[Editor’s Note: What follows are write-ups of recent New Canaan Soccer Association games. Thank-you to the authors and to the NCSA. Please send your youth sports write-ups and photos tomike@newcanaanite.com for inclusion in our website, daily newsletter and social media channels.]
The New Canaan U9 Girls Red soccer team exploded in their second game of the season, defeating Fairfield United Team 2 with a score of 7-1. Contributed photo
New Canaan U9 Girls Red defeat FUSA 7-1
The New Canaan U9 Girls Red soccer team exploded in its second game of the season, defeating Fairfield United Team 2 with a score of 7-1.
New Canaan came out strong and stormed the opposition netting six goals in the first half. Ava Pertusiello, Lexie Tully, Lila Volpe, Summer Achille, Fiona Mueller and Alexandra Gelvin each scored for the Red.
Devon Russell, Kelly Polacek and Lila Volpe led a standout defensive effort that held Fairfield to just one goal before halftime.
With a commanding 6-1 lead, New Canaan’s coach Barry Beattie switched to a defensive strategy in the second half. Midfielders Tema Wagner, Katie Quill, Kailee See, and Isabel Cavanagh dominated control of the ball with a stellar passing game.
The U9 Red also managed to tally another goal on a play which deflected off the foot of Fairfield’s defense.
New Canaan’s second half defense, anchored by Fiona Mueller, Lexie Tully and Maggie Murphy, did a fantastic job shutting down Fairfield’s offensive charges on the net, and sealed the solid win for the U9 Red.
New Canaan Girls U11 Black Wallop Weston U11 Gold 7-3
In a game where the final score looked more like a football tally than soccer, the New Canaan Girls U11 Black saw goals from six different players.
Yet as lopsided as the final result was, New Canaan’s ultimate dominance was not apparent in the beginning of the first half.
In fact, Weston came out on fire and stunned New Canaan with an early goal to start the game. Then the teams traded scores with New Canaan goals by Anna Barnard, Jasmine Mansourov and McKenna Usher—two of those goals set up by sweet passes from Meghan Driscoll.
With the score tied at three, it appeared that this was to be a tight contest. But a strong New Canaan defensive core—led by Maiah Oyekanmi, Rhyan Luther and Carolyn Baran—buckled down and contained Weston’s main offensive threat, allowing the offense to go to work. While Weston continued to test New Canaan, goaltender Lauren Doherty turned back their advances. The half ended with pretty passing from Oyekanmi to Mansourov to Abigail Gaudreau for the goal.
Now up 4-3, the second half was all New Canaan. Abigail Gaudreau got her second of the game with a hard shot that went “5 Hole” on the goaltender. Bella Licata, Kitty Rawlings-Green and Zoe Walker continued to force the play into the Weston side of the field allowing Maiah Oyekanmi to jump on the scoring bandwagon with a hard shot the goalie had no chance on. Weston was not about to go away quietly, but they had to deal with strong defense play from Kiera K. Mastey. The icing on the cake came from Lauren Doherty who took a soft touch pass from Grace Flatow and buried it in the back of the net.
Next up this coming Sunday: Stamford Hurricanes at Saxe Middle School.
New Canaan’s Caitlin Tully races past her opponent for control of the ball. Contributed photo
U11 Girls Red Road Show Brings a 1-0 Victory over Fairfield Riptide
On a beautiful Sunday afternoon, the New Canaan U11 Girls Red soccer team won a hard fought battle on the road defeating Fairfield’s Riptide 1-0.
This game would prove to be a testament of wills with both teams arriving focused and ready to play. Both sides of the pitch saw action during the first half, with New Canaan showing excellent teamwork by passing well and moving the ball into their opponent’s third of the field.
New Canaan’s Avery Minter and Grace Crowell used their speed to push past the defensive line but the Fairfield keeper denied any scoring opportunities. The half saw consistent back-and-forth action until the deadlock was finally broken with minutes left before the referee blew the halftime whistle.
New Canaan’s Hadley Beiles used her excellent ball control to set up Caitlin Tully for the lone goal of the game—a shot that the Fairfield goalie had her hands on but lost control of amongst a sea of cleats.
A quality New Canaan defense led by Katie Perlitz, Kaleigh Harden, and Madeleine McLaughlin, fought off Fairfield’s solid offense throughout the first half, protecting keeper Dillyn Patten who made several impressive saves. The defensive squad was also happy to welcome back teammate Ashley Barton who, after suffering a knee injury before the start of the season, showed true grit in her impressive return to the field.
Starting the second half hungry for the equalizing goal, Fairfield displayed aggressive teamwork right out of the gate. They repeatedly pressured New Canaan defenders, and found their way to net on several occasions. However, Katie Perlitz, another in New Canaan’s arsenal of formidable goalies, was a force to be reckoned with by saving shot after shot for the shutout.
As the game progressed and both teams battled for control of the ball, tension on the sidelines increased with each passing minute. With Fairfield’s urgency to score and the pressure increasing on the New Canaan defensive line, teammates Kaleigh Harden, Emma Lamaker and Hollis Mulry tirelessly pushed back the ball to give our offense a chance to work. Having paid her dues in the net, forward Dillyn Patten was explosive on offense with several shots on goal. Rounding out the offensive line, Grace Crowell and Hadley Beiles continued the relentless attack on Fairfield’s goal. Unfortunately, the barrage of quality shots on goal did not result in furthering New Canaan’s tally.
A nail biter to the very end, New Canaan defeated the Fairfield Riptide 1-0. Next Saturday, September 20, begins the team’s quest for the Connecticut Cup, squaring off against Wilton Blue at home in first round action. Then it’s back up to Fairfield on Sunday to play the FUSA Storm.
New Canaan U9 Red players from right to left: Teddy Werner, Jaden Oyekanmi and Will Langford maneuver past Westport players to get the ball to Ethan Schubert for a goal. Contributed photo
New Canaan U9 Boys Red Team Dominates Westport
In its first home game, the New Canaan Boys U9 Red team defeated Westport 7-2.
Thanks to the aggressive defense of Jaden Oyekanmi and Cole Wilson and goal-tending by Teddy Balkind in the first half, Westport had just one goal to New Canaan’s four and did not have the opportunity to make a single other shot on goal.
New Canaan’s offense kept the Westport goalie busy with shot after shot, ending the half with goals by Augusto Baldini, Jack Cuda, and two by Teddy Hoffstein.
Westport reorganized and scored an early 2nd half goal to bring the score to 4-2, but they were shut down for the rest of the game by New Canaan defensemen Teddy Werner and Cole Wilson. Ethan Schubert scored the first New Canaan goal of the 2nd half in an exciting one-on-one with the Wesport goalie, when he shot the ball perfectly from a tight angle. Connor Lytle and Jack Cuda both scored once more for New Canaan before the whistle for a final score of 7-2.