Youth Sports Roundup: Bicycle Kick Finishes ‘Greatest Comeback Ever’

Soccer

NCFC Boys Red 2007, Greatest Comeback Ever

—submitted by Ed Ho

If any fans paid to watch this match, they would have headed for the exits early to beat the traffic. Dominated for over 62 of 70 minutes by Fairfield and down by a seemingly insurmountable lead, the NCFC Boys, Coach Dan and the usually effervescent parents acted like defeat had already been etched into this weekend’s record book.

For those of us who love sports, we live for the moments that take us out of our seats and transport us to that magical wonderful place where athletes do something truly exceptional. Ahhh but let’s not rush to that moment just yet…

After falling 3-0 early in the second half, Chase Harden kept NC’s slim hopes alive by taking a few bricks and some mortar and building a wall around the NC goal. While I may have lost count, it seemed like Harden turned away at least six shots with a few blistered towards his outstretched arms. And while Brooks Walker and Joacquin Blanco valiantly chased down the Fairfiield front line, their attack seemed to swarm around the goal for most of the second half. Shane McMahon, Rogan Lowe, Sajan Shah, William “birthday boy” Arnold, Max Ocho Maggard, Drew DeGaetano and Ryan Stannard all tried to lead a NC counter attack to no avail. No shots, no goals and time wasting away. Hopelessness began to settle in.

While we all try to guess what turns matches like these around, let’s leave that to another day. “Turn the page” and pick up the action at the 63^rd minute with less than 8 minutes to go, NCFC down 3-0.

Joacquin Blanco beat a Fairfield player and spotted Rohan Shenoy sprinting down the right wing. Shenoy took the pass, beat the defense while drawing them to the right side. Spotting a red shirt racing towards the left side, Shenoy struck a clean cross towards Dylan Ho who slid and led the ball into the goal for NC’s first goal. A few small cheers erupted but the goal seemed too little and too late.

However, the NC boys fed off that change of momentum – that little spark. And then, like he did a few times last year, Javier Minuesa put on his Superman cape and took over the match. Responding to the urgent “C’mon New Canaan” cheers, Minuesa took a pass at the midfield dribbled past several defenders and from well beyond the left side of the Fairfield box, he struck what one can only described as a thing of beauty. Sailing for over 20 yards in the air, Minuesa’s shot found the upper right corner. WOW, what a goal and 3-2 to Fairfield with less than 2 minutes to spare.

NOW for the main event —with under a minute to play, NC had a corner kick from the right side. Pause for a second here. After some Google research, this parent estimates that less than 0.5% of corner kicks result in a first touch goal. Bennett Petrusiello, who diligently practices corner kicks in his yard, hit a perfectly arced ball into the front of Fairfield’s goal with several red shirts ready to pounce. And suddenly, like a bolt of lightning, Minuesa turned his back to the goal, jumped straight in the air and executed a BICYCLE KICK (r u kidding?) flawlessly, meeting the ball 5 feet in the air with his right foot knocking it into the back of the net…UNBELIEVABLE!@!

With sheer joy and jubilation, the NCFC Boys, Coach Dan and the parents all acknowledged that they just witnessed something truly special. First, an amazing comeback by a group of 10 year old boys and second the greatest goal—EVER.

Thanks for not leaving early sports fans.

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2006 New Canaan Red  3 – Westport 1

—submitted by Jennifer Achille

It was a tough fought defensive 1^st half with  Kaylee See in goal and Devon Russellplaying great defense. With a great move, Nikki Ferraro scored a goal giving  New Canaan a lead, 1-0. Soon after, Summer Achille had a great shot on goal that hit the cross bar. The half ended 1-0 New Canaan.

In the second half, New Canaan dominated the play with continued great defense and goal keeping by Katie Quill and overall great play by Lila Gizzie and Kathryn Norton. Goals were scored by Emma Finnerty and Maeve Hibbert with an assist by Grace Driscoll. The final score was New Canaan 3 Westport 1.

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New Canaan’s U13 Girl’s Soccer Shuts Out Darien on Sunday

—submitted by Kara Underwood

On a beautiful Sunday afternoon, New Canaan’s U-13 soccer team bested Darien 5-0 in a match at Middlesex Middle School. Less than 5 minutes into the game, Kelly Polacek crossed the ball to Tessa Cosco who banged in New Canaan’s first goal. Cosco scored the second goal with an assist from Izzy Schuh. Shortly thereafter, Caroline Underwood hammered in a strong shot just outside of the box for the third goal.

New Canaan’s strong midfielders—Maggie Murphy, Stella Nolan, Julia Dunn and Reagan Quinn—controlled the ball and maintained possession throughout, putting strong pressure on Darien’s goalie. Lexi Tully scored the fourth goal with a cross from Cosco. New Canaan’s goalie, Ella Imbruce, denied Darien’s attempts at goal with strong defensive assistance from Avery Laird, Kate Caione, Peyton Zaletsky, Nola Kammerer and Natalie Plosker. Just before the half, Evelyn Slatoff sent a pass to Schuh who passed up to Natalie “Noodle” Owlsley for the fifth goal of the game.

In the second half, New Canaan’s Schuh was fierce in goal, deftly denying Darien’s three attempts to score—while New Canaan’s offense played keep-away from Darien.

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New Canaan Boys 07 White Shuts Out Shelton U11 White: 4-0

—submitted by Anne Walker

The hot humid weather on Sunday did not stop the boys from coming up on top against Shelton at Saxe. NC dominated most of the game with goalie Jack Regan effectively preventing Shelton from getting on the scoreboard. During the first half, the first goal by Simon Tchakarov came off a great assist from Ellis Frey and at half time, the score stood at 1 to 0. In the second half, the boys ramped it up. Tchakarov scored again off of an assist by Joey DeKlerk. Soon after, Gianmarco Barrato slammed an shot in off of an assist by Gustavo do Valle. As the clock ticked down, Tchakarov scored the final goal off a penalty kick. Good communication and passing and great defense brought the boys their second win of the season.

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New Canaan Girls 09 Red Shellacs Shelton: 2-1

—submitted by Anne Walker

NC Girls 09 Red’s first win came against U9 Shelton Orange, a team that has been playing a level up together for a year. Even as the girls got used to a larger field and competitive play, they showed they are a force to be reckoned with. At their early morning game at Shelton on Sunday, they dominated the first half, so much so that Niamh Cooney in goal only touched the ball once. The offense—Mimi Matviak, Madison Schulte, Maggie Newport and Sienna de Kanter kept the ball active on Shelton side, with many scoring opportunities and shots on goal and eventually Maggie Greiner broke away to score NC’s first goal. Midfielders Kathleen Langford and Susanna Moor effectively kept the ball from nearing NC’s side. With NC in the lead at half time, the girls kept the pressure on with Kathleen, Niamh and Maddie Kupchek on offense and Whitney Hoegstedt, in a breakaway, scoring a second goal. At that point, however, tension grew as the girls began to tire and Shelton scored, bringing the game to 2-1. Putting the pressure on NC, they fired several more on NC’s goal, including a penalty shot, but goalie Maggie N. proved to be a wall, stopping everything else that came her way. The girls tried hard, ran fast and passed well. Their strong effort resulted in their first win of the season against a formidable opponent. Congratulations girls!!

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New Canaan Football Club ’09 Girls White Win Over Shelton 4-2

—submitted by Jessica Havens

New Canaan ’09 Girls White played a great game on Sunday in their first away game of the season. The girls started their game with great energy and excitement which stayed with them through both halves. The girls used their communication skills and teamwork passing the ball to each other and finding holes in the field to place balls effectively.

Highlights of the first half included two goals by Haley Schlafman and great defense by Maryn Plumb earning her nickname “The Wall.” Lizzie Havens had a few good saves in the goal – one did get by bringing the score to 2-1. Catherine Havens was able to score for a 3-2 lead at halftime.

In the second half, Riley Mountford was in the goal making some great saves. However, Shelton scored bringing the score to 3-2. Schlafman then cemented the win by scoring another goal for a final winning score of 4-2. The girls fought hard for their win and their enthusiasm and avid cheering from their teammates on the side lines made for an exciting afternoon.

Well played NCFC ’09 Girls White on a very hot September Sunday!

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New Canaan 2005 Girls Black defeats FUSA White

—submitted by Mike Mottolese

In this young season, the New Canaan 2005 girls team has struggled to come together on the field, however this Sunday was a different story. In a game that saw New Canaan top Fairfield 5-0, the girls demonstrated patience, executed smart passes, and communicated on the field.

The early part of the game saw some back and forth action, with both teams pressuring the other’s zone. Rory McCarthy started the scoring on a breakaway in which she appeared to be in a different gear. Breaking free from her defender, she blasted it in to make it 1-0.

KK Mottolese broke free on her own, sending it to Ava Dunn who shot on goal only to be stopped by the goalpost on an unlucky break. McCarthy’s aggressive play continued, but she demonstrated unselfish playing and crossed to Alex Gelvin who reversed to Emily Fox who blasted it in to make it 2-0.

The Fairfield keeper kept her team in the game stopping the first of many good shots on goal by Jocelyn Riley.
Fox scored her second goal of the game after a rebound caromed her way, and she took the time to aim it in the upper far corner of the goal for the score, making it a career game for Fox. 3-0 New Canaan.

Midway through the second half, McCarthy and Charlotte Walter moved the ball up the field and Walter teamed up with Riley for the give-and-go, to give Walter the score, upping the tally to 4-0. Grace Martucci, Amanda Benson and Reagan Bailey patrolled on defense keeping the ball out of their zone, and Fox added a great save as second half keeper, to preserve the shutout.

To close out the game, Gelvin found herself ahead of the pack and drilled one home to seal the 5-0 win for the New Canaan Girls.

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Football

New Canaan Football Club ’07 Boys Black Win 4-0 over Old Greenwich White Thunder

—submitted by Jessica Havens

After a heart breaking loss in overtime for CT Cup on Saturday, NCFC ’07 Boys Black came back and played a great game Sunday against Old Greenwich. Highlights of the first half included a goal by Quinn Scanlan on a cross bringing the score to 1-0. Donovan West in the goal made some great saves as Old Greenwich kept the pressure on him. Drew Zoccolillo then shot a goal which ripped right past Greenwich’s goalie bring the score to 2-0. Alex Etergino had multiple shots on goal and Gregory Martin played solid defense.

In the second half, Oliver Sturn scored a goal from a break away at kick off bringing the score to 3-0. Old Greenwich tried to put pressure on our defense but Stuart Hellmann held them at bay. Will Sullivan scored the final goal of the game from the 18, cementing the win for NCFC ’07 Boys Black.

Hopefully ’07 Boys Black will keep up their winning streak with their first away game this Sunday against Norwalk!

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Field Hockey

NCYFH 7Red Wrecks Westport 5-1

—submitted by Darleen Ferraro

The word Wreckers could be seen all over the field and sidelines on Sunday, September 17^th as NC 7Red played their second game of the season in Westport. Fortunately for NC Red, they were the ones doing the wrecking.

The day was hot and the sun was shining; a great day for field hockey.

The defensive line, headed by Lucy Parsons-Hills, goalie, was strong and they turned up the heat as they got the ball to the midfielders who gracefully swept past Westport and sent it to the offensive line so they could drive it into the net. Skylar Bennett, Taylor Cloud, Cece Easley, Abigail Evans, Christina Ferriera, Saige Hartslief, Victoria Lockhart, Avery Morawa, Youl Na,

Abby Richardson and Hannah Smick all helped the following goals to be made: Katherine O’Connell scored her first goal of the season, Ellie Parkhill scored her first goal of the season and had an assist, Polly Parsons-Hills had four amazing shots on goal and an assist, and Shawna Ferraro walked away with three goals, two assists and three shots on goal for the day.

Coach Cari Hills was overjoyed with how well the team played together and walked off the field with a big smile. Hopefully, this winning streak continues as they face their biggest rival this Saturday, the 23^rd, against Darien, 2:00 p.m. at Dunning Stadium.