There were no remaining signs of Old Man Winter when the New Canaan FC U9 Girls Red team stepped onto the pitch to kick off their season opener this past Sunday. The sidelines were quickly abuzz with barely contained excitement as parents and siblings alike began whispering of the strong season to come and the seemingly unstoppable force that has become known as the “Big Red Wrecking Ball.”
NC Red jumps to their game opening anthem.
NC Red exploded with pent-up energy from the long off-season and quickly got on board 1-0 with a deft tap-in from Paige Place on a well-timed cross from Nikki “Ferrari” Ferraro who had just finished a long serpentine run through several defenders up the right side of the pitch. Stunned out of their winter slumber, Trumbull attempted to turn up the heat but the NC Red defense kept them well contained and thwarted any attempts on goal. Following the next round of substitutions, forward Payton DeCamillo managed to steal a weak pass from the Trumbull defense and blast it past a surprised Trumbull keeper to bring the score to 2-0. Late in the half, NC Red added another insurance goal when Kallie Patterson planted a surgical shot in the far left corner of the net following a solo dash from the middle of the pitch that left several confused defenders in her wake. NC Red closed out the half up 3-0 on the strong defensive play of keeper Madeline “Maddie” Tully and defenders Lila Gizzie and Parker Hanson.
Trumbull returned from the half emboldened and determined to bring the fight to NC Red. Undeterred, NC Red answered in kind early in the second half when Maddie Tully drove a well-timed left-footer to Paige Place who promptly punched the ball past the startled Trumbull keeper to bring the score to 4-0. NC Red stifled the Trumbull offense and maintained their dominance in the second half on all-around strong play from Madison “Maddy” Hartnett, Julia McPhillips, Cecilia Patterson, Sydney Patten, and Reese Quinn. A late game controversial penalty kick finally put Trumbull on the board and ended the game with NC Red up 4-1.