Dynamite Finish For Soccer Team

The U12 Girls Newtown Dynamite hosted and won the CJSA Southwest District fall championship this past weekend and came out on top. The Dynamite, seeded first in the tournament, played themselves into the finals by defeating Darien Blue on Saturday 3-1 in the semifinal game. They won the title with a decisive 3-0 victory over the Fairfield Red Dragons in the championship round.

In the semifinals, the game was a back and forth battle with Newtown applying the bulk of the pressure. Early in, Emily Celentano had a drive that banged off the left post. Emma Curtis followed soon after with a drive of her own that bounced off the goalie’s chest. Lauren Adams’ aggressive play at midfield and Samantha Bicho on defense allowed the Dynamite their advantage in possession. With five minutes remaining in the half, Veronica Vodola received a corner kick from Lauren Carrino and netted it for a 1-0 halftime lead. The Dynamite got to business early in the second when Katie Sailer received another corner kick from Lauren Carrino, and shot and scored. The teams would share possessions for most of the half until Darien broke loose and scored its first goal with about 13 minutes left. With Darien pressing for the equalizer, Carly Swierbut dribbled down the left wing and centered the ball to Sarah Widmann who moved the ball along to Veronica Vodola. From close in, Veronica chipped the ball over the goalie to score her second goal of the game.  

Newtown took the championship game in convincing fashion. The Dynamite controlled the ball in the Red Dragons’ side of the field for 80 percent of the first half, keeping the opposing goalie and defense busy. Celentano had shots on goal for a second straight game but was unable to connect. On one of her many runs, Sweirbut had a fast break with three defenders in pursuit, one of which was able to push the ball wide before Sweirbut’s shot. Fairfield had one of its best offensive chances of the half with 3:30 remaining. With a direct free kick awarded from five yards outside of the penalty box, a Fairfield player struck a ball over the Newtown wall which Dynamite goalie Jackie Seras didn’t see coming until the last second. Seras used her quick reflexes to jump to tip the ball off and over the crossbar. Fairfield had one more shot that would sail wide to end the half.

Six minutes into the second half, the Fairfield goalie appeared disoriented when she walked out of the penalty box with the ball in her hand. Newtown was awarded a direct kick from the top of the box which Lauren Carrino placed over the Red Dragons’ wall and over the goalie’s head into the back of the net for a 1-0 lead. Soon after, Jenna Lavelle fed a lead pass on the right side to Curtis who found her way through the Fairfield defense and sent a shot across the goalie to the far left corner of the goal to increase the Dynamite’s lead to two. Newtown finished off the scoring with 13 minutes left as Sailer netted a centering pass from Carrino. Gabby Reisert, Audrey Benson, Kristen Cirone, and Lindsay Merrifield anchored the defense that kept the Red Dragons off the scoreboard.