New Canaan Football Club U11 Girls Red Team Advances to Third Round of CT Cup
Addie Cannon. Contributed
The New Canaan Football Club’s U11 Girls Red Team beat the Simsbury Galaxy on Sunday to advance to the third round of the 2015 Connecticut Cup Tournament.
The first half began with New Canaan controlling the ball and dominating the field position with high energy play that seemed to take Simsbury by surprise.
The Red Team kept the ball away from Simsbury with sharp, precise passes which allowed them to repeatedly attack in the Simsbury end. The offense had a number of shots on goal that couldn’t find the target until Ava Gizzie scored on a beautiful crossing pass from Ella Patterson to post the first goal of the game.
The defensive effort of Nola Kammerer and Kate Caione frustrated Simsbury and disrupted the Galaxy from forming any organized attack. Caroline Underwood anchored the defense with her perfect goal tending in the first half, which ended with New Canaan on top 1-0.
The second half continued with the same intensity and ball control displayed earlier as New Canaan did not let up on their game plan to constantly pressure Simsbury.
With the narrow margin of just a single goal lead, the Red Team added an insurance goal as Evelyn Slatoff fed a long up field pass to Gizzie who scored for her second time of the day. Once again the defense allowed Simsbury hardly any opportunities to shoot on the net which was tended by Sage Hartslief. Harstlief and Underwood’s combined goal tending efforts shut out Simsbury for a 2-0 victory.
New Canaan will now advance to the sweet sixteen round of the tournament in their quest for the state cup championship.
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New Canaan U13 Girls Black Team Overcomes Stamford 6-4
The New Canaan U13 Girls Black team fought to the bitter end on Sunday against a tough Stamford team, earning a hard-fought 6-4 victory.
Amanda Miller (center, with ball) had a hat trick in the New Canaan U13 Girls Black Team’s 6-4 win over Stamford on Sunday. Contributed
The girls started the game up one goal after Elizabeth St. George scored, but were soon rattled by a barrage of shots by Stamford’s offense, putting the red-and-black in a 3-1 hole. Before the end of the half, Macy Owsley took a beautiful shot to put NC back in the game.
Once again the New Canaan Girls came back strong in the second half, led by a great team defense effort that included Annie O’Shea, Page Volpe, Ashlyn Neugeboren, Olivia West and Sophie Lagarde, who held back Stamford’s firing offense. It was Amanda Miller who energized the team with a greatly deserved hat trick.
The first came off Cameron Murphy’s corner kick as Annika Holmberg took control and tipped it off to Miller. Miller later took the ball through Stamford’s defense and took a shot too hard for Stamford’s goalie to hold on to.
In the last five minutes of the game, it was Owsley who served the ball for Miller’s final goal. Owsley also celebrated a second goal which started with Burke who came through the middle and handed the ball off to St. George who assisted. The Girls remain undefeated.
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U-10 Girls White Soccer Notches Impressive 8-2 Win Over Fairfield
The Girls U-10 White team continued to improve as a team with a commanding 8-2 victory over Fairfield on Sunday.
Conditions were perfect for soccer on Farm Road Field for the noon kickoff, when Fairfield jumped to an early lead with a goal in the first few minutes.
New Canaan equalized almost immediately when Sloane Griffiths scored through a strong individual effort. Griffiths then assisted a Shannon Ratner goal for New Canaan to take the lead. Ratner scored again to make the New Canaan lead 3-1. Fairfield scored midway through the first half, pulling to within a goal at 3-2.
The second half saw New Canaan firmly take control when Lauryn Lee scored the fourth New Canaan goal, followed by Rani Joshi with the fifth. The multi-faceted New Canaan attack continued to press when Harper Teles broke away at midfield and blasted a goal to make the score 6-2. Lauryn Lee scored again on a centering pass from Lily Magliacano and then Magliacano tallied a goal herself to seal the score line at 8-2 New Canaan.
The solid New Canaan defense, anchored by Campbell McGurk and goalie Mia Fannon shut out Fairfield in the second half. Ella McDonnell and Margot Stanley dominated the midfield and created dangerous opportunities for the goal scorers.
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Weekend Wins for New Canaan U12 Girls Red
The second round of the CT Cup got off to a cold start on Saturday.
Meghan Driscoll applies pressure on the Fairfield striker. Contributed
The New Canaan U12 Girls Red team controlled the ball and Kiki Brainard fed a quick pass to Kaleigh Harden who took a shot, getting the first goal. Not long after, the duo picked up the second goal. Jade Lowe fired off a quick shot and picked up the third goal of the game. So the New Canaan U12 Girls Red will move on to the next round of the CT Cup.
At the start of the Sunday game, the U12 Girls Red team found itself on the defensive. Maiah Oyekanmi, Emma Lamaker, Angelia Megdanis, Meghan Driscoll, Kiera Mastey and Ashley Barton worked hard to keep the ball out of the New Canaan goal, as the other team got off four shots. Unfortunately, the other team was able to capitalize on a direct kick.
In the second half of the game, New Canaan forwards Avery Minter, Hollis Mulry, Hadley Beiles and Kaleigh Griffiths put on the pressure. Harden then shot from the right side off the field and hit the far upper corner of the goal, tying the game. Lowe passed to Cailtin Tully, who took a shot that the goalie collected.
New Canaan finishing the game with Harden passing the ball to Grace Crowell who shot the ball into the goal to make the final score 2-1.
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New Canaan Red U9 Girls Defeat Darien U9G Blue 5-0
The New Canaan Red U9 Girls soccer team relished in a sweet victory over their backyard rivals Darien U9G Blue on Sunday
As the parents bundled up on the sidelines to ward off a lingering late morning chill, the NC Red girls strode out on the field with an air of cool composure and a silent promise to freeze the Darien team in their tracks.
Payton DeCamillo moves through Darien traffic. Contributed
The impenetrable wall of NC Red defense was immediately evident as Parker Hanson, Nikki Ferraro and Sydney Patten anchored the back line and ferociously deflected each Darien advance. Confident their backs were covered, the offensive line took the fight to the other side of the pitch when Cecilia Patterson danced through two defenders in a midfield breakaway and found Payton DeCamillo on crossing shot which she promptly punched past a surprised Darien keeper.
NC Red followed with a series of blistering attacks that quickly wore down the Darien defense. Within minutes, Maddie Tully raised the score to 2-0 when she picked off a wobbly goal kick and turned it back on the helpless Darien keeper. The play shifted to the NC Red side of the pitch for several more minutes until Tully broke from the pack with a serpentine run up the right side and closed with a beautiful loft shot that floated up and over the Darien keeper’s head, bringing the score to 3-0.
The NC Red keeper, Lila Gizzie, only had to field two shots on goal for the half thanks to the indomitable NC Red defense.
The NC Red girls kept up the pressure as they entered the fray for the second half. After several minutes of attacking play which saw several solo runs into a crowded Darien defense, Coach Luke decided to call for order when he yelled: “Where is the recycle girls!”
Properly reoriented, the NC Red girls responded in kind when Tully tapped a short pass to Paige Place who swiftly snaked through several defenders on the left side and blasted a shot into the far right corner to cement a 4-0 lead.
Some contentious play followed as two more NC Red goals were dismissed on questionable referee calls, leading a flabbergasted Kallie Patterson to throw up her hands in protest. NC Red closed out the final score of 5-0 on an insurance goal from Place from within a tight scrimmage around the Darien goal. NC Red’s keeper, Reese Quinn, denied all Darien attempts in the half and maintained NC Red’s flawless score.
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New Canaan Girls U10 Red Dominate Darien Blue 6-1
Fiona Mueller skillfully maneuvers past a Darien defender during Sunday’s 6-1 win against Darien Blue. Contributed
The New Canaan Girls U10 Red put in a performance as beautiful as the weather this past Sunday afternoon against arch rivals Darien Blue. Although the final score might suggest otherwise, this was a tough opponent that started out on the offensive and had the Red on their heels in the early part of the match. First half defenders Maggie Murphy and Lexie Tully had their hands full with an aggressive Darien front line and twice had to chase down players breaking in on net. Goalie Devon Russell was tested early on making a fantastic close range save to keep New Canaan from falling behind.
As has been the case so far this season, when the Red finally go on the offensive they are highly efficient in the opponent’s end of the field. Fiona Mueller was the set-up person for New Canaan’s first strike as she passed to Lila Volpe in the box who launched a gorgeous hard line drive through traffic that proved too much for the goalie to handle. A few minutes later Mueller again got the assist, this time connecting with Ava Pertusiello who weaved through the middle and fired a rocket to the high left of the net. Darien was able to answer with their only goal late in the half to make it 2-1 at the break.
The second half began with a dynamic save by goalie Katie Quill, but her remaining time in net would turn out to be a keeper’s dream as New Canaan dominated up and down the pitch. Coach Alan O’Keeffe has been stressing passing over scoring, and both were fully on display as the Red began a four-goal onslaught. First it was Pertusiello who won the ball at midfield and passed to Tully who got past a defender and passed to Tema Wagner. Wagner fought her way into the box and scored on a rocket that ricocheted off the goalie. Moments later Tully once again hit Wagner with a crossing pass in front of the net that positioned her second consecutive goal in the low right corner.
Midfielders Isabel Cavanagh and Charlotte Walter thwarted every attempt Darien made to gain momentum. They effectively shut down several advances, and skillfully delivered the ball back up to their forwards. The Red’s next goal was another masterful sequence as Kathryn Norton connected with Pertusiello who connected with Tully. Tully broke past the defense and drilled a shot to the low right corner for a commanding four-goal lead. New Canaan’s final goal started with a charging Kelly Polacek passing several opponents as she streaked down the far left sideline and into the box. Just as two defenders were closing in she deftly passed it up to Wagner who slipped it past the goalie notching an impressive hat trick.
The New Canaan girls U10 Red now stand at 4-0 as they head into the SCOR tournament at Ridgefield this weekend.