Girls

U8

Warriors 5, Lightning 1: The Warriors and the Lightning waged a spirited battle in the season finale. The Warriors jumped out in front on the first of two goals by Charlotte Branchflower, and single goals from Olivia Buchler, Alexis Woods, and Samantha Kuruc. Emma Magazu, Katie Jones, and Sophia Bajcer also played outstanding on the offensive side of the pitch. For the Lightning, Madeline Patrick scored the lone tally with a nice breakaway, while Kristen Reisert played well offensively. On the defensive side of the pitch, both teams clamped down and turned in noteworthy performances. For the Lightning, Katie Viselli played an overall outstanding defensive game, supported by Annie Conners and Julia Raiani. The Lightning net was protected by the stellar keeper play of Madison Del Pozo and Mya Renkert. The Warrior defense was led by the great hustle and fine play of Katie Stan, Maggie Breault, Elizabeth Cassetta, Emily Dunford, and Maggie LaBanca.

The Lightning Strikes 4, Pink Dragons 0: In the final game of a successful season, The Lightning Strikes prevailed over the Pink Dragons in a game in which both teams displayed skill levels far beyond what they started with when the teams were formed last fall. The Lightning Strikes were led by Olivia Cornett who scored twice, with Alyssa Bailey and Michaela Cosgriff adding goals. The strong goaltending of Katherine Hatcher and Victoria Stevenson kept the Pink Dragons within striking distance until late in the contest. Paige Farley and Ally McCarthy created many scoring chances for the Pink Dragons but were held off the board by the goaltending of Becca Filiato and defensive efforts of Riley Burns, Anna Romano, and Taegan Smith. Congratulations to the girls from both teams who will be moving on to play Travel after successful in-house careers.

Crushers 4, Super Strikers 3: In the final game of the season the Crushers raced out to a 4-1 advantage behind three goals from Elizabeth Teixeira and one from Catie Teixeira. Emma Butler scored the first goal for the Super Strikers and the team kept fighting back behind goals from Julia Gerace and Abby Stites to cut the lead to 4-3. The Crushers then hung on for the victory in the well-played game. For the Crushers, terrific all-round play was contributed by Jordan Gomes, Amanda Stowe, Naiya Amin, and Katie Rowan. The Super Strikers received excellent efforts from Kyra Masone, Emi Rosenthal, Elise Baricelli, Maleeha Ali, Vanesa Bajraliu, Katie Markum, and Gabby Mogollon in wrapping up a fun season.

Team Eight 2, Lighting 1: For the Lighting, Nicole Fisher had an overall outstanding game, but particularly on offense where she scored the Lighting lone tally with a nice breakaway with assist help from Kristen Reisert. Rayna Toth, Meghan Delp, and Mia Guarna also played great on the offensive side of the pitch. The Lightning was supported defensively by the tough play of Anna Metzger. The Lighting goal was again protected by the outstanding tending of Madison Del Pozo, who deflected multiple attacks on net by a tough opponent.

U9

Water Buffaloes 3, Bob Sagets 2: The Bob Sagets met the Water Buffaloes for a rematch on Monday night. The Sagets started off the match with strong, aggressive play, forcing the Buffaloes to hustle on the field. Left wing Alex Musen and Chris Mok and Zachary DeMeglio were well prepared to handle the fast-paced action. James Barry on defense performed his signature playing style, ever-present on the back field preventing the Sagets from gaining ground. Dillon Palumbo once again proved invaluable on the Buffalo offense by scoring a hat trick. The Sagets continued to play hard throughout the game with goals scored by Jordan Klein and Kevin Arther. Ryan Marron played excellent defense, Kevin Finnegan controlled the midfield, and Michael Arthur created plenty of scoring opportunities up front for the Sagets.

U10

Newtown Funky Monkeys 6, New Canaan Lightning, 0: The Funky Monkeys put on a bright final show for the crowd at Fairfield Hills on a sunny Sunday afternoon. Olivia Oltran quickly put the Monkeys on the board after receiving a nice cross from Aniko Walsh, who was covering huge tracts of the midfield. The Lightning tried to come back, but the defense kept them in the bottle as Maddie Stites, McKenna Cuomo, and Meghan O’Rourke had the backfield locked down. Gigi Marino, Holly Ankers, and Olivia Cavallero all took some time guarding the Monkey net and each came up big on some close Lightning shots. Simone Paradis kept the ball moving forward, lodging multiple assists and snagging her 12th goal of the spring. Sage Karp eventually completed her fourth hat trick of the season to cap off the rout. Maddie Stites was also honored with the Sportsmanship Award from the Funky Monkeys as her play and care for her teammates and opponents was as stellar as her defense. Our Funky ones celebrated the win with a final cheer and a caravan headed toward Ferris Acres for some well-deserved ice cream.

U11

Dynamites 3, Stamford 3: The Dynamites got off to a slow start as host Stamford scored within minutes to take an immediate lead. Despite the Dynamites stepping up pressure, Stamford scored two more times in the first half. Katie Sailer had a couple of shots on goal but the team went into halftime in a deficit. Goalie Lauren Carrino worked hard for the Dynamites having many saves. In the second half, a free kick by Lauren Carrino netted the Dynamites their first goal and gave the team the charge they needed. Shots were made by Brooke Antous and Kristen Cirrone, but the second goal came off a free kick made by Keeley Kortze. Then Grace Corcoran had a free kick to Brooke Antous who sent the ball into the net. Defenders Grace Corcoran, Audrey Benson, and Lu Hage, and goalie Rebecca Gavel kept Stamford from scoring again and the game ended in a tie capping a remarkable comeback by the Dynamites.

Dynamites 1, Fairfield 0: The Dynamites hosted Fairfield to finish their regular season before their tournament in Hershey, Penn., next weekend. Soon after the start whistle blew, Keeley Kortze took a corner kick that bent into the goal, giving the Dynamites the lead that they were able to protect for the entire game. Lauren Carrino started the half in goal and had some saves for the Dynamites. In the second half, Jenna Lavelle had a shot on goal. Rebecca Gavel had a spectacular save for the Dynamites and went out injured, and was replaced by Kristen Cirrone. The Dynamites stepped up pressure and Grace Corcoran, Jenna Lavelle, and Lauren Adams had some convincing shots that failed to go in. Newtown survived a barrage of goal attempts on Kristen Cirrone, which were defended by Keeley Kortze, Audrey Benson, and Grace Corcoran. On offense, Lu Hage, Lindsay Merrifield, and Katie Sailer gave the Fairfield defenders trouble, but the team was unable to score again.

 

U12

Monroe 3, Panthers 2: The building Panthers shined in their teamwork. Lauren Russo dominated the field and put the Panthers on the score board early in the first half. Maria Ringes defended the goal fiercely with some beautiful saves. Dani Otero connected with Hana Rosenthal for tying the score 2-2 in the first half. Mary Hufziger and Elizabeth Chamiec-Case showed there offensive footwork with nice passing. The second half was highlighted with Kira Kelly’s epic goaltending. The defensive line was aggressively held of Monroe under the formidable line of Audrey Sedensky, Allie Paynter, Diana Kirkman, Pryia Deraney, Bryanna Benson. and Catherine Shaw. Juliet Grover, Greta Staubly, and Alex Futterman showed their speed and agility dressing down Monroe in their own backfield.

 

U14

The Hasta La Vista 2, No Names 1: In a closely fought contest, the Hasta La Vista scored a late goal to defeat the No Names. For The Hasta La Vista, the first goal, a tip-in play, was initiated by Sophia Albano and the second goal came from defense by Ajene Arokium. Samantha Olah played fiercely in offense and steadfast defender Chelsea Piccirillo helped maintain a strong defense. For the No Names, Rachel Jacuzzi scored the only goal. Maddie Marlin, Diana Akiri, and Jaclyn O’Leary led a strong offensive effort. Lauryn Ankers, Tessa Leon Gambetta, and Melissa Shohet provided aggressive defense supporting a solid effort in goal by Janyce Toth.

Boys

U8

Nighthawks 4, Cheeseballs 2: The Nighthawks were able to continue their winning streak against a very good opponent to go undefeated for the fall and spring seasons. Adem Selmani netted the first goal for the Nighthawks on a beautiful pass from Tyler DiMartino that made the way for Adem to dribble to goal and finish the play. Ryan Ruddy scored the team’s second goal on an unassisted blast from outside the box. The game was then brought to a tie before John Sullivan positioned himself for a cross from Adem to find the back of the net. The teams forth goal came from John again with a great hustle play following a shot to score on the rebound. John then gave the crowd a show with his best Tebow impersonation at center field. Connor Mandarano anchored the Nighthawks with his outstanding defensive play and nonstop hustle on the field. Connor and Steven Leuci combined to save the Nighthawks from many break away opportunities by the opponent. Kyle Luo and Gunnar Bozentko played great and were constantly around the ball causing numerous turnovers. The Nighthawks had a great season and played great team soccer. The coaches and parents are proud of the entire team!

The Cheeseballs played a strong team game and came up a little short in their first loss. Both goals were scored by Markus Paltauf; the first assisted by Michael Elston, the second came from Calum Edmond. In addition, Ethan Appiah, Jeremy Pankow, Colin Marshall and Owen Reinhart created many scoring chances with their positional play throughout the game. On defense, J.P. O’Leary, Drew Poseno and Sam Staubly were solid in preventing most chances with their relentless play. In goal, both George Sandercox and James Ciaramello made some great saves. The Cheeseballs played another fantastic season of soccer and grew together as a team over the course of the year and are very proud of all their accomplishments.

Team Four 6, Team Seven 2: Team 4 finished the spring season on a strong note with a 6-2 win over Team 7. Team 4 opened with back-to-back goals by Brendan O’Neill and Richard Guman. Team 7 fought back with a goal. Anthony D’Amico scored the next two goals to extend the lead. After another goal by Team 7, Jake Gonski put one in the back of the net followed by a second Brendan O’Neill score to put the game out of reach. Team 4 had strong play in the midfield by Benjamin Davis, Brendan Morrissey, and Matthew Weisgerber. Matt Irving played strong in goal in the fourth quarter to maintain the lead for Team 4.

The Sponge Bobs 5, Team Eight 4: All 13 Sponge Bobs played strong, with Tanner Trede scoring four goals and Jack Petersen adding the final goal. Tyler Grosso, Jake Mailloux, RJ Figueroa, and Torin Kearney were steady in the midfield the entire match While Bane Apley and Andrew Bazuro were the key Sponge Bob defenders.

Wolverines 3, Warriors 0: Neil Kalra struck the ball from midfield at the opening whistle and buried it in the net with an impressive, sailing 90-foot shot only three seconds into the game. The ensuing 48 minutes of play featured a back and forth battle with fast breaks and stingy defenses as the Wolverines and the Warriors battled to score. In the end the Warriors were victorious with a couple of fourth quarter goals.

U14

Fishes 5, Water Buffaloes 2: The Fishes came on strong in the regular season closing match on Monday night, scoring three goals in the first half. Tim Van Der Have, Spencer Tolson, and Brian Van der Have each scored for an early lead. The Water Buffaloes regrouped, resulting in a goal by Andrew Janco with an assist from Alex Musen. As the second half got under way, a successful penalty shot taken by Adam Robertson of the Fishes only served to raise the fighting spirit of the Buffaloes. They played aggressively, making use of all team members. With a chain-reaction assist from Zach DeMeglio and Andrei Kalinowski, Dillon Palumbo fired a shot into the Fishes’ net. The rally didn’t continue, though, and Spencer Tolson of the Fishes scored a second goal. Will Ballard of the Buffaloes played an excellent game in goal under constant pressure. For the Fishes, Trevor Palmer had a great game in the midfield while Jack Handley’s stealth defense continuously confounded the Buffaloes.