the board, beating Cheshire goalkeeper Sophia Bates to the bottom corner for the 1-0 lead in the 19th minute.
“It was important for us to get out of that half with zero goals conceded,” Beattie said.
But then the Wreckers went to work early in the second half. Specifically, Edwards went to work.
She scored to the bottom right corner in the 44th minute to make it 2-0. Then Evelyn Chudowsky found Edwards all alone in the box. The sophomore quickly made it 3-0 a little more than 2 minutes later.
Chudowsky also assisted on the third goal to make it 4-0 for the Wreckers, whose only two losses came against St. Joseph, the No. 1 team in the poll.
“We talk about how we don’t let fear dominate our play, and today it did, but it was a big stage and I understand it,” Cheshire coach Kylee McIntosh said.
The Wreckers’ ability to possess the ball also kept the ball away from Cheshire’s top scoring threat. Gabby Tirado, who scored more than 30 goals this season, including two against Ridgefield in the semifinals, only had a handful of touches in her final game.
“As long as we were on the attack and their best player Gabby Tirado wouldn’t be anywhere near it. She’s a quality player and she’s proven it all year,” Beattie said.
Abby Sink scored Cheshire’s goal with 9:56 remaining.
This was the first loss for the Rams (21-1-1), who had their one tie in their regular-season finale and their first SCC tournament championship since 2016.
“I don’t think this loss can take anything away from what the girls have done all season to get to this point,” McIntosh said. “I’m not mad, some games just don’t go our way. They are an incredible team, so kudos to them.”
Said Beattie: “I said to their coaches right there at the end, we lost two (to Ridgefield in back-to-back state finals) before we won. They have a lot of talented players and a great coaching staff.”
PLAYER OF THE GAME
Annabel Edwards, Staples: Three gals in less than 7 minutes in the second half to put the game away.
QUOTABLE
“We feel like we accomplished so much in the past two years, I’m so happy to be leaving this program with two state championships.” — Staples senior Sami DeWitt