New Canaan’s ‘Mighty Reds’ U10 Girls Soccer Dominates Darien 6-3
—submitted by Lisa Riley
New Canaan’s U10 Mighty Reds drive the ball forward during their victory over Darien Blue, 6-3. Contributed
On Sunday, Oct. 2, the New Canaan Girls U10 Mighty Reds continued on their winning streak beating Darien 6-3 in an away game. Led by co-captains Julia McPhillips and Eleanor duPont, the Mighty Reds showed a strong lead early on with two goals by Paige Place. Darien pushed hard and scored a goal to bring the match to 2-1 by the end of the first half.
Both the Mighty Reds and Darien Blue came back to the field in the second half with determination which showed in their play. Maddie Tully and Payton DiCamillo scored nearly back to back goals which brought the Mighty Reds to a 4-1 lead. Darien drove harder and scored two goals to bring the score to 4-3.
Cristina Swarmi and Georgina Owsley lead a strong defensive side for New Canaan keeping Dairen from scoring additional goals. Tully scored her second goal of the game bringing the score to 5-3. Place finished out the match earning her a hat trick ending the match with an impressive 6-3 win for the Mighty Reds.
***
NC stands ready at the top of the second half. Contributed
New Canaan Boys White 07 Stand Strong Against Bethel U10 White
—submitted by Anne Walker
New Canaan Boys White 07 demonstrated their dominance on the field with a 5-3 win over Bethel. It was a cloudy fall afternoon as the boys took to the fields at Farm Road, quickly proving that they were a force to be reckoned with. The ball was on Bethel’s side most of the time and boys had several shots on goal during the first half. Finally, they were able to capitalize on their position: Gustavo do Valle put one past Bethel, ending the half with a one-point lead. While Gianmarco Barrato, as goalie, saw less activity on his side of the field, he handily stopped everything that came his way.
The game became increasingly intense as the second half unfolded. At first, it seemed like Bethel did not have much fight. Simon Tchakarov scored a second and third goal in rapid succession. However, Bethel’s best player—who had been playing goalie the first half—kicked it into high gear and the game became more competitive. Bethel quickly made two goals, putting the score at 3-2. However, Tchakarov’s breakaway goal not only gave him his first hat trick of the season but also increased the team’s advantage over Bethel to two points. Oliver Sturn, in goal, skillfully blocked several direct kicks but was unable to stop a third goal by Bethel. But, not to be deterred, NC answered back with a fifth goal scored by do Valle with an assist—a great crossing shot—by Gregory Martin. All the boys showed a tremendous effort, not letting up until the whistle blew.
***
New Canaan Girls U12 Black Dominates Fairfield USA 6-0
—submitted by Mike Mottolese
The New Canaan girls went into Saturday’s game in Fairfield with some expectations. They had faced this Fairfield team in the season opening tournament besting them 5-1. So the girls expected another one-sided affair. Cautioned by parents and coaches not to expect an easy win, this game turned out to be no different.
New Canaan controlled the ball early with good ball movement and crisp passing in the offensive zone. Delaney Hoey crossed the ball to Reagan Quinn who placed it in the far corner of the net away from the goalie for the game’s first score. The good passing continued to pay off when Abby Richardson hit Kate Warner wide of the net only for Warner to one-touch it right back to Abby for the give and go to make it 2-0. Midfielders KK Mottolese, Reagan Bailey and Ava Dunn consistently piloted the ball back into the Fairfield box and Richardson scored her second goal, fighting off defenders in front of the goal and muscling it in with pure striker’s instinct to make it 3-0. Warner had a hand in the fourth goal, finding Charlotte Walter near the goal for the score. Emily Fox handled the duties in goal and the score remained 4-0 at the half.
The second half began with Kelly Marchiony scoring early with an assist from Jocelyn Riley. New Canaan put the brakes on, yet an opportunity presented itself for Fox who received the ball from Peyton Franz for the 6th goal of the game. The remainder of the second half saw players trying new positions, with Natalie Plosker and Quinn trying their hands in goal. Regular defensive specialist Amanda Benson blasted one over the goal on a scoring attempt. Forwards Abby Holmstead, Kate Dickinson and Alex Gelvin controlled the passing-heavy remainder of the half, with no more shots on goal for New Canaan to finish the game at 6-0.
***
New Canaan Girls U11 ’06 Tops Old Greenwich 2-0
—submitted by Debra Volpe
From the start, the team put on a skillful delivery of precision passing, strong defense and solid goaltending – a complete team effort! After a deluge of shots on goal, Chloe Oyekanmi received a pass from Kathryn Norton and drilled a shot past the Old Greenwich net minder. The team applied relentless pressure throughout the rest of the half just missing numerous opportunities to increase the score.
The second half started, where the 1st half ended. The team showering the Old Greenwich goaltender with a constant stream of shots. Finally, late in the second half, Ava Pertusiello scored to put the game at 2-0. The New Canaan defense was a formidable wall all day, led by Devon Russell, Kathryn Norton and Tema Wagner, prevented the Greenwich player’s any opportunity to penetrate the zone for a clean shot on goal. The NC goalie tandem of Grace Almeida and Hadley Walker served up a perfect day helping the team to a 2-0 victory!