Across muddy fields and under overcast (and sometimes rainy) skies, the Nightmare and Rockets captured championships last weekend in the Newtown Soccer Club’s annual Memorial Day Kick Off Tournament.

The Nightmare went 4-0 (scoring 23 goals and allowing just one) while the Rockets were 3-0-1 to earn their respective division titles. Tournament play began on Friday night and culminated on Sunday afternoon.

The Nightmare (Boys U12) rolled over Monroe (9-0) and Ridgefield (9-0), slipped past Rockville Center (1-0), and hammered Naugatuck (4-1).

In the win over Monroe, Conor McManus scored three goals while Kurt Nacewicz, Andrew Domingos, Connor Collier, Ryan Goodridge and John Gouveia added one each. There was strong play by Dana Ress, Mickey Fay, Ethan Carotti and Joe Cappiello.

In the win over Ridgefield, the locals received another hat trick from McManus while Connor Collier chipped in with two goals. Nacewicz, Goodridge, Fay and Domingos also scored. Chris Marks, Chris Parker, Andrew Meisel and Dayton Horvath led the defense.

In the win over Rockville Center, a close game was decided when Nacewicz passed to Goodridge, who got the ball to Domingos to score the goal. There was strong play by Horvath, Meisel, Michael Kearns and Jason Kostecki in goal.

In the final win over Naugatuck (a team that had just knocked the Nightmare out of State Cup play), Connor Collier scored two goals while Nacewicz and Ress added one apiece Gouveia, Marks, Parker, Kearns, Cappiello and Carotti anchored the defense. Kostecki had a stellar performance in goal.

The Hurricanes (Girls U12) might not have been as explosive, but they still got the job done. They defeated Danbury (3-0), tied Shelton (3-3), slipped past Monroe (1-0) and clipped Westport (2-1).

In the win over Danbury, which opened the tournament under the lights at Tilson Field, Kasey Schulz, Cassie David, and Mary Bloshuk scored the goals as Kelley Sullivan and Haley Keane providing strong midfield play. The defense was led by Molly Curry, with Jen Brewer in goal for the shut out.

In the tie with Shelton, the ‘Canes trailed 3-1 at halftime, then came on strong in the second half to earn the tie. Megan Hansen sparked the offense with a goal and two corner kicks that resulted in scores – the first by Sarah Shannon and the second (on a perfect header) by Nora Lynn Shimko.

In the win over Monroe, Schulz played a standout game and scored the only goal that this strong Monroe team allowed in their four tournament games. The ‘Canes defense was led by Emily Weber, Belle Hydock, and Adelle Cerrata. Brewer made a number of great saves to secure the win.

And in the win over Westport,

Schulz and Shimko scored the goals while Colleen Thornberg and Genna Scheuerell had solid midfield games. Katie Serock and Curry shut down the Westport offense.

The Raptors (Boys U11) won three of four in the tournament and secured a second-place trophy. The only loss (4-1) came against Easton on Friday night, but the Raptors came back to defeated Westport (2-1), Naugatuck (3-0) and Fairfield (1-0).

In the loss to Easton, Nahba Bropleh scored the only goal.

In the win over Westport, Danny Greenwood scored first for Newtown with an assist from Chris McCann. McCAnn also provided assistance on a goal by Adam Buccino. Ben Mahony, Sam Hoagland and Gene Kallivrousis put in strong performances.

In the win over Naugatuck, Kyle Droniak and Andy Lapple scored the goals (the third was an own goal) while Kyle Kromberg, Benjamin Miles, Matt Slattery, George Zaruba and Jeff DiNicola had strong performances.

In the win over Fairfield, Colin Jacob, Eric Keogler and Matt Iassogna provided great defensive performances.

The Rampage (Girls U11) performed well, going 1-1-2 with a win over Shelton (4-0), a loss to Berlin (3-2), and ties with Ridgefield (0-0) and Brookfield (1-1).

In the win over Shelton, Chelsea Fay scored a pair of goals (one off a penalty kick) while Kate Bowen and Kristen Tanner scored one goal apiece. Hannah Basch-Gould, Bowen and Monica Warek all had assists. Laura Bittman, Ellen Ritzinger, and Laetitia de Brantes powered the offense while Taylor Smith, Jordyn Good, Berenice Bryant, Ally Modzelewski and goaltender Katie Pessin anchored the defense.

In the loss to Berlin, the Rampage rallied back from a 2-0 deficit but could not hold on to the tie with the defending State Cup champions. Good and Sara Kelley scored the goals while Fay had an assist. Pessin made numerous fine saves to keep the game close. Warek was strong at defensive back and Good had some phenomenal throw-ins and corner kicks.

In the tie with Ridgefield, it was the defense of Good, Bryant, Modzelewski (goal-saving clear), Smith and Pessin (11 saves) that was the highlight. Kirsten Hudock and Caleigh Boyle played well on offense. In the tie with Brookfield, Fay scored the lone goal off an assist from de Brantes. Good had a strong day at stopped while Boyle and Hudock played well in the midfield. Pessin registered six saves.

The Nitros (Girls U14) had a tough weekend in the Kick Off Tournament, losing three games and winning just one. And all of this came after the locals defeated State Cup defending champion Enfield last week.

Over the weekend, the Nitros lost to Southbury (1-0), Ridgefield (2-1) and New Canaan (2-0) and scraped up a win against Simsbury (1-0).

In the loss to Southbury, a defensive battle was decided on a single goal mid-way into the second half.  Keeper Caryn Lieberman and defensemen Erica Vacaro, Meghan Miller, and Heather Young made solid contributions.  Allison Bull, Kristine Salbu and Rachel Maley launched several offensive challenges but ran out of time.

In the win over Simsbury, a penalty shot by Salbu and goal conversion by Bull decided the game. Strong offensive pressure by Amelia Taylor, Emma Johnson, Jess Halloran, and Tilly Philbrick kept the ball in Simsbury’s half for much of the game. Defensively, Vacaro and Miller had a good game.

In the loss to Ridgefield, Newtown went ahead in the first half on a free penalty kick by Salbu and Bull conversion, but Ridgefield tied the game. Ridgefield then scored in the second half and held on to defeat the Nitros. Jen Iassogna, Jen Greenwood, Vacaro, Miller, and Young had a strong game in the loss.

In the loss to New Canaan, Salbu, Miller and Lieberman played strong defensive games, while offensively, Vacaro, Greenwood, Halloran, Bull, and Taylor made several nice offensive pushes.

Last Wednesday, though, the Nitros dethroned defending champion Enfield in overtime, 1-0, in State Cup play. In the second overtime, both teams played evenly until Maley took the ball down the left side from midfield, dribbled around, through and past three Enfield defenders to brake free for a hard corner shot to put the Nitros in front, 1-0.

The defense held off Enfield to win. Lieberman had numerous saves, and defensive play by Vacaro, Miller, Young and midfielders Greenwood, Kelly Bradlee, and Jen Iassogna throttled Enfield’s potent offense. Bull, Halloran, Salbu, Philbrick, Liza Moss, Olga Virgalla, Taylor, and Johnson kept Enfield pressured to deliver one memorable game.

The Strikers (Boys U10) was evenly matched in their division – so evenly matched they finished 1-0-3 for the weekend. The Strikers defeated Redding (3-2), but tied Trumbull (1-1), New Hyde Park (0-0) and Suffield (1-1).

In the win over Redding, Eric Thornberg scored a pair of goals and Kyle Wildman added a solo 0to lift the Strikers to the win. Michael Gould had an assist and there was nice offensive support by James Truckle, Josh Engler and Kyle Moore. Patrick Fay was solid on defense.

In the tie with Trumbull, Gould made a great pass to Daniel Lynch who scored a classic goal to lead the Strikers. Moore and Truckle played well in offense while Wildman and Tony Vacaro did an outstanding job in goal.

In the tie with New Hyde Park, goalkeeper Ishan Tatake, made some incredible saves during the game and was well supported by Vacaro, Josh Engler and Nick Wright on defense. Kai Aschick put some real skill into corners during this game as the team was unlucky not to score.

And in the tie with Suffield, Thornberg scored the lone Newtown goal. Strong offensive play by Ishan Tatake and Daniel Lynch paved the way. Aschick had a strong performance in defense while Wildman shut down Suffield in the goal.

In other non-Kick Off action –

Samba U13

 

Samba 3, Simsbury 1 – Mike Vontobel scored a pair of goals and Justin Miller added another to lead Samba past Simsbury. Vontobel also assisted. James Cersonsky, Alex Bowen and Max Hoagland all helped defray the Saber defense with aggressive offensive constancy. Tomi Homonnay, Danny Smith and Chris Meier provided productive midfield touches while Kyle Dinicola lead the Samba defense throughout the match, from between the pipes to record the 3-1 win.

 

Voorhees Memorial

The Sambas finished with a 2-1-1 record in the Voorhees Soccer Classic Tournament held in Voorhees New Jersey. Matched up against Team Juventus (Massachusetts), Yonkers Soccer Club (New York), Voorhees Soccer Club (New Jersey) and the LSTS FC Rio (New Jersey), the Sambas fared very well.

The Sambas withdrew after four games.

Against Juventus, Anthony Florez scored once in a 2-1 loss. Brett Lehner, Mat DeBrantes and Sean Weir played well in the back with Danny Smith and Kyle Dinicola sharing time in the net. Kenneth Lombardi and Drew Taylor provided Samba with outside midfield action that created many offensive opportunities.

In a 4-1 win over LSTS FC Rio, Miller opened by netting a ball within 45 seconds from a Paul Andras assist. Before Rio could regroup, Vontobel fed Miller and another ball hit the net in the third minute of play. Patrick Houston added a penalty kick goals. Dinicola tended the nets in front of the solid defensive core of Lehner, Weir and DeBrantes. 

In a 3-0 win over Yonkers Soccer Club, midfield play from Vontobel, Homonnay and Meier dominated the match. Miller scored twice and Andras once. Cersonsky, Hoagland, Lombardi, Houston and Alex Bowen all contributed.

In a 3-3 tie with Voorhees, Hommonnay scored the first goal to give Newtown a 1-0 lead, but Voorhees scored twice to take a 2-1 lead. Miller netted a ball in the fifth minute of the second half to tie the score, only to see Voorhees once again slip ahead. Florez, though, headed home a goal to tie the match.

Girls U13

 

Navigators 2, New Fairfield 0 – Jackie Schulz and Harriet Morgan scored the goals that lifted the ‘Gators to the win. Jackie Petrasanta had an assist. Christie Attanasio, Julie Landin and Katie Powers anchored the net. Jackie Kirol was strong in the midfield.

Brookfield (A) 4, Navigators 2 – After taking a 2-0 lead on goals from Harriet Morgan and Julie Landin, the Navigators fell to a strong Brookfield team. Kendra O’Connor and Lauren Hebert played well.

Brookfield 4, Navigators 3 – The ‘Gators fought back from 2-1 and 4-1 deficits. Harriet Morgan scored a pair of goals and Jackie Schulz added another. Alana Bilangi and Rachel Maley played well while Jackie Kirol and Eva Cerreta were strong in the midfield.