Girls

U10

Bethel 5, Funky Monkeys 2: While Newtown itself was under assault by some stormy skies, our Funky Monkeys held off Bethel’s storm of goals until the second half. The Monkeys were able to jump to a lead early in the first half off a fine pass from Simone Paradis who came down the left side and crossed the ball to a patient Sage Karp who netted her first of two goals for the day. That lead blew away in the wind as Bethel countered quickly. The Monkey defense kept the game tied in the first half with some coordinated defense from McKenna Cuomo and Megan O’Rourke. The storm clouds blew in though throughout the second half and our fearless Funky ones found themselves windswept despite some heavy counter attacks up the middle by Aniko Walsh and Olivia Oltran.

U11

Newtown Sparks 6, New Canaan White 0: In a game dominated by Newtown offensively, the Sparks executed passes and moves that kept their competition on the defense. In the first half, Veronica Vodola wove between defenders to score. Carly Swierbut took the ball up the side of the field to net the second goal in less than 60 seconds. Angela Vodola, Gabrielle Reisert and Nathalie Schickendantz all worked flawlessly to keep the ball on New Canaan’s side of the field, allowing only two shots in the half to be taken on Newtown’s goal. Those two saves were goalkeeper Jackie Seras’ only action in the half. Emily Celentano crossed a ball in front of the net, placing it in the corner for the team’s third goal. V. Vodola scored the last goal in the half also on a cross into the corner of the net to end the half 4-0. Late in the second half Reisert crossed the ball to Celentano who took a shot on goal, only to hit the far post. Izzy Mawdsley was well positioned to catch Celentano’s rebound and put it in the top corner of the net off the crossbar for their fifth goal of the game. Sparks goalkeeper A. Vodola had two saves in the second half again crediting the strong defensive line that also included Seras and Madi Ziperstein. With minutes left in the game, Ziperstein, who had two attempts from outside the box in the half, finally found the net after New Canaan’s goalkeeper lost grip on the shot.

Newtown 3, Greenwich 1: The Dynamites struck first with a strong run down the left side and accurate cross by Rebecca Gavel to a well-positioned Brooke Antous for the first score of the half. The Dynamites would keep up the pressure and follow with another goal with a solid run down the right side by Lauren Adams. Her cross would be mishandled by the goalie and deposited in the rear of the goal by Gavel. In goal, Lauren Carrino had two saves, the last coming at the end of the first half with the Greenwich shot hitting the far post, then glancing off the side of Carrino and rolling towards the goal line but slow enough for Carrino to make the diving save. Greenwich drew first blood in the second half with a strong shot from the right side. Gavel was in position to make the save, but an unfortunate bounce in front of her sent the ball over her right shoulder. Newtown wound up the pressure throughout the second half with solid play from Jenna Lavelle and Kristen Cirrone. Lauren Adams and Lou Hage both had shots from close range that just went high. But Newtown would not be denied. Katie Sailer found herself with two defenders on her and was able to play a pass back to Carrino who stroked a 20-yarder over an outstretched Greenwich goalie for their third goal. Greenwich continued to make a contest of it but their energy waned when Gavel denied their last attempt at goal with a spectacular save that had her horizontal to punch the shot away. Keeley Kortze and Lindsay Merrifield, anchored by Audrey Benson, would provide the necessary defense to thwart any more shots on goal. Newtown had one last opportunity with a 25 yard shot by Lavelle that rattled the right goal post as time expired.

U14

Ninjas 3, No Names 0: In a hard-fought game between two determined teshot that found the upper right corner of the goal. Joanelle Tran followed with two goals.  The first was the result of a pass from Katerina Ringes that sent Tran on a 30-yard breakaway, finished with a hard, low shot. Just 25 second later, Tran one-timed a perfect pass from Ringes for her second goal. Hanna Bigwarfe, Emma Brantl, Megan Cooney, and Jessica Cruz controlled the midfield with their tireless play, while Olivia Butler and Rachel Tomasino led the Ninjas’ defensive effort with several well-timed tackles and strong positional play. Haley Taylor, Sarah MacMullan, and Jillian Milano preserved the shutout with several incredible saves in goal. For the No Names, Vanessa Tucker, Callie Kraushaar, and Melissa Shohet gave an outstanding defensive effort supporting Caroline Cole in goal. Midfielders Maddie Martin, Diana Akiri, and Jaclyn O’Leary were aggressive in moving the ball up the field to forwards Grace Frost and Rachel Jacuzzi for many scoring opportunities.

Boys

U8

Cheeseballs 4, Team Ten 4: The Cheeseballs had a thrilling come-from-behind game to finish up with a well-deserved tie. After going down by three goals within the first few minutes of the game, the Cheeseballs began their comeback. George Sandercox would score two goals in the second quarter; the first assisted by Drew Poseno, the second by Colin Marshall. Then Ethan Appiah would net the equalizer from a great pass from Owen Reinhart. Team 10 would score another goal in the fourth quarter; however, Owen Reinhart connected with the tying goal late in the game from a great feed from Sam Staubly. J.P. O’Leary was solid on defense and James Ciaramello had some outstanding saves in net.

Sponge Bobs 4, Wolverines 1: The Sponge Bobs had a solid passing game and were led by Cameron Petrelli who netted his first career goal. Tanner Trede added two goals and Jack Petersen finished the Sponge Bob scoring with a goal. Jake Mailloux, Tyler Grosso and Connor Dullinger played great on offense hustling downfield while JJ Kanaan, Andrew Michlovitz and Andrew Bazuro were the outstanding Sponge Bob defenders. Neil Kalra was able to net a goal for the Wolverines after a beautiful assist from Dylan McDermott in the second quarter. Daniel DeBartolomeo and CJ Hoekenga put on a strong offensive effort for the Wolverines.

Nighthawks 4, Team Seven 0: The Nighthawks played great team soccer and passed the ball unbelievably well. The attack was lead by Ryan Ruddy with his first hat trick of the year. The first goal was scored on a great corner kick from Adem Selmani and Ruddy was able to one touch the ball in. The second goal of the game came from an incredible hustle play by Gunnar Bozentko. Bozentko followed a shot by Tyler DiMartino that the goalie blocked and Bozentko was able to connect with the back of the net. Ruddy scored on the next goal with a lead pass from Steven Leuci and broke to the goal with a blast to the net. The final goal was scored on a breakaway from Ruddy that started with Jason Walsh making a great defensive play on the ball. Miller Tetreault played a strong game in goal and Connor Mandarano along with Brandon Akbas need to be congratulated for their hustle and great play on the field. The game was cut short due to thunder but both teams showed a great effort on the field.