Girls

U8

SuperStrikers 0, Warriors 0: On a sun-drenched Saturday morning at Oakview field, the Warriors and the Superstrikers brought their own power to the field in this well-played, evenly matched battle. Superb defense and sensational goaltending proved to be dominant in this scoreless tie. Each team took turns on the attack, only to be stymied by their counterparts’ staunch defense. The goaltending was outstanding on both sides as well, led by Elise Baricelli for The SuperStrikers, and Olivia Buchler and Samantha Kuruc for the Warriors. The SuperStrikers got great all around efforts from Vanesa Bijraliu, Abby Stites, Piper Salva, Kyra Masone and Julia Gerace. The Warriors attack was led by Elizabeth Cassetta and Katie Stan, while the defense was anchored by Emily Dunford, Katie Jones and Emma Magazu. Special mention goes out to Charlotte Branchflower, Maggie Breault, Maggie LaBanca and Sophia Bajcer not only for their stalwart defensive performances, but for their outstanding sportsmanship as well.

Lightning 4, Dynamo Kids 1: For the Lighting, Rayna Toth, Catherine Teixieira, Meghan Delp and Madeline Patrick all contributed goals, and the defense was anchored by the nice play of Katie Viselli and Nicole Fisher. Kaia Gioffre scored Dynamo’s only goal, and the team was led by Emma Butler’s passing and Molly Connors’ great field positioning.

The Lightning Strikes 1, Warriors 1: In a well-matched contest, The Lightning Strikes and Warriors played to a tie just before the snowflakes began to fall. Olivia Buchler scored a goal for the Warriors late in the first half off a pass from Maggie Breault. Despite several opportunities, The Lightning Strikes were held off the scoreboard until late in the second half due to the defense of Elizabeth Cassetta, Samantha Kuruc and Sophie Bajcer. The Lightning Strikes tied the game when Becca Filiato hammered in a rebound off a Olivia Cornett shot that had rung off the goalpost. The Lightning Strikes’ defense was led in the second half by Riley Burns, Taegan Smith and Carly Decker, who kept the Warriors scoreless in the half despite the constant pressure on offense of Charlotte Branchflower and Katie Stan. The game was highlighted by excellent goaltending with Emma Magazu of the Warriors and Kennedy Cope of The Lightning Strikes making several outstanding saves.

SuperStrikers 2, Team Five 0: On a cold and blustery Saturday morning at Oakview, the SuperStrikers and team Five engaged in a spirited U8 girls soccer match. The SuperStrikers were led by a key goal from Julia Gerace and a breathing room tally by Abby Stites. Piper Salva and Gabby Mogollon were all over the field and terrific all-around efforts were given by Venesa Bajraliu, Kyra Masone and Emi Rosenthal, while Sarah Bertsche, Elise Baricelli and Maleeha Ali played great in the nets. Team 5 was led by the outstanding play of Paige Farley and Caroline Tousignant.

U11

Newtown Sparks 2, Weston 0: Newtown’s Carly Swierbut caught her own rebound off Weston’s goalkeeper to get around her and take a second shot to find the back of the net early in the first half. Swierbut would later find the back of the net a second time in the half off an assist by Kiera Sughrue. The Sparks’ offense of Swierbut, Emily Celentano, Veronica Vodola and Emma Curtis kept the pressure on Weston’s defense throughout the first half. The Sparks defensive line of Gabrielle Reisert, Madi Ziperstein, Heidi Poarch, Izzy Mawdsley and Nathalie Schickendantz kept the ball moving away from Newtown territory throughout the game. Keepers Jackie Seras, Sarah Widmann and Angela Vodola all had great saves to prevent Weston from finding the back of the net.

Newtown Sparks 5, Trumbull Chargers 2: The Sparks came out strong in the first half, finding the back of the net four times by Emma Curtis off a corner kick, Emily Celentano, Veronica Vodola and a second for Curtis with a cross into the goal just before halftime. The Sparks’ final goal came off a penalty kick taken by Gabrielle Reisert on a call for pushing. Sparks keepers Jackie Seras, Kiera Sughrue and Carly Swierbut all had strong games, while defensive players Heidi Poarch, Madi Ziperstein and Angela Vodola all kept the ball out of Newtown’s territory and moving up the field.

Newtown Sparks 1, Old Greenwich 4: The Sparks suffered their first loss of the season, falling to Old Greenwich 1-4. The Sparks’ only goal came from Emma Curtis late in the first half. Sparks players Sarah Widmann, Emily Celentano, Angela Vodola and Izzy Mawdsley all had great games with multiple attempts to find the back of the net. Meanwhile Madi Ziperstein, Nathalie Schickendantz, Kiera Sughrue and Gabrielle Reisert formed a strong defense to protect Newtown’s goal and move the ball up the field.

Norwalk Blue Thunder 4, Newtown Dynamites 1: The Dynamites finished off their fall campaign with a loss to the Norwalk Blue Thunder. Newtown opened the game with a quick strike on goal by Brooke Antous that just sailed wide of the goal and a diving Norwalk goalie. Norwalk played a good portion of the first half in Newtown’s half. Lauren Carrino played well in goal, keeping a league-leading Norwalk team with 32 goals on the season to just two in the first half. Lu Hage, Audrey Benson and Grace Corcoran contributed to the effort on defense. Newtown picked it up in the second half as Lauren Carrino scored the Dynamites’ lone goal of the game from about 25 yards. Rebecca Gavel made some nice saves in the goal. Katie Sailer, Lauren Adams and Keeley Kortze moved the ball well on the offensive end and kept the Norwalk defense on their toes. Jenna Lavelle played well at midfield.

U12

Ridgefield 3, Newtown Panthers 2: The Panthers came out of the dark fighting on Saturday with a heartbreaking loss to Ridgefield. Dani Otero and Greta Staubly showed good ball control and aggressive midfield play. Audrey Sedensky, Kira Kelly and Kit Shaw teamed up to stop Ridgefield advances and return the ball upfield. Prya Deraney and Briana Benson played their positions well with keen throw-ins and good ball control. Diana Kirkman was also a defensive standout. Panthers’ aggressive play resulted in shots on goal for Kaitlyn Kelly, Lauren Russo and Juliette Grover. The most exciting moment of the play came when Charli Condon took a pass from Grover deep in Panther territory and tore upfield for the teams’s first goal early in the second half. The Panthers tied the game in short order with another shot by Condon after an assist from Alex Futterman.  Ridgefield answered the Panthers with their winning goal late in the second half. The goal was tended by the fine play of both Maria Ringes and Alex Futterman

Newtown Panthers 2, Stamford 1: The Panthers ended their fall season with a victory over Stamford on Sunday. The defensive line was led by Priya Deraney, Greta Staubly and Allie Paynter. Kit Shaw and Brianna Benson aided the dynamic goal tending of Alex Futterman and Maria Ringes by protecting the box at every turn. Kira Kelly showed her offensive moves with great passing, while Elizabeth Chamiec-Case was aggressive against Stamford’s defense. Juliette Grover had several shots on goal in both the first and second half, while Dani Otero nearly connected from midfield with a fine shot on goal. Lauren Russo never let up her intensity with excellent footwork pushing the ball upfield. Kaitlyn Riley showed her skill by answering a pass from Charli Condon for the Panther’s first goal early in the second half. The Panthers teamwork shined with a passing sequence between Mary Hufziger and Condon resulting in a well-placed assist to Audrey Sedensky for her first goal of the season.

U13

Newtown Thunder 1, Fairfield 1: No power, practice, or even subs could deter the short-footed Thunder. Down 1-0 early, Newtown applied relentless pressure in the second half and eventually tied the game with three minutes to play, when Ali Manfredi scored on a cross from Amanda Albanese. Julia Sughrue and Olivia Caplan were outstanding on defense, while Taylor Pare and Claire Beiter played some of the best midfield of the season.

Newtown Thunder 0, Norwalk 0: In a battle of the unbeaten, Newtown and Norwalk play a tough, physical match. The Thunder had the scoring opportunity advantage both in quantity and quality, but could not find the net. Jess Maturo, Meghan Doyle, Emily Neeve and Claire Beiter each fired shots on goal. Grace Sandercox and particularly Lauren Beier were superb on defense, while Amanda Albanese and Taylor Pare again dominated at midfield. Doyle and Stef Carr recorded the shutout, with Carr making several crucial saves in the second half.

Boys

U8

Sponge Bobs 3, Team Nine 0: The Sponge Bobs played well against a talented Team 9 and won 3-0. Andrew Bazuro, Andrew Michlovitz and Jake Mailloux played their best games with outstanding midfield play, while the Sponge Bobs’ scoring was led by Jack Petersen with two goals and Tanner Trede adding one more. Ben Paley was great in goal, and Connor Dullinger hustled all game.”

U14

Water Buffalos 3, Wild Geese 2: The Buffalos and Geese ended their fall season in a matchup under the lights at Treadwell field on November 7. The first half of the game was scoreless due to both teams’ excellent defensive efforts. Thomas Gavel played well as sweeper for the Geese, while James Barry and Lukas Palumbo formed a brick wall against the Goose offense. Trevor Palmer of the Geese played well as halfback. A second-half burst of energy from the Buffalos led to a goal by Andrew Janco, with an assist from Dillon Palumbo, followed by a second goal scored by Palumbo. The Geese struck back with a goal scored by Nick Bourgeois. Mark Carlson, goalkeeper for the Geese, and Colin Patrick, the Buffalo goalie, were terrific in their posts under the constant onslaught from their opponents. Dillon Palumbo scored his second goal for the Buffalos, keeping the pressure on the Geese. In the last few, exciting minutes of the game, Spencer Tolson, supported by the Goose offense, led a drive to the goal, bringing the final score to 3-2.

Water Buffalos 6, Bob Sagets 5: This was an action-packed match, with aggressive offensive maneuvers from both teams. Scoring for the Buffalos were Dillon Palumbo with three goals and Andrei Kalinowski with two, and Andrew Janco with one. The Buffalo defense was headed up by Robert DiSibio in the goal, with both Lukas Palumbo and Jeroen Schickendantz presenting a strong defense. Jordan Klein put two in the net for the Sagets. In addition to playmaker assists, Travis Hannah scored a goal. Kevin Arthur had one assist and one goal, and Colin Kelly scored one for the Sagets. Both Ryan Escoda and Ian Klepacki played a good defensive game despite constant pressure from the Buffalos.

Water Buffalos 4, DMP 3: Bitter cold and a few snowflakes couldn’t stop the Water Buffalos and DMP from soccer on October 29. DMP took an early lead with a goal scored by Christian Lestik. The Buffalos quickly took control of the game with goals scored by Ryan Patrick, with an assist by Colin Patrick, followed by Colin Patrick’s own goal assisted by Dillon Palumbo. Palumbo followed up his assist by scoring on his own. DMP was thwarted by goalie Andrew Janco with Jeroen Schickendantz, Robert DiSibio and Daniel Reilly on defense. As the first flakes fell, DMP found their rhythm with two goals scored in quick succession by Elliott Bennett and Thomas Shkreli. DMP goalkeeper Barret DeYoung, with the support of the strong defense from James Stiles and Lucas LaDestro, kept the Buffalos in check. The game turned again as Buffalo midfielders Zach DeMeglio and Jake Pirone kicked into high speed to support their offense which included Chris Mok. In the last minutes of the game with heavy snow falling, Palumbo scored a final goal for the Buffalos for a victory.