NC Girls Red U12 Dominant Winning SCOR Tournament
—submitted by John Dunn
The New Canaan Girls Red U12 team wins Columbus Day SCOR Tournament in Ridgefield, October 2016. Contributed
At times it rained. At times it poured. All throughout our girls scored .
The New Canaan Girls Red U12 team hadn’t lost a game this season as they took the field Sunday morning at the Columbus Day SCOR Tournament in Ridgefield. By the end of the day nothing had changed as the team overwhelmed the competition in winning 4 straight games for the championship. Every player brought their “A” game as they outscored their opponents 14-1 .
Stamford Gold was up first and Lexi Tully got things going with a quick goal 3 minutes in. Saige Hartslief was all over the field in the first half and just missed scoring twice but right before the half Julia Dunn made a great touch pass to Tully for her second goal and a 2-0 lead. As the wind picked up so did the girls intensity and the game was out of reach once Stella Nolan crossed a pass to Nola Kammerer who blasted it home for a 3-0 lead. Caroline Underwood finished the scoring on a penalty kick as the girls moved on with a 4-0 victory.
The New Canaan Girls Red U12 team wins Columbus Day SCOR Tournament in Ridgefield, October 2016. Contributed
The Mahopac Fierce Eagles were up next and in a total monsoon Kelly Polacek put the girls up 1-0 with a blistering shot. Underwood scored her second of the day a few minutes later while Peyton Zaletsky and Evelyn Slatoff were a wall for the defense. The final goal came off a “you had to see it to believe it” twisting pass from Nolan to Tully who slammed it home for a 3-0 finish.
Game 3 was against a very physical Fairfield Red team and in a fierce battle the girls prevailed 2-1. Tully had her fourth goal on the day and with the game still very much up in the air Natalie Owsley continued her strong play with a gorgeous goal for a 2-1 victory.
The championship was on the line as the girls squared off against tournament host Ridgefield Black. With injured teammate Izzy Schuh cheering on from the bench Tessa Cosco blasted one in five minutes into the match. Quick goals by Polacek and Owsley followed and the rout was on. A minute into the second half Tully scored to make it 4-0 while Margaret Murphy and Avery Laird were relentless as they controlled the middle of the field. Down by 4 Ridgefield tried pressing the action but were turned away time and time again by the defensive dynamo Kate Caione. Owsley scored once more for a 5-0 final score and a well-deserved championship .
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New Canaan 7 Red Field Hockey Shuts Out Darien 1-0
—submitted by Alexis Brooks
Scene from NC Field Hockey 7 Red which bested Darien 1-0 on a recent match. Contributed
Last Saturday was a great day for New Canaan Youth Field Hockey. Some of the most exciting news from this weekend is 7 Red’s 1-0 win against Darien, a field hockey powerhouse.
NC 7 Red dominated Darien in an exciting 1-0 win this past Saturday on the turf in Darien. New Canaan’s excellent passing skills helped the Rams keep control of the ball throughout most of the first half. Darien struggled to get the ball out of its own defensive zone, and the Darien goalie made a few excellent stops to keep the game scoreless as the teams entered halftime. New Canaan began the second half of the game with quick possession and took advantage of the opportunity. Rams’ forwards, Rachel Gilio and Ingrid Weissman, brought the ball down the right side of the field on a beautifully executed give and go pass. Zoey Bennett joined the attack and crossed the ball in front of the Darien goal where Perrin Tomasco tipped the ball into the net for the lone goal of the game. New Canaan’s defense held strong for the remainder of the game, and the Rams came out on top for the win. The New Canaan 7 Red team is now 4-0 for the season.
Another success story this weekend is NC 8 Red’s win against Trumbull, 4-0. Caroline Brooks, Caroline Sibbett, Marlee Smith, and Daley Baker scored one goal each spread throughout the game, with Sophie Havens, Brooke Thalaker, Sibbett and Smith offering assists. Defenders Charlotte Sigg and Sadie Schoonmaker and Goalie Megan Lydon warded off numerous strong attacks on goal. Coach Thenya Taiyanides remarked about the team, “…despite what the score board is showing, the girls fight and play their best until the final whistle is blown. As a coach, I’ve learned that it’s the only thing you can really ask for from your team. However, what is perhaps most impressive about the group of girls on our team this year is their ability to adapt to one another and to the different positions I have them play. Our game on Saturday really proved to me that these girls are all-stars and are hungry to come out of games on top despite perhaps not playing their normal positions. At times I had defenders playing offense and forwards playing defense. It’s a coaches dream to have an entire roster of girls who are not only willing to play at any position I need them to, but to also excel at it.”
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New Canaan 2007 Boys Red Victorious at Ridgefield Tournament
—By Ed Ho
From left to Right: Joaquin Blanco, William Arnold, Dylan Ho, Drew DeGaetano, Max Maggard, Jackson Mountford, Javier Minuesa, Rogan Lowe, Sajan Shah, Coach Daniel Clarke, Shane McMahon
The 2007 Boys Red team won their fist tournament of the season in Ridgefield on Saturday October 8.
Shorter games in tournament play are often decided by a single goal and that certainly was the case in three of the four tournament matches that the NCFC 2007 Red Boys played. Opening against Burlington Ajax, New Canaan drew 0-0 in a match where the NC Boys dictated the pace of play but did not manage to score. In the second match, the NC side continued their shutdown defensive play and prevailed 1-0. Javier Minuesa cooly knocked in the deciding goal on a penalty kick while Sajan Shah and Dylan Ho steadfastly kept goal to post a second clean sheet. In the third and pivotal match, NC Red faced off against the tournament leader Weston Blue. With vocal support from the NC faithful, the2007 Red Boys met the challenge and prevailed 1-0 in a well contested match. Rogan Lowe broke down the right wing and knocked a well struck shot into the left corner for the decisive goal. And once again the play in goal shut the opposition down with Joaquin Blanco and William Arnold pairing for a third consecutive shutout!
Disappointment in losing the fourth and final match to tournament host Ridgefield Silver 1-0 quickly turned to victorious glee when after the loss NC Red received their tournament medals. I’d also be remiss if I did not highlight the play of the tournament – Jackson Mountford’s diving, full extension save in the closing minute of play. Sportscenter worthy Jackson!
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’08 Boys Red Squad Sweeps Soccer Tourney
—submitted by Ashley Burr
Players – Drew Burr, Henry Chandra, Rhett DuPont, Connor Hahn, Tristan MacAllister, Dante Marsili, Christian Puente, John Puente, Matt Reed, Graydon Sieghart, William Tamasco, Lucas Tecklenburg, Will Teles and Teddy Van
New Canaan 2008 Boys Red swept the 30th annual Soccer Club of Ridgefield’s (SCOR) Columbus Day Tournament. U.K. Elite Coach Barry Beattie has been working with this first year team to experience different playing positions (offense, defense & goalie) to allow players the chance to develop the knowledge and confidence in various positions.
In Saturday’s opening game, the 2008 Red team faced off against Weston Blue. New Canaan took the field with confidence leading to a 5-1 victory. The second game challenged the hosting club Ridgefield as the team battled their Eagles. With an equally balanced field, the play continued to the last period for a 2-1 victory. The final game introduced the 08 Red boys to the Ridgefield Falcons. The boys uses all that they have learned from Coach Beattie, combined with their natural instincts and competence to bring a 3-2 victory back to New Canaan.