By Kim J. Harmon

NEWINGTON – On a cold, wet and blustery November morn, the Newtown girls’ 11-and-under travel soccer team saw its dream of a CJSA State Cup championship slip away to Avon during a penalty kick shootout on Field #3 at Newington High School.

Though it came to a disappointing end (2-1 in favor of Avon), for some 90 minutes of regulation and overtime action the Lightning played quite well.

The locals were the first to break open what had been a fairly tight, midfield battle when Kailee Dunnigan popped a shot from just outside the penalty box and inside the left post. Another great scoring opportunity, coming off a beautiful cross from Sarah Lynch, was stymied, though, by the Avon goaltender.

The Lightning did a good job of withstanding the rush from a couple of speedy Avon players, thanks to the efforts of midfielders Megan Meyer and Shelby Tolla and defenders Meghan Brophy, Meghan Korchman and Helene Sorensen.

All did a nice job supporting goaltenders Siena Cicarelli and Dale Shearin.

Nevertheless, the Blue Thunder did break through about 13 minutes in the second half, scoring on a beautiful through ball right down the middle of the field. Newtown dodged a bullet several minutes later, two, when a long Avon serve bounced in the penalty area and over the cross bar.

Avon kept the pressure up through the end of the half and through two 10-minute overtime sessions, but the Newtown defense did not buckle. In the penalty kick shootout, though, Avon was just a little bit sharper and escaped with the U11 championship.

In regular season action, the Lightning earned a 1-1 draw with Stamford (in a game played just hours after the dramatic State Cup final) and a 5-1 win over Bethel.

In the draw with Stamford, Jessica Keller scored the lone goal as Taylor Lafave and Michelle Zarifis had good all-around games while Meyer and Kate Fallon were tough in goal. In the win over Bethel, Lynch scored four times and Amy Martinelli scored once. Cassie Fischer and Raquel Crespo helped keep up the offensive pressure while Keller, Emily Riley and Cicarelli were a force in midfield.

Caroline Tanner and Shearin were strong in the nets.

NOTE: Talk about commitment – not only by a player, but by her parents! Taylor LaFave and her family recently moved to Montreal, Canada, but Taylor and her dad, John, drove down to Newington last weekend so Taylor could play with her teammates in the CJSA Girls U11 State Cup championship.

In other youth soccer action –

TRAVEL

Boys U12

Beasts 1, Greenwich 1 – Matt Mossbarger scored the lone goal off an assist from Grant Ricketts to lead Newtown in its draw with Greenwich. Jonah Muniz, Conner Gallagher, Wesley Morlock and Matt Baldino were strong on defense. Doug Miller, Jordan Sock and Jonathan Schwartz had a strong game.

Beasts 4, Trumbull 1 – Matt Mossbarger scored a pair of goals while Robert Linden and Grant Ricketts added one apiece to lead the Beasts past Trumbull. Owen Gaston, Steffan Dullinger, Jacob Moore and Andrew Martinez had strong games. Jonah Muniz excelled on defense and Austin Raftery was excellent in goal.

Girls U12

Jaguars 2, Fairfield 2 – Taylor Brady made a nifty move in the midfield and scored the Jaguars first goal and, then, Angela Halili knocked in a loose ball for the second goal as the Jaguars drew even with Fairfield in the last game of the season. Sally Martinelli, Emily Peters, Kacey Caplan and Serena Kiss applied constant pressure from the striker position. Shannon O’Gorman, Gabrielle DeBartolomeo, and Katherine Clark controlled the midfield as Tess Murray, Abi Kuligowski, Lindsay Jagoe and Taylor Zingaro played excellent defense. Danielle Shine and Karlie Kuligowski were stellar in goal.

Boys U11

Monroe 7, White Lightning 1 – Jeremy Doski stole the ball at midfield and on the breakaway scored the lone Newtown goal in a loss to Monroe. Playing in a tough division, the Lightning finished up 2-13-1 and look forward to the upcoming indoor and spring seasons. In the loss to Monroe, Ryan King played well at striker, showing some fancy moves to set up several shots on goal. Clay Gattey, Kaj Djonne and Constant Gregoire played well up front, as did Patrick Rowley and Graham Hubbert in the midfield. Nathyn Horvath and Knute Johnson were excellent on defense and Sawyer Conrad played a nice game in goal with many diving saves.

Boys U10

Strikers 2, Norwalk 2 – The Strikers ended their first season in the Southwest District with a tie against Norwalk. Cole Rogalin scored a pair of goals in the first half, receiving strong support offensively from John Carlson, Chris Healy and Bryce Mather. Goalie Josh Houle kept Norwalk scoreless in the first half, while James Carney played aggressively at both ends of the field. Jacob Ermis, Paul O’Leary and sweeper Alex Gerbo led the defensive effort for Newtown.

Girls U10

Westport 2, Comets 1 – The Comets couldn’t hold off Westport in their final game of the season, but played a great game with strong performances by Portia Baudisch at midfield and Brenna Kelly at defense with terrific offensive transitions. The lone goal was scored by Julia Schoeni, who took a nice feed from Katie Mossbarger up the middle and converted a well executed break away. The goal keeping duties were shared by Kim Brello, Emily Charash and Mossbarger, all of whom made their share of difficult saves.

IN-HOUSE

Boys U14

Vipers 3, Wolverines 1 – Josh Branchflower scored two goals and Mac Morlock added a two assists to lead the Vipers to the win. Fredrik Dean scored a goal and played solid defense while Colin Reilly, Dan Olszewski and Tom Giarratano had strong games at midfield. For the Wolverines, Colin Cooper scored the lone goal as Robert Beier played an outstanding defensive game, supported by George Ferris. Matt Wood and Matt Janco played a strong midfield.

Girls U14

Pumas 4, Smurfs 2 – Justina Paproski scored all four goals to lead the Pumas to the win. Alessandra Lalli and Aspen Kraushaar played strong games on offense.  Emily Papp and Catherine Neave played great defense. For the Smurfs, Emily Lones scored both goals. Madigan Chrystie, Maria Biondi, Kiely Kuligowski and Grace McKinley all played excellent games.

Boys U10

The Oskars 3, Blue Dragons 2 – Lukas Palumbo, Mason Melillo and Travis Hanna all scored a goal and Dillon Palumbo played well in the net to lead The Oskars to the win. For the Dragons, Jacob Harper scored twice as Boris Kudlac, Felix Summ and Hayes Kelchner played well on defense.

Girls U10

Torpedoes 4, Bulldogs 2 – Three goals by Amanda Mele and one by Jaqueline Mooney lifted the Torpedoes to the win. Great games by Rachel Crosby, Anna Pinckney, Tessa Leon-Gambetta and Sinead Flanagan made a big difference. For the Bulldogs, Eliza Eggleston and Megan Milano scored the goals as Emma Hungaski, Samantha Dion and Emily McCoy played well.

Super Shooters 1, Turf Devils 0 – Caitlin Filiato scored the only goal to lead the Shooters to the win. Callie Kraushaar played a great all-around game. Katerina Ringes and Alexis Tucker were a force on defense and Courtney Datin provided strong offensive support.

Boys U8

Bulldogs 5, Blue Sharks 1 – Evan Eggleston scored three goals and Shane Gattey scored two to lead the ‘Dogs to the win. Matthew Krasnickas played awesome defense. For the Blue Sharks, Drew Tienken scored the one goal and was aided on offense by Garrett Fetchick. Justine Cicarelli sparkled on D.

Girls U8

Wolverines 7, Blue Champions 3 – Jessica Maturo scored three goals while Margaret Beardsley and Maya Neuhoff scored two goals each to lead the Wolverines to the win. Megan Nahmias and Caroline Viselli played well on defense. For the Champions, Emma Boland scored all three goals with assists from Grace Larsen and Dylan Zahansky. Mia Katusleres and Lizzie Chamiec-Case were spectacular on offense and Keira Veillette played strong defense.

Cobras 3, Mohawks 1 – Playing with no substitutes, the Cobras had a strong team win. Matt Guinee scored twice and Dylan Sock scored once to lead the way. Jack Bittman provided an assist while Tyler Trede and Austin Smith played well on offense. RH Clark and Sterling Radacsi anchored the defense.

American Eagles 3, Soccer Stars 3 – Meghan Doyle scored two goals and Emily Neave netted the game-tying goal with less than three minutes left to earn a well-deserved tie for the American Eagles. Cecilia Schoeni played a fantastic game in goal, while Erin Burns and Grace Sholtes led the team’s tireless defensive effort. McKenna Macchiarulo scored two goals and Julia Doyle added the third for the hardworking Soccer Stars. Cassidy Kortze played an outstanding all-around game and Natalie Kellner made several great saves in goal to preserve the tie.

Cheetahs 1, Skunks 1 – Sydney Johnson of the Cheetahs and Danielle Otero of the Skunks scored the goals in a 1-1 draw. For the Cheetahs, Haley Harkins had the assist while Bridget Walsh, Mallory LoBuglio and Julia Haskins played tough defense.

Mustangs 2, Fighting Irish 0 – In a hard fought well deserved victory, Nevan Gattey led the Mustangs with two goals. Lauren King and Jacqueline Seras had the assists. Amanda Wikramanayake was terrific in the goal, making several key saves. For the Fighting Irish, Isabella Luciano and Lyndsey Francisco played outstanding on offense as Annalise Saraceni and Vanessa Tucker played their hearts out in their last game of the fall season.

Boys U6

Team (#2) 5, Team (#1) 4 – Bryce Bisson scored four goals and Aidan Moulder scored one for Team #2, while Adam Bowditch and Devon Pope played tremendous all-around games. Paul Samberg led the team’s strong defense and Christopher Venezia played a great game in goal. Luke Barrett scored two goals and Ryan Beardsley and Kyle Good each scored a goal for Team #1. Sean Arnold and Luke Fischer both played outstanding defensive games and Jacob Laros had some amazing saves in goal.

Girls U6

Little Darlings 3, Tigers 1 – Katie Sailer scored three goals to lead the Little Darlings. Julia Sullivan and Simone Paradis played excellent in goal while Kendra Saunders, Jackie Matthews and Sarah Grant all played well on offense. For the Tigers, Alexandra Chatzikonstantinou, Tess Hubbard, Sage Karp and Emma Ricbe all played well.