The New Canaan Soccer Girls U10 Red Team Extinguishes the Flames
Ava Gizzie moves the ball past a Greenwich defender. Contributed
The New Canaan Soccer Girls U10 Red Team got their first victory of the season when they defeated the Greenwich Flames on Sunday. The game took place in New Canaan on a chilly, overcast day. The Red Team came out strong in the first half by controlling possession of the ball and pressuring the Greenwich defense. All the action was in the Greenwich end when Ava Gizzie blasted an unstoppable shot to put the Red Team on the board with a 1-0 lead. Nola Kammerer was tending the goal and with the help of a tight defense held the Greenwich team to a scoreless first half.
As the second half opened, New Canaan continued their offensive pressure by cycling the ball well through teamwork and precision passing. It was exactly these skills that led to the Red Team’s second goal of the game. New Canaan added to their tally when Ellie Gallois received a beautiful crossing pass in the box from Ava Gizzie, and buried it into the back of the net.
With the score 2-0 and time running down, the Red Team added an additional insurance goal when Kate Caione scored on a breakaway that took her from her defensive position all the way to the Greenwich goal. She punctuated the run with a perfectly positioned shot to beat the Greenwich goalie and send the score to 3-0.
New Canaan’s strong defense held back the Greenwich attacks and Natalie Owsley was perfect, as the second half goalie, blanking the Greenwich team. As the final whistle blew, the shutout was complete and New Canaan went on to a 3-0 victory.
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New Canaan Girls U9 Red Stuns Monroe 5-1 in Season Opener
The New Canaan U9 Girls Red were a force on Sunday as they dominated the game from end to end with their impressive passing and ball control. Their first goal came in the opening minutes when Lexi Tully crossed the ball to Ava Pertusiello, who beat the goalie with a shot to the corner. Tully found Pertusiello again with a well placed pass, which Pertusiello redirected in for a quick 2-0 lead.
Alexandra Gelvin scored next when she skillfully rebounded the ball passed the Monroe goalie. Maggie Murphy led the defense with her exceptionally tough play, and tallied an assist after setting up Kelly Polacek who fired a hard shot into the goal. Polacek then scored another unanswered goal off a beautiful pass from Katherine Norton. Fiona Mueller did a fantastic job protecting the goal and keeping Monroe scoreless in the first half.
With a commanding 5-0 lead going into the second half, the Red were instructed to focus on their passing game. They never slacked off and looked confident and sharp as they controlled the ball for long stretches of play. Monroe managed to tally a goal off a scramble in front of the net. However, Gelvin once again proved her goaltending prowess by thwarting many Monroe shots, including a diving save to secure the win.
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New Canaan Girls U11 Black Soccer Kickoff the Spring Season with 3-1 Win Over Darien
The New Canaan Girls U11 Black team controlled the play in much of the contest and finished the first half up 1-0 thanks to strong pass from Maiah Oyekanmi to a breaking Anna Barnard who cleanly beat the Darien net minder.
The girls picked up the pace in the second period generating numerous scoring opportunities. When the play did get bogged down in mid-field Maiah Oyekanmi took charge and streaked down the wing through several defenders to open space and the goal to make it 2-0.
Darien was not without their chances, but they could not solve goaltender Lauren Doherty who stood tough in the net. Zoe Walker put the icing on the cake with huge individual effort to force the ball to the net and score on a bad angle.
Next week the girls face archrival Stamford in what is sure to be a physical and exciting rematch.
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Three’s a Charm for U9 Boys Black
Setting the tone for the spring season, the U9 Boy’s Black won their season opener against Norwalk, 3-2.
The ball spent the majority of the first half in the middle of the field as the teams battled back and fourth for control. Nathan Sieckhaus and Enzo Fredericks kept the ball from getting deep into scoring position. Alex Werner, Chase Abbott and Finn Greiner worked the sidelines to try and set up the offense for a break away. The strategy worked and midway through the half, Nate Ehrlich made a nice sideline pass to Luke Frame for a fast break and the first goal. Offense kept up the pressure on Norwalk with Matthew Stimpson, Cyrus Pearson, Nate Markin and Nis Tuga working together for some shots on goal, but time ran out and the half closed with New Canaan leading 1-0.
In the second half, Norwalk charged out and answered New Canaan’s goal. Goalie Benji Sturcke made a terrific save on a tricky ball bouncing off the goal’s side posts. The score remained tied until a successful penalty kick by Frame put New Canaan in the lead again only to be tied up again by Norwalk. With the minutes ticking down, Fletcher Heron shut down the ball at the midfield and several nice clears from the defense put the ball back in a New Canaan scoring position. Frame scored a hat trick in the final minute and the game ended 3-2 for New Canaan.
Coach James Nicholas said it all when he said: “All the boys contributed to our win.”