New Canaan Soccer Girls U10 Red Team Shuts Out Darien 1-0
Katharine Byrne moves the ball up field. Contributed
The New Canaan Soccer Girls U10 Red Team posted their third shutout of the season when they beat their rival the Darien Blue team on Sunday. On an unusually hot day in Darien, the Red and the Blue faced off for what turned out to be a scorcher of a game.
The first half of the game was a true battle for possession of the ball and field position. The New Canaan defense formed an impenetrable force to be reckoned with. Defensive players Kate Caione and Ava Gizzie shut down the Darien pressure by continually running down the Darien offense and turning the play around back up the field. Ella Patterson was perfect tending the goal for the first half and came up big with multiple saves to hold Darien scoreless.
As the game heated up the offense worked hard as a team moving the ball with precision passes and tactics, yet they were unable to find the net. Pressuring the Darien defense, New Canaan had multiple scoring opportunities but came up shy and the half ended with the game knotted at 0-0.
After a much needed half time break, the teams returned to the field and picked up where they left off. The tension of the game was palpable, but the momentum seemed to have shifted toward New Canaan as the Red Team offense controlled the tempo of the game. It was ten minutes into the half when Ella Patterson made a flawless crossing pass to Caroline Underwood who proceeded to blast a shot into the net. Underwood’s goal broke the tie and re-energized the team with a 1-0 lead.
As time ticked away, once again the New Canaan defense was rock solid. With nerves of steel, Sage Hartslief closed out the half in goal stopping Darien’s last minute attempts to tie the game. One goal was all that would be necessary on this day as Hartslief’s and Patterson’s goal tending combined for the 1-0 shutout victory.
***
New Canaan U9 Boys Black Defeats Redding
Under the sweltering sun, New Canaan U9 Boys Black handily defeated Redding 7-1 with masterful passing, effective communication and unrelenting pressure on the goal. The starting offensive line of Luke Frame, Matthew Stimpson and Finn Grenier charged on Redding’s goal with determined persistence. When the action entered New Canaan’s half of the field, the starting defensive team of Fletcher Heron, Alex Werner, Nathan Sieckhaus, Chase Abbott and goalie Cyrus Pearson consistently shut down Redding’s offense and returned the ball to New Canaan’s control. New Canaan’s first goal was scored when defensive wall Fletcher Heron returned to Finn Grenier on the left offensive line, securing the first of the team’s six goals in the half. Nate Markin’s ball control and speed kept the offensive pressure from the right. When Markin threw-in a perfectly placed ball to offensive mid Nate Ehrlich, Ehrlich released to Grenier who scored his and New Canaan’s second goal. Benji Sturke wasted no time and quickly scored New Canaan’s third. Sturke and Ehrlich scored New Canaan’s fourth and fifth goals, and the Mercy Rule went into effect when Alex Werner scored the sixth. Redding pulled their goalie and played the rest of the first half with 8 players on the field. NC Coach James Nicholas continued to rotate players and positions throughout the game, and the boys maintained control during the second half, thanks in part to the tenacity of Nis Tuga, who scored New Canaan’s seventh goal. Giving Redding only one goal for the game, U9 Boys Black focused on passing and communication to win this one for New Canaan.