Girls

U8

Lightning Strikes 2, Mustangs 0: In a tight defensive struggle, the Lightning Strikes finally broke through in the fourth quarter on two goals by Olivia Cornett. The first goal was assisted by Riley Burns on a long clearing pass from the backfield. The second was assisted by Becca Filiato who threaded a pass through traffic in front of the net. Siena Harper and Caroline Drew moved the ball well on offense and Alyssa Bailey and Carly Decker played tough defense. The Mustangs played strong defense for three quarters led by Meredith Taylor and Lindsey Booth. Vivian Meehan, Nora Kliczewski, Emily Tessler and Mikaela Anthony moved the ball well on offense creating many scoring opportunities, but were unlucky with the results.

SuperStrikers 4, Team Six 2: The SuperStrikers were led by Abby Stites with two goals and one each from Piper Salva and Julia Gerace. Stites was outstanding in goal, Gabby Mogollon played great defense and fantastic all around efforts were given by Venesa Bajraliu, Maleeha Ali, Kyra Masone, Emi Rosenthal, Katie Marcum, Sarah Bertsche and Elise Baricelli. Team six was led by the terrific tandem of Kaia Gioffre with two goals and Scarlett Long with two assists, while Katy Rowan was responsible for some great goalkeeping.

Warriors 2, Lightning 2: In this evenly matched exciting contest, the defense dominated the first half, hitting the break in a scoreless tie. The Lightning defense was anchored by the excellent play of Anna Metzker, Kristen Reisert and Madeline Patrick. Katie Viselli played an excellent quarter in goal, deflecting multiple attacks on net by the opposition. The Warrior defense equaled that effort led by the tireless hustle of Samantha Kuruc, Elizabeth Cassetta, Charlotte Branchflower and Sophia Bajcer. Olivia Buchler was outstanding in goal. The second half saw the Lightning strike twice, with the offensive attacks of Elizabeth and Catherine Teixeira resulting in two goals for the visiting team. Nicole Fisher, Rayna Toth and Julia Raiani also played outstanding on the offensive side of the ball. The Warriors made a late charge to tie the game on a goal by Olivia Buchler and then a long breakaway and rocket shot into the net by Katie Stan in the final minute to complete the scoring. Maggie LaBanca and Katie Jones were also exceptional for the relentless Warrior attack.

U11

Newtown Dynamites 1, Ridgefield 0: The Dynamites started the game strong with players holding positions and passing among themselves. This well-orchestrated play helped Brooke Antous find the back of the net within the first five minutes of play. A majority of the game was played on the Ridgefield side of the field, but their strong defense would not allow the Dynamites to score any more goals. Lauren Carrino, Rebecca Gavel and Kristen Cirone played hard in goal, while Grace Corcoran was strong on defense. Jenna Lavelle played well in the midfield, and Gavel had a good game as a forward.

U12

Suffield 7, Newtown Panthers 0 (State Cup game): The Panthers met their match with the seasoned team from Suffield, heading home with a 7-0 defeat. The Panthers came out of the gate with all they had led by the defensive front line of Audrey Sedensky, Kira Kelly and Bryanna Benson. A physical matchup resulted in Elizabeth Chamiec-Case overcoming a crippling shot to the midsection to push the ball forward, while Dani Otero and Kaitlyn Reilly used their bodies to gain position over their opponents. Greta Staubly, Allie Paynter and Priya Deraney did all they could to convert the Suffield offenses to Panther power plays. Catherine Shaw and Diana Kirkman alternated in sweeping the box of any attempts at goal, while Juliette Grover and Charli Condon used their muscle and skilled footwork to push forward the offensive measure. Lauren Russo showed how to cross the ball, while Mary Hufziger excelled at her pullbacks and footwork. Alex Futterman never lost her determination sacrificing her body with uncompromising saves and defended the goal with all her might. Maria Ringes also defended the goal like a cat with smart positioning and commanding saves.

Newtown Panthers 4, Westport 1: Down two players, the Panthers proved their true grit with a 4-1 win against Westport on Sunday. Juliette Grover connected with an assist from Diana Kirkman for a goal early in the first half. The girls really used their heads with their second goal as a header by Kira Kelly was forwarded by a second header from Greta Staubly over to Maria Ringes to score. Elizabeth Chamiec-Case showed her strength by stripping Westport of the ball, while Priya Deraney connected for a shot on goal. Kaitlyn Reilly supported the offensive line with fine footwork. The Panther’s defense kept the ball in Westport territory with smart play by Catherine Shaw, Allie Paynter and the ever-present, Audrey Sedensky. Mary Hufziger’s aggressive play led to opportunities for her teammates and a fine shot on goal. Dani Otero dominated midfield while setting up well-placed passes for Lauren Russo. Russo answered Otero’s assist with a beautiful goal in the second half. Late in the fourth quarter, Staubly connected with her first career goal. The venerable goaltending team of Alex Futterman and Ringes proved too much for Westport denying them all but one shot on goal.

U13

Newtown Thunder 5, Westport 0: Down three players, the Thunder still managed to overwhelm Westport. Ali Manfredi kicked off the scoring for the second straight week with an early goal. Amanda Albanese’s centering cross found Jess Maturo in front of the net for the next score. Albanese then stole a pass and converted for a 3-0 Thunder lead. Lauren Cirrone assisted on another goal by Maturo. Maturo was able to record the hat trick off a sharp pass from Emily Neeve. Claire Beiter, Julia Sughrue and Stef Carr added shots on goal. Mia Katsuleres and Meghan Doyle filled in expertly on defense.

U14

American Eagles 1, No Names 0: For the American Eagles, Stephanie Haas scored the lone goal on a nice breakaway play. The offense was anchored by the excellent overall play of Greta Capeci, Izzy Kaiser and Haley McNulty. The defense was able to deflect multiple attacks by a tough opponent. The strong combination of Molly Begg, Morgan Goldstein and Grace Sholtes, coupled with the outstanding play of Sweeper Mackenzie Macchiarulo held the defense together for the Eagles. Savannah Davidow had an excellent game in net and made an outstanding save in goal late in the game. For the No Names, Lauryn Ankers, Katlyn Henchcliffe and Caroline Cole led the No Names with a strong midfield effort, controlling the flow of the game, setting up numerous scoring opportunities. Melissa Shohet and Vanessa Tucker had a great game as midfielders/forwards. A strong defensive effort was spearheaded by Rachel Jacuzzi and Alexis Tucker.

Hasta la Vistas 1, No Names 0: The Hasta la Vistas managed to squeak out a 1-0 victory over the No Names with a goal by Emily Booth. The No Names were anchored by Janyce Toth on defense and Diana Akiri who was outstanding in goal, playing like a wall. The Hasta la Vistas got strong offensive support from Samantha Olah and the Malin sisters, Mary-Kathryn and Laura. Maddie Marlin and Erika Teetsel led an aggressive offense for the No Names and Ajene Arokium, in the last 15 minutes of the second half, led the Hasta la Vistas with energetic play that nearly netted a second goal.

Boys

U8

Blue Thunder 3, Team Nine 0: The Blue Thunder played against a very talented Team Nine squad and battled hard as a team for the victory. Ethan Appiah, Drew Poseno and Colin Marshall created multiple scoring chances but were stymied early on by the Team Nine keeper. The boys did not give up and kept their effort up. All three Blue Thunder goals were scored by Markus Paltauf. The first was assisted by James Ciaramello from a well-struck corner kick. The second goal was assisted from Michael Elston with a great through ball. The third was unassisted. On defense, Owen Reinhart and Calum Edmund broke up multiple plays and in goal Jeremy Pankow made some great saves in net.

Nighthawks 3, Team Seven 1: The Nighthawks remain unbeaten in a well-fought game. Both sides played great as the ball was in front of both team’s goals throughout the game. Tyler DiMartino led the way for the Nighthawks with two goals. The first goal was assisted by Gunnar Bozentko on a beautiful forward pass. Ryan Ruddy scored the team’s second goal with an unassisted blast from just inside the box. John Sullivan led the defense with his consistent play. Kyle Luo and Brandon Akbas were both strong on defense and helped anchor the backfield.

Kickers 6, Sponge Bobs 1: CJ Cuomo scored three times, Ryan Poupon scored twice and Daniel Delia added another score. They were assisted by Nick Mottola, Brandon Manka, Liam O’Connell and Sean Reilly. Carter Mixon led the defense along with Ryan Poupon, Dan Delia and Nick Mottola. The goalkeepers all did a great job stopping all but one drive on goal. The Sponge Bob attack was led by a goal from Jack Petersen and strong play from Jake Mailloux, JJ Kanaan and Torin Kearney. Ethan Paley and Tanner Trede were all over the field and RJ Figueroa, Cameron Petrelli and Connor Dullinger played exceptional defense.

U10

Old Greenwich 5, Newtown Blaze 3: The Blaze played an exciting game against Old Greenwich. The boys played tough against a strong opponent, keeping the score close throughout the majority of the game. Ryan Beardsley led a strong attack in the first half, scoring the first Newtown goal with a skillful header following a corner kick. Newtown’s defense had their work cut out for them, but the boys were up for the task with brilliant effort by Will Pellison, Duncan O’Leary, Tristan Andrew and Justin DeThomas on both defense and defensive midfield play to minimize Greenwich’s shots on goal. Ben Futterman played strong in midfield, pushing the ball up throughout the game and scoring the second goal. JP Ford had some great saves in the goal during the first half and demonstrated strong attack as striker in the second half, scoring the final goal of the game. The entire team managed to work the ball up to their end of the field for much of the second half, tackling and setting up with several attempts for additional shots. Jonathan Liberante covered as keeper during the final half, working hard to protect the Newtown goal.

U14

Newtown Strikers 6, Fairfield 1: The Newtown Strikers remain in the playoff contention after a decisive victory in Southwest district league play. James Carney led the team effort with three goals and an assist; Omar Rodriguez added two goals, Cole Rogalin chipped in one. Defensively, the Strikers midfielders and backfield of Tyler Dullinger, Alex Gerbo, Chris Rovelli and Dillon Solano controlled the ball for the majority of the game, minimizing any scoring opportunities for Fairfield.

Newtown Strikers 1, Darien 0: The victory moved the Strikers into a three-way tie for third place in league action. Striker goaltender Zachary Laros stopped 18 shots on goal to preserve the shutout. Omar Rodriguez scored the lone goal for the Strikers after a barrage of shots on the Darien goalie with 5 minutes remaining in the game. The backline of Chris Rovelli and Tyler Dullinger had exceptional games stopping Darien. The midfielder contingent of Scott Martin, James Carney, Cole Rogalin and Tony Leonardi were effective in controlling and distributing the ball.