Field Hockey
8 Red Team Blanks Ridgefield 2-0
—submitted by Roxanne Mitchell
The Rams youth 8 Red team showed up on Saturday looking for their second win of the season. New Canaan 8 red defeated Ridgefield 8 red for a final score of 2-0.
Rams first goal would come from the Rams midfielders swarming the tigers to create a turnover. Faith Hibbert, Carolyn Baron and Ellie Hanson aggressively moved the ball upfield to Molly Mitchell who shot the ball to Grace Flatow who tipped the shot beautifully past the Ridgefield goalkeeper.
The Rams second goal would come Zoey Bennett, who after gracefully dribbling the ball into the circle. Bennett made a strong flick that would find the back of the cage to extend the lead to 2-0.
The rams offensive line all showing a presence were Perrin Tomasco, Elodie Koo Isabella Dial, Sophia Carlberg, and Caroline Vincent.
The Rams Keira Cooney, Rachel Gillio and Gilinda Bonilla were a strong defensive presence keeping the ball out of Rams territory. Goalkeeper Grace Gillman was strong between the pipes when she was tested.
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Soccer
2006 Red Shuts’em Down this Weekend
—submitted by Darleen Ferraro
The 2006 Red soccer team came out strong on Saturday winning their first game in the CT Cup against Southbury, 3-0. Still overjoyed about their victory from the day before, they turned it up even more against Newtown on Sunday, winning 5-0. There’s no stopping this fearless team.
Emma Finnerty determined not to give up the ball. Credit: Darleen Ferraro
On Saturday, in Southbury, there were a ton of great passes and shots on goal. Nikki Ferraro had the first shot on goal, unfortunately it hit the post. Shortly after a corner kick, Ferraro had an assist to Kailee See who shot it in the net. The team was up 1-0. The effort didn’t stop there for Lila Gizzie, Delaney Bennhoff and Hadley Walker all had great shots on the net. Maeve Hibbert was strong as goaltender and made a few great saves against Southbury. The half ended 1-0 New Canaan.
The second half started and Gizzie made a great pass to Walker who scored making it 2-0. Grace Driscoll and Gizzie made a strong attempt by shooting on the net and Ferraro picked up two additional shots on goal. Fiona Mueller was goaltender and made a great save to keep Southbury from scoring. Katie Quill was incredible when she stopped a goalie kick mid-field. Summer Achille also controlled the ball well and got it down into scoring position. To end the game, Emma Finnerty kicked a shot on the net, the goalie dove for it but couldn’t keep her hands on it, and Ferraro came in for the rebound and scored the third goal of the game. The game ended 3-0 and the team jumped for joy over their first CT Cup win.
Lila Gizzie ready to take a shot on goal. Credit: Darleen Ferraro
On Sunday, besides Newtown being against us, so was the heat and the sun. It was 90 degrees, especially hot and humid even for a summer day let alone one of the first days of fall. The heat seemed to be our only opponent, for the 2006 Red came out with fire and pep. In the first few minutes of the game, Ferraro took two shots on net. Then FInnerty kicked a hard one at the goalie, but it was saved. Ferraro and Finnerty, determined to make it in the net, decided to strategize and while inside the box, Ferraro kicked it to FInnerty who was open and she shot it past the goalie 1-0. Teamwork continued to payoff for this team. Finnerty made another goal with a strong kick to the top left of the net over the goalie’s head. The score was 2-0. After this point, the opponent started to up their game and came downfield into scoring position. Kathryn Norton, out of nowhere, barreled into the ball and intercepted a shot on goal. Newtown was determined to give it another go and tried two more times to score. Fortunately, Hibbert was close by and quickly came in both times to intervene. No goal for Newtown. To end the half, Mueller decided it was her turn to take it to the net with a nice shot on goal with a pass from Amanda Vigano. Devon Russell was in full command as goaltender and made incredible saves keeping the team from scoring in the first half. Her jump save was not to be missed.
Katie Quill running down to score the fifth goal of the day. Credit: Darleen Ferraro
The second half started with a strong play by Norton who took a free kick just outside the penalty box. Then Finnerty gracefully passed the ball to See who ran it up and scored. It was 3-0. Driscoll, Hibbert, and See all took shots on goal in this half, as well as, Mueller and Quill who had two more shots. At this point the girls’ faces were bright red, but that didn’t stop them from continuing to take charge of the field. With a few minutes to go, Finnerty passed across the field to See who then hit a straight shot into the net 4-0. To close-up the game, Gizzie passed to Quill who scored the last goal 5-0. Nikki Ferraro was in the net and made a great save in the second half that shut Newtown down and kept them from scoring. All in all, it was a great, hot weekend of soccer; two away games and two more wins for this strong team.
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NCFC 2007 Red Boys: ‘Charge of the Light Brigade’
—submitted by Ed Ho
HARTFORD—A few of the New Canaan Dads arrived early Saturday afternoon for an away, first round CT Cup match. A common refrain emerged as they watched the opposition, Hartford FC, warming up. “Those boys are really big and they’re taking “cannon” shots on goal.” Not a good omen…
NCFC 2007 Red Boys
So sports fans, that’s only half the setup. If you’ve ever been to one of our matches, you would quickly notice that the 2007 NCFC Red Boys are generally smaller and younger looking than their opponents. But while the boys are frequently undersized in stature, they’re always oversized in COURAGE. Now, for you poetry buffs and military historians, that observation got me thinking about how to start the narration of this exciting CT Cup match where our beloved NCFC Boys took on a bigger, more physical Hartford team. I got it ! Lord Alfred Tennyson’s “Charge of the Light Brigade!”
“Cannon to right of them, cannon to left of them, cannon in front of them, volleyed and thundered.” Yep – just as we feared those Hartford cannons we watched during warmups “volleyed and thundered” at the NC goal early and often. Channeling last week’s beautiful goalkeeping, Chase Harden “fought so well” guarding NC’s goal, and turned away every shot Hartford took at him.
And then 14 (not 600) members of the New Canaan Light Brigade began their charge. “Boldly they rode and well” into enemy territory, with Bennett Pertusiello launching a free kick over the Hartford defense. The high arcing pass led a “charging” Dylan Ho who dove forward with his left leg and knocked the ball into the goal. Kaitlyn Lowe captured the moment on iPhone video and Ho clearly scored a clean goal, but “someone had blundered” by calling offside, negating NC’s 1-0 lead. Undeterred, Joacquin Blanco and Brooks Walker held the back line and cleared “the battery smoke,” opening the way for an NC charge. Rogan Lowe, playing thru injury throughout the match, took a long shot towards a sure handed Hartford keeper who momentarily lost control of the ball. “Right through the line he broke”—Ryan Stannard, the newest member of the brigade. Stannard pounced on the rebound and scored his first goal as a newcomer to NCFC Red. 1-0 to NC. But, as you guessed, that lead would not hold for long.
Early in the 2H, Hartford’s fastest player took a pass on the left wing, sped past the stalwart NC backline and scored the equalizer. “Was there a man dismayed?” No way. Not today.
Javier Minuesa, knocked down by the physical opposition at least six times this day, drew a foul just outside of Hartford’s box. He took the direct kick and nearly scored, but the Hartford keeper leaped high to his left, punched the ball out and turned away Minuesa’s shot. And once again Ryan Stannard with “his sabre bare,” took the rebound and found the back of net, scoring the game winner! Supreme effort and result Ryan. “O the wild charge they made!” 2-1 FINAL. New Canaan victorious in their opening bid for the CT Cup!
“Honor the charge they made, honor the Light Brigade! Noble NCFC Boys” – including Max Maggard, Rohan Shenoy, Drew DeGaetano, Sajan Shah, William Arnold, and Shane McMahon.”
And before I forget, just like Batman says – Thanks Alfred!
FOOTNOTE:
On Sunday, the NCFC ’07 Boys Red Team, faced off against cross town rivals Darien. NCFC won the match in convincing fashion 4-1. Coach Dan in his post-match interview commented, “We won ugly today. But I have to say those last ten minutes against Fairfield (see last week’s “GREATEST COMEBACK EVER”) appear to have turned our season around. The Boys intensity and their desire have been unmatched since against both Hartford yesterday and Darien today.”
Agreed Coach Dan, and remember that Brazil won the World Cup in 1994 with their manager Carlos Alberto Perreira to this day suggesting that Brazil won the most prestigious trophy in the world by “not playing beautiful football.”
What was beautiful were the 4 goals scored by two NC boys – Chase Harden and Javier Minuesa. Harden decided to score rather than save goals – two beautiful direct kicks from beyond the box that even Chase himself could not have saved. Minuesa converted on a direct kick and a PK to put the exclamation point on the “ugly” win.
Keep up the winning ways boys, but perhaps with a little more beauty next weekend! 😉
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New Canaan Girls 09 Red Outplays OGRCC Thunder Blue 4 to 0
—submitted by Anne Matviak
Maggie Newport works to get the ball from a OGRCC player near NC’s goal. Credit: Anne Matviak
The oppressive heat and sun did not stop the NC girls 09 red from playing hard and shutting out Old Greenwich, a team that had been undefeated up until Sunday. The game was slow to start with both teams vying for the first goal for most of the first half. It wasn’t until Kathleen Langford broke free, dribbled down the right wing from midfield and slammed the ball in the goal that the girls could begin to feel confident in having a small margin. This confidence only grew in the second half. Unfortunately for Old Greenwich, one of their defenders accidently put the ball in their own goal while attempting to kick it away from Niamh Cooney as she broke away and charged towards their goal. This two-goal advantage grew to three when a determined Mimi Matviak maneuvered through most of Old Greenwich’s line to score. In the last minutes of the game, Whitney Hoegstedt brought the final tally to four when she stopped a goal kick and fired it back at them. Maddie Kupchek and Maggie Newport added power to the offense while defenders Zanna Moor and Maggie Greiner effectively stopped their opponent from getting too close. When Old Greenwich did slip by, Sienna de Kanter and Madison Schulte in goal blocked any of their attempts, keeping the number of goals against NC at zero.
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New Canaan FC ’09 Girls White dominate Shelton Orange 6-2
—submitted by Jessica Havens
Khloe Martin, Riley Mountford and Haley Schlafman blocking Shelton from scoring on goal. Credit: Jessica Havens
In summer like weather, NCFC ’09 Girls White persevered and beat Shelton’s Academy Orange team 6-2. The start of the first half was a little rocky when Shelton immediately took the ball down the field and scored against Girls White. However, that scoring streak didn’t last long. With excellent coaching from Flo Gamby, Girls White were able to regain control of the ball and Haley Schlafman scored 2 quick goals bringing the score to 2-1 at halftime. Other highlights included Molly Wolterplaying solid defense and good communication skills between all the players.
After a long water break at halftime, Girls White regained their energy and focus. Catherine Havens took the ball down the field and scored giving NCFC a 3-1 lead. Oliver Miller, in goal, was challenged a few times by Shelton’s offense but was able to keep them at bay. Catherine Havens took the ball down the field scoring again for a 4-1 lead. Then to continue the streak, Haley Schlafman scored another goal. Riley Mountford, after multiple shots on goal, also scored bringing the score to 6-1. Shelton continued to apply pressure and scored their last goal bring the final score to 6-2.
Way to go NCFC Girls ’09 Girls White!
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Winning Weekend for New Canaan Girls’ U13 Red Soccer Team
—submitted by Kara Underwood
New Canaan Girls’ U13 Red beat Bristol 5-0 on Saturday in their first game of the Connecticut Cup. Goaltender Ella Imbruce posted a shut-out aided by strong defensive play by Kate “the Sweeper” Caione, Nola Kammerer, Natalie Plosker, Peyton Zaletsky and Reagan Quinn. New Canaan dominated possession in the first half led by forwards Lexi Tully, Kelly Polancek, Izzy Schuh and Julia Dunn. Midfielder Stella Nolan scored New Canaan’s first goal on a left angle kick that sailed through the goalie’s legs. 15 minutes into the first half, Kelly Polancek sent a pass over to Caroline Underwood who kicked a shot over the goalie’s head into the far left corner. Lexi Tully closed the first half with New Canaan’s third goal.
New Canaan continued to pressure Bristol’s goalie with Kate Warner and Tessa Coscoleading New Canaan’s offensive drives in the second half. Lexi Tully sent a cross over to Izzy Schuh who scored NC’s fourth goal. Caroline Underwood stormed the goal on a pass from Lexi to score the fifth and final goal for New Canaan.
On Sunday, New Canaan hosted Newtown on Connor Field in their first home game of the season. With the blazing sun overhead, the girls took to the field for some very physical play. From the start, New Canaan set a strong tone on offense. New Canaan’s goalie Ella Imbruce stopped all shots on goal in the first half and was assisted by strong defensive play from Nola Kammerer, Evelyn Slatoff, Kate Caione and Natalie Plosker. On a pass fromEvelyn Slatoff, Stella Nolan drove the ball down the middle of the field, passed to Julia “Jube” Dunn, whose shot on goal was denied, but set up the opportunity for Lexi Tully to score. Great teamwork, smart passing, and controlled ball possession gave New Canaan’s girls the advantage going into the second half of the game, 1-0.
A few minutes in the second half, Newtown drove down the center, tying the game 1-1. The stalemate didn’t last long; New Canaan answered quickly with strong pressure on the goalie. As defenders were trying to clear the ball, midfielder Maggie Murphy made a great stop and sent the ball soaring back into the goal with a powerful shot just outside the box. Highly competitive play continued thanks to strong ball handling and drives to the offense fromReagan Quinn, Avery Laird, and Peyton Zaletsky. On a pass from Caroline Underwood, Lexi scored New Canaan’s third goal. And just before the final whistle, Lexi sent a strong left cross to Kelly Polancek who sailed in New Canaan’s fourth goal, soundly beating Newtown 4-1.
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FC 2009 Girls Black Team Trounces Weston 5-1
—submitted by Alyson Toombs
The 2009 Girls Soccer Black Travel team handily beat rival Weston last Sunday. The team continues to look very strong with excellent teamwork. Offense really put the pressure on Weston. Eliza DeChristopher (#12) put the first goal in the net. Madeline Gray (#11) and Tori Elezi (#7) each scored two more goals for a 5-1 win. Team defense was strong and played well. This is the girls second win of the season for a 2-0 record so far. Way to go 2009 Black Team!