New Canaan 8 Red Beats Wilton 3-2
—submitted by Allison Totaro
Molly Reed and Hannah Smick both go in for the kill to stop their opponent from getting to the net. Darleen Ferraro photo
New Canaan 8 Red had their work cut out for them with tough competition from Wilton on Sunday evening, September 30th playing over the border in Wilton. The first half of the game seemed to be going well with another shutout for goalie, Amelia Totaro, thanks to the offensive and defensive key players of the game: Taylor Cloud, Abigail Evans, Cristina Ferreira, Sage Hartslief, Victoria Lockhart, Avery Morawa, Youll Na, Katherine O’Connell, Ellie Parkhill, Polly Parsons-Hills, Molly Reed, Abby Richardson, and Hannah Smick. They each did their part by keeping the ball away from the net. It was a defensive game and one strategic play was made by Ellie Parkhill who attacked the ball and made a great clear that catapulted the ball down the field. Polly Parsons-Hills scored the two goals in the first half with her impressive top left corner hook.
Abby Evans, Ellie Parkhill and Delaney Hoey (Goalie) try to defend a sweep made by Wilton. Darleen Ferraro photo
The second half proved to be tough for New Canaan when Wilton packed on the heat. Goalie, Delaney Hoey, tried hard, but Wilton dominated the field during the beginning of the second half and scored two goals. The New Canaan parents were losing their minds in the stands with their limited field hockey knowledge, but yet still were able to provide motivational commentary to the girls. Once again, Polly Parsons-Hills saved the day with her drive from the 15 yard line during the last 10 minutes of the game, bringing the score to 3-2. This seemed to give Wilton a reality check and they realized that they would not be able to steal the game away from New Canaan no matter how hard they tried. And, thankfully, all the New Canaan parents finally got to say, “Amen, game over!”
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New Canaan 7 Red Defeats Westport 4-1
—submitted by Sarah Haddad
Maisy Ricciardelli scores the final goal of the game! Contributed
Sunday afternoon was a beautiful day for field hockey, and New Canaan 7 Red made the most of it with an exciting win over Westport 4-1 to continue their undefeated season. So far, this fierce group of 7th graders has outmatched each opponent for a 4-0 season.
Led by Coach Cari Hills, the New Canaan 7 Red team came out aggressively in the first half, scoring two goals within the first five minutes. Early goals by Elizabeth Doak and Nora Moley gave the team a 2-0 lead. New Canaan continued to play aggressively, dominating during the 1st half, with a third goal by Shannon Ratner to bring the score to 3-0. The strong Westport team wasn’t giving up, however, and scored a goal on a penalty corner with 30 seconds remaining in the first half, bringing the score to 3-1.
In the team huddle Coach Hills commented that she was pleased the team came out strong in the first half by pressuring the ball to cause turnovers, transitioning the ball quickly upfield, and taking strong shots at the top of the circle which allowed teammates to capitalize on scoring off the rebounds. She warned that Westport is a very strong team so the team needed to continue to keep the play in the offensive end to defend the lead.
As expected, Westport intensified its offence in the second half, but defenders Claire Ognibene, Izzy Apelt, Abbie Dymond, and Gianna Caldero kept the pressure up. Maisy Ricciardelli scored a powerful fourth goal in the second half, to widen the lead to 4-1. The determined Westport team, however, didn’t let up. Goalie, Lucy Parsons-Hills had a tremendous game, making 9 saves, with one spectacular diving stop with 2 minutes left in the game. Lucy’s solid performance held off the Westport team for a final score of 4-1.
7 Red was excited to win against such a determined team and continue their undefeated season. The 7 Red team this year includes Izzy Apelt, Gianna Caldero, Lucy Carroll, Elizabeth Doak, Abbie Dymond, Catherine Haddad, Audrey Ives, Rani Joshi, Nora Moley, Claire Ognibene, Lucy Parsons-Hills, Shannon Ratner, Maisy Ricciardelli, Margot Stanley, and Harper Teles. Way to go girls!