Stamford Scores and Standings: Nov. 16

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The Westhill girls soccer team's hopes of reaching the Class LL state final for the third straight year ended Tuesday.

The fifth-seeded Wreckers gave up two goals in the second half and suffered a 2-1 loss to surprising Staples, which has reached the semifinals after not even qualifying for the FCIAC playoffs.

Westhill, which finished its season at 13-4-4, took a 1-0 lead on a goal by Jessica Blasnick, who dribbled a shot inside the far post with 2:17 remaining in the half.

But the Vikings couldn't maintain the momentum and were generally outplayed in the second half as the Wreckers avenged a 1-0 loss to Westhill in the regular season.

"We froze a little bit," Westhill coach Dave Flower said. "We certainly didn't play the way we can play and they were constantly going at it."

Less than three minutes after getting popped in the nose with an elbow, Abby Lake scored the tiebreaking goal for the 20th-seeded Wreckers, who continued their postseason run.

Lake's goal with 9:40 remaining snapped a 1-1 tie and sent Staples into the semifinals on Friday against top seed Glastonbury, a 3-1 winner over Ridgefield on Tuesday.

In consecutive games, the Wreckers (11-5-3) have eliminated last year's state champion (Shelton) and runnerup (Westhill) -- this from a team that finished ninth in the FCIAC during the regular season.

"We turned a negative into a positive and used the time to work hard and to practice as a team," Lake said. "We know we should have been in the FCIACs and we know we're better than half the teams in there. We're definitely better than our record says.

"We've had so many injuries during the season and finally we're all back and strong and I think that's definitely helping us. Also, we had some games where we just came out not mentally ready for the game."

The state tournament has been like a redemption tour for the Wreckers, who finished ninth in the FCIAC during the regular season.

"I think (missing the FCIAC playoffs) gave them the ammunition that they needed to prove to themselves that they should have been in that tournament," Staples coach Nicole Ross said. "I said to them, 'Let's use this to our advantage, show everybody that we are a good team and deserve to be out there.'"

No one is doubting that now. The Wreckers generally outplayed the fifth-seeded Vikings (13-3-4), winning the majority of  50-50 balls. Revenge was definitely on the minds of the Wreckers.

"When I heard that we were playing (Westhill) again, I was pretty excited about it and I think the girls were, too," Ross said.

Still, Staples trailed 1-0 at the half after giving up the goal to Blasnick. Suddenly, the game was shaping up as a repeat of the regular-season contest between the teams, which Westhill won on Oct. 18. But at halftime, the Wreckers vowed that this one was going to be different.

"We're not going to lose," Lake said. "There's no way we're going to go home. We go to practice and say this is going to be our last practice if we don't work hard. We definitely wanted to play our game (in the second half), which is possession, not balls in the air."

Less than four minutes into the second half, the Wreckers pulled even on a goal by Turner Block, who after a run down the left side, lifted a shot from about 20 yards over the shoulder of Westhill goalkeeper Allie Souza. It was the first goal allowed by the Vikings in three tournament games.

"It was a fair result," Flower said. "I can't complain about the result. There were no referee's decisions that were wrong, there were no major problems."

Once ahead, the Wreckers did a solid job protecting the 2-1 lead, making life for goaltender Jessie Ambrose fairly stress free in the final minutes. Westhill's best chance came when Nicole Pellicano chipped a shot over the cage with 42 seconds remaining

TUESDAY'S SCHEDULE

Girls soccer

Staples 2, Westhill 1, Class LL, quarterfinals

WEDNESDAY'S SCHEDULE

No games scheduled

STANDINGS

• Football

• Boys soccer

• Girls soccer

Field hockey

Girls volleyball