Season Ends Swimmingly For Fishes

Tenacious. Unrelenting. Insuppressible. The Newtown Fishes of the boys’ U14 Recreation soccer program were each of these and more in their undefeated tournament run. The Fishes defeated the Bob Sagets 4-1 Saturday night to capture the U14 title.

Coaches Jeff Tolson, Todd Vander Have, and Drew Sullivan strategized efficient game play to give the Fishes the most possible scoring opportunities and strong defense. Injured Captain Spencer Tolson also gave advice from the sidelines after getting wounded in the first playoff game. The entire finale was a nail-biter, as the Fishes didn’t pull ahead until midway in the second half.

Tim Vander Have blasted an untouched scorcher past goalkeeper R.H. Clark in the 61st minute to provide the difference.

The first goal came when center halfback Thomas Gavel sent a brilliant through ball down the right line to striker Adam Robertson, who then used his moves to get to the right corner and cross it in to left forward Tim Vander Have. He took a touch, put his head down and released a powerful shot that made its way to the bottom left corner in the net.

The Bob Sagets continued to press, and it finally paid off. Near the end of the first half, the ball got knocked into the box and, after several deflections, rolled to Colin Kelly, who tapped it into the goal to tie the game at 1-1. The momentum shifted yet again, when the end of the first half approached.

 The Fishes’ goalie, Marc Carlson, had just stopped his fifth shot on a breakaway, but the ball took a bounce toward the Bob Sagets’ striker who had an open net to shoot on. Thomas Gavel was a blur as he raced back to the box and slid just in time to deflect the to-be goal out of bounds. It ended up being the play of the game.

Marc Carlson played a stunning first half in goal for the Fishes who were look looking for a goalie volunteer for the second half. After nobody wanted to take on the challenge, Carlson stepped up and decided to play the rest of the game for his team. The next 40 minutes belonged to the Fishes as they managed to score three goals (all by Vander Have) to give themselves a comfortable lead, heading into the final minutes.

Every single player on the Fishes played a crucial role in making it to the finals. Carlson and Tyler Gaynor both played incredibly well in goal during the tournament and let in only a combined two goals. Owen Walsh and Brendan Reeds were remarkable at side fullback and always shut down their man. Jacob Anastasi and Matt Tassiello were outstanding at right and left wing and working on getting the ball up front. Nick Bourgeois contributed a lot of heart during the regular season. Joey LaManna and Flynn Iesu always stayed with their opponent, and never let anyone score on them. Trevor Palmer and Jack Hanley had some amazing assists and stopped plenty of goals. Danny “Heart of a Lion” Toby and Kyle Gaynor stayed with the toughest offensive players on the other team and were the rock of the defense. Vander Have and Adam Robertson were implausible at forward and scored well over the majority of the Fishes’ goals. Thomas Gavel and Spencer Tolson were clutch at center halfback and sweeper, and created numerous scoring opportunities in each game.