U11 ’06 Red Girls Soccer Team Rises to the Occasion
—submitted by Darlene Ferraro
The U11 2006 Girls Red Soccer Team coached by Luke Green proudly displaying their championship medals. Contributed
It was a breezy, yet comfortable day on Saturday, Sept. 3 at Onatru Park in South Salem, N.Y. as the U11 2006 Red Girls’ Soccer Team stepped onto the field for the very first time.
After only two practices together, the parents were unsure on how the day was going to play out. Fortunately, the team’s coach, Luke Green was able to work his magic and skillfully, in “Greeny” fashion, work the sidelines by calling out his famous one-liners like: “Pressure girls, recycle please and positions everyone.”
It sure proved to be helpful as these girls played with amazing strength and unyielding determination. All of this led them to a tournament championship win that will never be forgotten.
Game One was played against Scarsdale Celtic. The final score of 4-0 made the U11 Red ecstatic about their first win as a team. The first goal to make it in the net was a full volley in the upper right corner by Fiona Mueller. She must have sparked some enthusiasm in this crew because the next goal was a beautiful string of passes started by Ava Pertusiello who then passed to Fiona Mueller who magically kicked it to Nikki “Ferrari” Ferraro who then hammered it into the net. The third goal of the game was again scored by Ferraro off of an amazing rebound shot made by Chloe Oyekanmi. To close out the game, Hadley Walker gracefully passed to Devon Russell who strategically put it in the net to make the final score 4-0. As you can see this was a group effort by all including Katie Quill who tremendously helped the team out by passing the ball downfield numerous times.
Game Two was played against Wilton White. Again, this game ended in a victory for the team 4-1. Oyekanmi picked up the first goal of the game with a swift kick inside the net. Mueller was the second to score off of a rebound which came actually from the other goalie’s head. Tema Wagner held nothing back as she offensively kept her team in scoring position with her quick feet and swift passes. Grace Almeida put up a tough fight outside the net and would not let up until she beautifully got it past the goalie and scored. Pertusiello was the final goal scorer in Game Two with a strong kick that scored from the corner of the net. This team was off to the Championships.
After a few hours of rest and relaxation, the girls ran onto the field for the last and final game of the day. The excitement level was high and so was their energy. The Championship Game was against Wilton Blue. In addition to the challenge of a great opponent to beat, the girls also had to beat the sun that was shining in their eyes as they shot, passed and kicked the ball around.
The game started and it was obvious that there was an extra amount of aggression from both teams who were fighting for a win. Only the U11 Red pulled it off with such skill and grace. Speaking of grace, Almeida was the first to score in the game as her position of Center helped her be in the right place, at the right time as she ran up the field and shot one in. Our last and final goal for the day was scored by Cecelia Patterson who fought effortlessly all day long to help her team make it to the finals. This talented group of girls ended the day with a 2-1 win over Wilton.
As with all sports, what makes a team great is not just one player, but the magnanimous effort by all players. This team surely understands this philosophy and played remarkably well together. The day ended with a championship win that would not have been possible without the amazing goal saves by our “resident” goalkeeper, Lila Volpe. With continual sun in her eyes, she jumped on balls, ran up and grabbed shots, kicked amazing shots downfield and because of all this, only let in two goals for the entire day. Of course, with a great goalie comes a great defensive line and Kathryn Norton exemplified what it means to be there for her goalie. All day long she could be seen running cross-field attacking opponents and using fancy footwork as well as tons of speed to get the ball to the other side of the field.
Yes, the U11 ‘06 Red did rise to the occasion on Saturday, Sept. 3. The first of hopefully many, successful wins. Helen Keller said it best when she uttered these 12 simple words, “Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much.” This was portrayed by all and a great team victory was achieved.
Jack Thompson in goal and L-R: Billy Halsell, Conor Joyce and Charlie O’Neil. Contributed
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New Canaan U9 Black Boys Team Advances to Tourney Final
New Canaan’s U9 Black team kicked off the 2016 season at the John Jay tournament with three tremendous victories and a hard fought loss in the tournament championship game. Over the course of the four games the team saw great contributions in goal by Alex Sillo, Charlie O’Neil, and Jack Thompson, who delivered a shut out in the team’s third victory of the day.
NCFC Boys 2008 Black Group Photo Jamboree. Contributed
On offense the team featured a balanced attack led by Jeremy Schubert, Archie Hancock, Nolan McLaughlin, Cooper Fox and Conor Joyce. James Dunkin, Adrian Novthny, Jack Ryan, and Billy Halsell controlled the middle of the field and the defensive zone, while also delivering key offense throughout the day.
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New Canaan Girls U12 Black Go 3-1 at Fairfield Tourney
—submitted by Michael Mottolese
(R to L) Amanda Benson, Kate Dickinson, Reagan Bailey, Natalie Plosker
NC U12 Girls Black had a lot to prove in Fairfield this weekend. Although the team has some new additions due to the age realignment, it’s largely the same team that went 0-4 and left last year’s tourney discouraged. So when they finished the day this past Saturday at 3-1 for the tournament, they left feeling pretty good about themselves.
The early morning game saw New Canaan edge out Wilton’s Blue team 1-0. New Canaan controlled the offensive zone in the first half, and Abby Richardson scored on a corner kick from Abby Holmstead to make it 1-0.
The second half had Wilton in New Canaan’s half of the field, but sweeping defense from Natalie Plosker, Amanda Benson and Reagan Bailey kept the ball away from Goalkeeper KK Mottolese’s hands. Great midfield play from Peyton Franz, Kelly Marchiony and Ava Dunn also helped seal the win.
In their only loss of the day, Darien Blue seemed a step ahead of New Canaan all game, defeating them 3-0. Despite some offensive pressure from Lauryn Lee, and Alexandra Gelvin, the Darien keeper was strong and kept New Canaan off the board. Charlotte Walter pitched in as goalie to keep the game within reach by making some nice saves.
Game 3 saw New Canaan dominate Fairfield USA in a one-sided match. After four early New Canaan goals, two by Holmstead and one by Richardson, and a penalty kick from Walter, New Canaan was held to just one more late goal for the remainder of the game. Richardson scored the first goal with help from speedster Reagan Quinn who sprung free and found Richardson for the assist. Holmstead’s first goal was aided by Delaney Hoey who worked the ball in close to the goal, and Abby drove it home. Quinn again found Holmstead for the third goal of the game. Walter’s penalty kick was the result of a handball in front of the Fairfield goal. The last goal of the game came on a Plosker corner kick to Franz who shot on goal only to be stopped, but Benson rebounded it and drove it home.
In the one game playoff, New Canaan played Simsbury in a very evenly played match. New Canaan had a great scoring chance early on, with Kate Dickinson and Holmstead ready to boot the ball at close range. However, the Simsbury defender would have none of it and blasted the ball away from the two threats, unfortunately she kicked it past her keeper and into her own goal. A tough way to win a game, but the NC girls were gracious and good sports about it. Mottolese came out from the goal to help on defense, and the score stayed at 1-0 for the final.
The girls left Fairfield feeling good about their first outing and are looking forward to a great regular season.
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New Canaan Girls Red U12 Outscore Opponents 11-4, Lose on PK’s
—submitted on behalf of John Dunn
It was an early start for the New Canaan Red U12 Girls squad as they took the pitch Saturday morning in the John Jay Tournament in South Salem, NY.
The team came out firing on all cylinders as they overwhelmed their bracket winning their first 2 games by scores of 4-1 and 6-2. Caroline Underwood set the tone in Game 1 versus Ridgefield Black as she not only scored the first goal off her own steal but set up her teammates beautifully. The Ridgefield squad had no answers for Izzy Schuh‘s pressure upfront and Peyton Zaletsky‘s steady defense in back. Kelly Polacek, Ella Imbruce and Stella Nolan rounded out the scoring in the 4-1 victory.
Game 2 was as good a performance as one can see this early in the season as the entire team brought their A game in jumping out to a 6-0 lead. Tessa Cosco was dominant as she scored the first two goals for the team and made her presence felt throughout. Kate Caione controlled play from the middle of the pitch and had a beautiful assist setting up Polacek for her second goal on the day. The team put on a passing clinic for their 4th and 5th goals as no fewer than 4 players, highlighted by Maggie Murphy‘s 2 assists, put their toe on the ball before finding the net. Caione got her first of the day as she flew down the left sideline before blasting it in. Evelyn Slatoff and Avery Laird took turns in goal and frustrated their opponents throughout.
Playing against home team John Jay in the championship game, the girls started slowly falling behind 1-0 at the 5-minute mark. Once the girls got their footing and adjusted to their opponents physical play their superior skill began to show. For 20 minutes the team kept play on the John Jay side and finally tied the score when Julia Dunn led a streaking Schuh down the left side who broke in to the goal and blasted one in. Alexis Tully and Natalie Owsley kept the pressure on and only a great save by John Jay’s goalie on Tully kept the score knotted at one. John Jay finally countered but Peyton Zaletsky made a huge save in goal with less than 2 minutes left and Slatoff ran half the length of the field to get back on D to thwart the only other real John Jay scoring chance. The New Canaan team finished strong and had two more scoring chances thwarted by the crossbar and regulation ended with the score tied at 1.
Tournament rules did not allow for the girls to finish the job in overtime but went straight to penalty kicks where the girls fell just short.