Flying High
Clark’s OT goal lifts Staples by Ridgefield into Class L final
FAIRFIELD — Tyler Clark dove toward the front of the net and knew his shot went in. His only worry was that he’d landed in the crease, which would’ve waved off what he called the best feeling in the world.
The junior’s goal stood, 3:45 into overtime at Rafferty Stadium on Wednesday, sending Staples into the CIAC Class L championship game with a 9-8 semifinal win over Ridgefield.
“They ended our season last year,” Clark said, and the Tigers beat Staples 4-3 in the first round last year on the way to the Class L title. “We have a long memory. We remember some of the stuff they did after that. We wanted them this year, bad.”
That avenged, Staples will play in its fifth CIAC final, seeking its first postseason title of any kind.
“All honesty, this was our sight at the start of the season, all last season,” Wreckers coach Will Koshansky said.
“It’s awesome that we’re going there. Now we’ve got to finish the job.”
Second-seeded Staples, ranked third in the GameTimeCT Top 10 Poll, will play Sunday at Sacred Heart University at a time to be announced. Its opponent will be either No. 1 Darien or fifth-seeded, fourth-ranked Fairfield Prep. Those teams were playing at Rafferty on Wednesday night.
Fifth-ranked, third-seeded Ridgefield finishes 15-5. Coach Roy Colsey declined to comment.
Staples (18-3) won the overtime faceoff — Henry Dodge, one of the top faceoff men in the state, helped the Wreckers shut Ridgefield down without a shot in the second quarter — and called time out, but Tigers goalie Matt Shepard made a save.
But Ridgefield’s possession ended after the Wreckers’ Ryan Thompson forced a turnover. Staples set up again, and Derek Sale finally fed Clark below the goal line extended to Shepard’s right to set up the winning goal with 15 seconds on the clock.
“We practice what we want to do in overtime throughout the season. We played an overtime game
earlier in the year, had a possession in that game,” Koshansky said. “We really focused on what are we going to do in overtime and be gprepared for the moment
“We didn’t have a time out, but the guys knew what we wanted to run, and they generated and stuck it home.”
Charlie Howard scored three goals for Staples. His first was the 90th point of his season, setting the program record.
Ryan Colsey scored four goals for Ridgefield, and younger brother Kyle had a goal and two assists. Kyle’s goal tied the game with 6:01 left after Staples took an 8-5 lead to the fourth quarter.