U14 Girls Red Division-A Blanks Ridgefield 5-0
The New Canaan (NC) U14 Girls Red Division-A travel soccer team on Saturday blanked Ridgefield (5-0), notching their 5th consecutive shutout and 6th overall.
Taylor Frame led NC’s offensive machine as she posted a hat trick in the first half of the match. Frame’s first goal occurred at the 12th minute mark after receiving a well-placed pass from NC midfielder Maddie Otero. An eager Frame scored 2 minutes later going around the Ridgefield goalie as Frame duped the keeper to commit and go to ground.
At the 26th minute mark the Ridgefield goalkeeper spilled out NC striker Sophie Curcio shot to a lurking Frame who finished it off completing her hat trick. Five minutes into the second half, NC midfielder Katherine Lisecky threaded a beautiful pass through the Ridgefield center backs and then NC striker Charlie Gardner ignited her jets getting to the ball first where she drilled it high into the back of the nets putting NC up 4-nil.
Ten minutes later, NC’s high pressing center back Elizabeth DeMarino was able to chip all the Ridgefield midfielders connecting with NC striker Jane Charlton who punched through the remaining center backs to score the final goal of the game. NC’s tenacious rotating defensive back line anchored mainly by Sophie Potter, Elizabeth DeMarino, Natalie Lopez, and Caroline Wilson as well as goalkeeper Michelle LaBadie kept Ridgefield mostly in check. The only threat to the shutout came late in the match when Ridgefield followed up on a rebound striking the ball towards the far post where it was saved by NC’s Lizzie Kuchinski who was playing right back.
On Sunday, NC’s same impenetrable defense rose again to the challenge and posted yet another shutout match as NC knotted Darien away 0-0. NC had 2 great scoring opportunities in the second half but was unable to put the ball on target. The first came when a NC striker just missed the right post by inches and the second was from a lofting corner kick from Charlton into the 6-yard box which was headed just over the crossbar.
Darien was also unable to find the back of the nets as they also had 2 great scoring opportunities. The first was when Darien striker #8 blasted one from outside the 18 yard box that rang the crossbar in the first half and then later in the second half #8 received a cross at the top of the 6 yard box which she pounced on but just sailed it over the crossbar.
From left to right: Alex Werner, Max Lowe ( with ball) Fletcher Heron and Augusto Baldini. Contributed
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U10 Boys Red Beats Old Greenwich 5-3
The New Canaan U10 Boys Red Team led by Darren Kelso put the pressure on early in a strong 5-3 win against Old Greenwich this past weekend.
Shortly after the whistle blew, Jack Cuda attacked the ball and scored the first goal. Connor Lytle followed suit to bring the score to 2-0. The first half ended with only one goal by Old Greenwich thanks to the aggressive goal keeping of Jayden Oyekanmi and the defensive moves of Alex Werner, Augusto Baldini, Cole Wilson, Fletcher Heron and Ted Werner.
The second half intensity started with goalkeeper, Ben Bilden throwing to Will Langford who planted a stunning ball right into the goal. Greenwich went onto tie the score but not for long: Max Lowe controlled the ball and passed it to Lytle for his second goal. With minutes left, Henry Silva smartly moved the ball down the field to finish off the game with final goal.
Jackson Mountford breaking away for a shot on goal
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Boys U9 Black Come Back to Tie Shelton Orange 3-3
It was an exciting day for New Canaan’s Boys U9 Black as they tied Shelton Orange. Coming together in a strong show of team play, the boys fought hard and were on the offensive most of the first half, with Jackson Mountford breaking away to score the first goal in the game. Harry Mayock warded off all Shelton’s shots on goal, keeping NC in the lead at the end of the first half.
In a nail-biting second half, Shelton pulled ahead with two consecutive goals early on but NC responded with a mid-field bomb by Alex Srinivasan that sailed over the goalie into the upper left-hand corner, tying the score. Hugo Sutton had several huge saves in goal for NC but Shelton managed to squeeze another by. But not to be deterred, Jackson Mountford, with an assist from Andrew Zoccolillo, put the final score at 3-3 just minutes before the end of the game. It was a good end to a busy Halloween weekend for the U9 Boys Black.
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U12 Girls Red Bests Ridgefield 3-1
The U-12 girls red team defeated Ridgefield on Sunday at Tiger Hollow Stadium with a score of 3-1. Being post-Halloween, it was a very tough first half which ended with a score of 0-0. Ridgefield had many more shots on goal in the first half but goalie Ashley Barton made the great saves.
Coach Dan Clarke energized the girls at the half with his inspirational talk and they came back and controlled the second half. The girls controlled the ball play to create three amazing scoring opportunities. First goal was shot over the goalies head into the right hand corner by Grace Crowell. The second goal came from Hollis Mulry with an assist by Crowell and the last goal was by Jade Lowe with a strong shot from quite a distance.
The defense played well led by Kaleigh Harden, Emma Lamaker and Angelica Megdanis. There were other great offensive moments from Hadley Beiles, Kiki Brainard and Kaleigh Griffiths and Avery Minter. Crowell and Maiah Oyekenmi were players of the game….Well done girls!
Charles Cushman keeping pressure on Trumbull. Contributed
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U9 Boys White New Canaan FC tie Trumbull 2-2
It was an upset for U9 White boys to tie Trumbull Sunday as they were leading the game 2-0 until the last five minutes when Trumbull came back to score two goals.
The first half started off with a lot of pressure on U9 White’s goalie Oliver Sturn. But thanks to a combination of multiple saves by Sturn, great pressure by Charles Cushman and defensive saves by Simon Tchakarov, the first half ended with a tie score of 0-0.
U9 White came back from halftime with renewed energy and focus. Brooks Thompson had a beautiful goal from a free kick 25 yards out. Thompson then quickly took the ball down the field again, scoring another goal for a 2-0 lead over Trumbull. Trumbull bounced back quickly and took the ball down to White’s goal but thanks to a nice save by Jack Mitchell, Trumbull was unable to score. White fought hard with Ian Crerend keeping nice pressure on Trumbull. Unfortunately in the last five minutes, Trumbull took the ball down the field and scored two quick goals bringing it to a tie game of 2-2. U9 White takes a break this weekend and will play their last game on Sunday, November 15th against Old Greenwich.
The girls congratulate Ferraro on her goal. Contributed
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Hat Trick for Maddie Tully as NC Red Girls Outlast Stamford
The NC Red girls traveled to Stamford this past Sunday to face off against the formidable Hurricanes.
The NC Red girls’ opening field position proved to be a slight disadvantage as they started the game with the late day sun directly in their eyes. A bit bedazzled, the girls had some trouble finding their rhythm in early play as Coach Luke had to sternly remind them to “stop giving the ball to the Black team.” Following a few clutch saves from NC Red keeper, Lila Gizzie, Stamford managed to score first bringing the score to 0-1. Undaunted, the NC Red girls continued to press on until late in the first half when the Stamford keeper blocked a powerful shot from Kallie Patterson only to have Maddie Tully recover the deflection and deftly tap in the goal to tie the game 1-1 going into the half.
The NC Red girls opened the second half on the favorable side of the pitch and gained back the advantage. Stamford brought the score to 1-2 on a weak goal following a questionable penalty call but it was all downhill for Stamford from there. Within five minutes, Gizzie, now on left wing, managed to break from a pack of defenders and hammer a shot on goal which was deflected directly into the path of a hard-charging Nikki Ferraro, who blasted the ball past the surprised Stamford keeper to tie the game 2-2. Several minutes later, Sydney Patten broke from some midfield traffic and sent a perfectly timed cross-traffic pass to Tully who left footed the ball into goal bringing the score to 3-2. After several attacks on goal, Payton DeCamillo broke from several defenders on the right side of the pitch and added an important insurance goal bringing the score to 4-2. Following a hand ball in the penalty box against Stamford, Tully smashed the penalty kick past the Stamford keeper and closed out the game with her second hat trick in as many weeks.