Girls

U9

Tigers 1, Fairfield 0: Tori Gioiele scored the lone goal for the Tigers. Victoria Peterson was great in goal as was Maggie LaBanca. Katie Tressler played a standout midfield game supported by very strong defense in Ella Hage and Shannon Kelleher. Erin Phaneuf, Catie Teixeira and Abby Stites pressed and shot several times as well.

U10

Net Rippers 4, Shelton 1: The Net Rippers lived up to their name within the first minute of their contest against Shelton. Olivia Buchlers quick possession led to the first goal. Outstanding ball handling by Charlotte Branchflower, Mary Sortino and Madeline Patrick helped Net Rippers dominate the half leading to Gwen Drew’s aggressive goal. Carly Smith then scored on a direct kick taking the Net Rippers to three. Jane Shearin thwarted any chance Shelton had over the first half with her tenacity in goal. The strong pressure of Jillian Carrino, Morgan Seras and Paige Farley along with an impressive header by Gabbby Sadowski held the lead into the second half. Olivia Cornett responded to Shelton’s lone goal with a net ripper of her own bringing the final tally to 4-1.

Net Rippers 3, Fairfield 3: From the start both teams were looking to take the lead. Net Rippers grabbed it on a throw in from Carly Smith to Morgan Seras. With the Net Rippers on the board Jane Shearin survived several attacks at goalmaking great stops along the way. One attack down the corridor and Fairfield had matched it up. A strong return from the half had Olivia Cornett scoring early. Carly Smith and Olivia Buchler put on the pressure to hold on to the lead. A strong lofty kick tied it up at 2-2. Play was aggressive on both teams’ defense until a full-field breakaway by Morgan Seras put one in for a Net Ripper lead. The team held tight until the last seconds when a goal slipped in for a final outcome of a tie.

Newtown Cobras 3, Monroe 1: In a well-played match in which all the scoring occurred in the second half, the Cobras remained undefeated in league play moving to 3-0. The game remained scoreless in the first half, despite heavy offensive pressure from the Cobras, led by Megan Riccardi and Emma Butler. The Cobras actually fell behind one nil early in the second half. The Cobras then exploded for three goals to put away the win. The Cobras’ first goal was scored by Julia Gerace off a cross from Elizabeth Teixeira. The second goal came on a strong individual effort by Elizabeth Tiexeira, who put in her own rebound. The final Cobra goal was scored by Cameron Powers on a big run from midfield. The dominant Cobra defense was led by Meghan Delp, Sophia Child, Katie Stan and Piper Salva. Riley Burns, Elizabeth Cassetta and Michaela Cosgriff were relentless in the midfield. The goaltending of Elizabeth Tiexeira and Becca Filiato preserved the win.

Pumas 3, Cheez Doodles 1: For the Pumas, goals were scored by Emi Rosenthal, Katarina Rosen and Julia Klein, who all played great offensively throughout the contest. For the Cheez Doodles, the lone tally was scored by Pearl Morosky, while Gabriella Mogollon and Meghan Chipman played excellent in the forward slots. Holly Ankers played excellent defense in the stopper position, supported by Elizabeth Roggenbauer, who kept the ball away from the opposing attackers. Anatoli Chatzikonstantinou played an outstanding half in goal, deflecting multiple shots by a tough opponent.

U11

Wolfpack 2, Madison 1: The Wolfpack won the opening round of the State Cup Tournament. Karson Pirone drilled two penalty shots for the Wolfpack’s scoring. The defense was led by the combined efforts of Colleen Phaneuf’s strong foot, Hannah Daly’s speed and some great saves in goal by Maddie Stites. Kaitlyn King consistently pushed the ball forward from midfield and Kaley Meisenhiemer led several offense attacks supported by Bella Manfredi.

 Wolfpack 3, Wilton 1: The Pack won its second regular season game with goals netted by Faith Ohara, Laura Augenbraun and Karson Pirone and the strong offense of Hannah Groonell. Goalies Sarah Tressler and Hannah Daly were also strong, supported by the pressing defense of Colleen Phaneuf, Malia Gioffre and midfielder Kaitlyn King.

Greenwich 3, Soccer Psychos 0: Coming off an exciting victory the prior week in Monroe, the Soccer Psychos had a tough battle against Old Greenwich. Impressive offensive efforts were made by Olivia Oltran, Sydney Howard, Hannah Weatherby and Caitlyn Greenspan. The defense consisting primarily of McKenna Cuomo, Rose Duval, Nina Henriques and Meghan O’Rourke were under pressure from the opening gun and worked valiantly to stop an aggressive Greenwich team. The Newtown girls showed great spirit and determination, but Greenwich prevailed despite great goaltending by Olivia Renkert and Olivia Cavallero.

U12

Newtown 4, Burlington Huskies 1: The Newtown Dynamite advanced to the next round of the Connecticut Cup with a 4-1 win over the Burlington Huskies. Just three minutes into the contest, the Huskies were able to penetrate the Newtown defense for a 1 on 1. Rebecca Gavel made a valiant charge but was out-maneuvered for an open goal. The Dynamite would not be so giving for the rest of the game. Twenty minutes into the half, Newtown would get the equalizer. Veronica Vodola centered the ball to Emma Curtis for a driving shot that the goaltender was only able to knock down. Katie Sailer powered the rebound in. Newtown controlled the first half of the game in possession with the help of Lauren Adams at midfield, and field position with terrific defense by Audrey Benson and Lindsay Merrifield. Katie Sailer scored what would be the winning goal early in the second half on a corner kick from Lauren Carrino. With the corner kick to the near post, the goalie jumped with outstretched hands and the ball rolled off her fingertips. Sailer rushed the goal, and with a defender on her hip, put the ball in on the far post. Lauren Carrino would add an assist with a pass back to Jenna Lavelle who would net one high from 18 yards out. Carrino finished the day by netting one on a weak clear attempt by the Huskies.

Newtown 3, Darien 0: Knotted at 0-0 through the first half, the Dynamite found their groove at the start of the second half. Lauren Carrino started it off with a short corner play to Ali Kelleher on the right side. Ali played it back to Carrino for a long shot that found the back of the net. Emily Celentano followed (it sounds like this happened right after the other goal, did it?) with a cross into the box from the right side which Sarah Widmann raced to and slid into to beat out the diving Darien goalie. Newtown scored its last goal with eight minutes remaining when Emily Celentano sent a cross from the right side into a crowded goal box that Lauren Adams was able to half volley for the final score. Darien had one last run in on a breakaway but was thwarted when Rebecca Gavel came way out of the goal box to clear the ball and preserve the clean sheet.

U14

Panthers 2, Fairfield 0: The girls played like a well-oiled machine with the great defensive containment by Diana Kirkman, Dani Otero and Priya Dulraney. Audrey Sedensky and Greta Staubly never let up the pressure, creating opportunity for Sam Crespo to connect with a soaring shot resulting in the Panther’s first goal. Kira Kelly proved to be a double threat on the field and in goal, while Bryanna Benson took control of the Panther’s back field, pushing Fairfield around at every advance. Alex Futterman recently cleared from the disabled list, showed she is a force to be reckoned with, as Maria Ringes shut down Fairfield by defending the goal with extraordinary finesse. Mary Hufziger and Jess Cruz showed keen footwork turning the ball down field where the relentless Juliet Grover sealed Fairfield’s fate with the Panther’s second and final goal.

Newtown 1 Guilford 0: Newtown prevailed in the opening round of the State Cup. Hailey Conrad scored off an assist from Jess Maturo in the first half. Mia Katsuleres had several nice crosses from the wing. Julia Sughrue and Taylor Pare controlled the play at midfield, keeping the ball in the Guilford half the majority of the game. Defenders Lauren King and Clair Beiter turned back a couple of strong attacks late in the game to preserve the victory. Goalies Stef Carr and Meghan Doyle again combined for the shut out.

Newtown 6 Westport 1: Newtown remained undefeated, jumping out to a 6-0 lead in the first half. Goals were scored by Kendra Dunnigan, Ali Manfredi, Emily Neave (2), Olivia Caplan and Katie Elkins (on a penalty kick).

American Eagles 3, I Can’t Remember 1: Can’t Remember was missing several players, but bat-tled bravely against a physically strong and well-organized American Eagles squad. Strikers Allie For-tugno and Merjie DeWit clocked up huge mileages while attempting to equalize after the American Eagles’ early first goal. At midfield, Kristina Goeree, Juliette Row, and Jaclyn O’Leary fought hard for possession. Jenna Ehnot and Alexandra Chatzikonstantinou were kept busy in goal as Kiera Veillette provided superb cover in the sweeper role. Late in the game, I Can’t Remember pushed up Willow Pears and Lauryn Ankers into offensive positions and enjoyed a number of chances, but couldn’t get a goal. The American Eagles struck early when Caroline Viselli scored her first goal of the season four minutes into the match on assists from Izzy Kaiser and Sarah MacMullan. Maggie Beardsley followed with two unassisted goals. Olivia Butler, Megan Cooney, Olivia Falk, Megan Nahmias, and Justice Zoto led the team’s midfield effort. Rachel Tomasino, Grace Sholtes. and Kaysie Fisher combined to form an impenetrable defense, while goaltenders Haley Taylor, Kaysie Fisher, and Maggie Beardsley made sev-eral brilliant saves to preserve the shutout.

Boys

U8

Nighthawks 8, Team Seven 0: The Nighthawks started off on two consecutive goals by Kyle Ruddy; the first on a breakaway and the second coming from a beautiful pass from Aidan Berry. Gunnar Bozentko then added two more for the Nighthawks. The first on a solo drive through a few players and the second on a rebound from Andy Zhang’s shot. JP O’Leary scored the next goal on beautiful shot on a pass from Griffin Clemen. Gunnar then was able to make it a hat trick for the day scoring his third goal, soon followed by another goal from JP who listened well and followed the shot and scored on a rebound off the goalie. Kyle Ruddy also scored his hat trick on his third goal coming from a break away at midfield. The strong defense led by Jerry Sun and Aidan Berry made it possible to hold off the opposition. The game was filled of back and forth play and both teams deserve credit for a great first game.

Thunderbolts 3, Blue Phoenix 1: Both teams contributed to an excellent game that featured great goals, silky skills and determined defense. Trevor Hislop opened the scoring for Blue Phoenix with an astonishing long-range shot that soared into the top of the net. For the Thunderbolts, Siddarth Vakacherla was a rock on defense, while up front, Brayden Bisson kept everyone guessing as to his next move. Johnny Moxham wreaked havoc all game long for the Thunderbolts with multiple attacking runs from midfield, slotting home a very tidy equalizer early in the second half. Tyler Harrison had an excellent game in goal for Blue Phoenix, making several great saves. Blue Phoenix responded with several powerful attacks, showing great vision and passing play, but they could not get the second goal they deserved. Later, Moxham, Saahill Ray and Eitan Halevi split Blue Phoenix’s well-organized defense to allow Ray to drill home the Thunderbolt’s second. Sam Ankers nearly made it 3-1 after a great run at goal, but his shot was stopped right on the goal line. In the closing stages, Timmy Galer proved unbeatable in the Thunderbolts’ goal, although Blue Phoenix nearly scored with an awesome free kick just inches wide of the post. Finally, the Thunderbolts got their third goal when Moxham latched onto a deep cross and blasted a glorious effort into the top corner — a fantastic finish to a fantastic game in which both teams played like champions.

U10

Ninja Hawks 4, Flame Throwers 0: The Flame Throwers had an intense defense led by Elijah Baraw at center full back and Chris Shaker and Andrew Bazuro at midfield. Nicholas Hobar played aggressively in goal and stopped many shots in the second half. Jake Mailloux, Alex DaSilva and Tyler Grosso were aggressive on offense with several valiant attempts that unfortunately could not be converted into goals. The Ninja Hawks played a great game on both sides of the ball with Ethan Appiah, Tucker Depuy, Jackson Harrington and Johnathan Taylor all finding the back of the net in leading the way in the Ninja Hawks victory.

Pythons 4, Easton 2: Neil Kalra found the back of the net three times for the Newtown Pythons helping secure a 4-2 victory over Easton this past Sunday. Three blazing breakaways lead to three hard shots skipping past the Easton goalie. Luke Steimel fired in a goal early in the second half in which the Pythons played relentless defense denying a high-pressure attack from Easton. The score would have been 4-3 if it were not for a diving save by Newtown’s goalie, Stephen Dooley on an Easton penalty kick. It was a true team effort all afternoon.

U11

Blaze 4, Weston 3: A first round game of the Connecticut State Cup Tournament turned out to be a hard-fought, exciting battle between the Newtown Blaze and Weston. The Blaze started the game with incredible energy and immediately brought the game to Weston, jumping out to a 3-1 lead with goals from Ryan Beardsley, Ben Futterman and Owen Baillargeon with a penalty kick from the left side of the goalie box. Defensively, Duncan O’Leary played exceptionally well, tracking down several through balls and stalling any momentum Weston tried to create. Ryan Beardsley, Thomas Armstrong and Kyle Duval continually applied pressure on the Weston defense. Kyle Duval, Joseph Preemus, Tristan Andrews and JP Ford used their speed to beat players down the side and created several scoring opportunities. Weston battled back to tie the score at 3-3, forcing the game into overtime. With a little more than a minute left in the overtime period, Ryan Beardsley booted the ball down the field to Justin DeThomas, whose “never give up” attitude proved to pay off as he put the ball in the goal with a dramatic header, scoring the game-winning goal. Bryce Benson, Will Pellison and Jacob Laros all turned in outstanding defensive performances, contributing greatly to the team’s win and advancing them to the next round of play in the State Cup.

Monroe 5, Blaze 0: Newtown Blaze suffered a tough loss against a strong Monroe team in their second game of the weekend. Bryce Benson, Justin DeThomas and Duncan O’Leary demonstrated impressive defensive play against Monroe’s crisp passes and constant forward pressure. Joseph Preemus tended goal in the first half with several saves, showing his opponents that he was comfortable running to the top of the box to meet their attack. Monroe scored three goals in the first half, with many additional shots. Offensively, Ryan Beardsley, Kyle Duval, Ben Futterman, Jacob Laros and JP Ford made several attempts to move the ball up to catch the net for the Blaze, but Monroe kept the defensive pressure on and saved all shots on goal. Tristan Andrews did a great job in goal for the second half.

U13

Titans win twice: The Newtown Titans had a winning weekend with two last-minute, come-from-behind thrillers. In first-round State Cup play Saturday, the Newtown Titans beat Fairfield’s Black Tornadoes in a game decided on tie-breaking penalty kicks. On Sunday, the Titans defeated Westport 5-4 after trailing 3-1 at the half. Newtown Striker Thomas Skrelja scored two on Saturday and one on Sunday. Striker Jack Oltran had two against Westport. Goalie Michael Greenspan had key saves in both games.

In the State Cup game, Fairfield broke out to an early two-goal lead. Skrelja answered just before halftime with a ricochet off the goal post. He then struck again late in the second half on a perfect cross from Danny Arneth to tie the game. Jack Armstrong provided a critical tackle late in the game to hold off the Fairfield counter attack and finish regulation play with a 2-2 tie. After two scoreless overtime halves, Skrelja, Oltran, Arneth and Nick Weiland scored on penalty kicks, while Greenspan came up with the game-winning block.

Against Westport, Newtown again conceded early goals, including one on a penalty kick. But just before the half, midfielder Weiland found the net with a zinger from 21 feet. In the second half, Oltran broke free on the counter and scored on a set-up pass from Grant Moxham. Westport answered quickly to make the score 4-2. From that point, Newtown took over. Oltran knocked in a cross from Grant Larson for his second score, then returned the favor, feeding Larson for a leaping goal to tie the game. Weiland got the game winner on a well-placed cross from Henry Petrillo with two minutes to play.

Constant offensive pressure in the second half and strong defensive play was the winning formula for Newtown in both games. Santiago Forero, James Barden, Irwin Grewal, Chris Adam and Wally Skrelja made solid defensive contributions on both days.