New Canaan Girls U10 Red Defeat Wilton Blue 4-1
Isabel Cavanagh wins the ball for New Canaan during their victory against Wilton on Sunday. Contributed
New Canaan Girls U10 Red were on the road this past Sunday to take on Wilton Blue. The Red was confidant going in, but this is an opponent that has been a challenge in the past. Early on, the action was pretty even with both sides making runs down the field. However, it was New Canaan that scored first when Lexie Tully passed up to Kelly Polacek just over midfield. Polacek broke past two defenders and beat the goalie with a hard close range shot to the corner.
Being a tough competitor, Wilton stepped up the intensity with several attacks down field. Defenders Maggie Murphy and Devon Russell repeatedly stole the ball from Wilton’s offense and pushed the ball back up the pitch. First half goalkeeper Fiona Mueller made several beautiful saves, with Wilton only scoring on an own goal off a corner kick.
New Canaan answered quickly when Katie Quill connected with Isabel Cavanagh who crossed through the box and drilled a high shot to the left corner of the net. The Red continued their assault, hitting the post on one attempt, as Wilton started to back pedal. They were caught once again when Polacek sent a crossing pass in front of the net that Quill played perfectly with a one-timer rocket past the keeper.
With a 3-1 lead going into the second half, New Canaan looked to preserve their lead and seal the win. Wilton obviously had other plans, which their coach feverishly worked on with a blackboard during the break, and they came out on he offensive. Now in goal, Cavanagh had to make several difficult saves, including an impressive leaping save, to prevent a Wilton comeback. But the Red quickly turned the momentum around with forwards Ava Pertusiello, Polacek and Quill controlling the play in Wilton’s end. Each had multiple shots on net with one ringing the post.
As the half progressed Wilton had their chances, but New Canaan’s defense was too strong. Kathryn Norton, Tema Wagner and Charlotte Walter expertly handled each advance and even blocked a free kick. Never giving up until the final whistle, New Canaan made a final push to get back on the scoreboard. Norton passed to Tully at midfield who broke free down the right side and added an insurance goal to close it out by a score of 4-1.
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U14 Girls Red Downs Fairfield 1-0
The New Canaan U14 Girls Red Division-A travel soccer team defeated the Fairfield Red Wildcats today, 1-0 at home on the Water Tower turf field at Waveny. NC seemed to be outplayed in the first half but managed to keep Fairfield off the scoreboard ending the half scoreless.
During the second half, NC stepped it up to produce three beautiful separate long runs by Riana Afshar, Katherine Lisecky and Taylor Frame where they each showcased their skills but unfortunately NC wasn’t able to capitalize on these drives.
With Two minutes remaining in the match, NC striker Jane Charlton found herself 1-on-1 against the Fairfield center back. Charlton calmly switched the ball to her left foot which committed the center back, and then Charlton pulled the ball back onto her right foot, where she was able to easily go around the defense. The maneuver also presented Charlton with a better angle on the target, which she easily found, putting in the only goal of the game. As usual, the NC midfield, back defensive line and goalkeeper collectively gelled producing their fifth shut-out of the season.
Kailee See. Contributed
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Girls U10 Black Shuts Out Shelton 4-0
New Canaan Girls U10 Black notched a big win with a big scoring first half. From the first whistle, the team was on the offensive with Kailee See, Lily Auerbach, and Reagan Quinn keeping the ball in the offensive end. The scoring started when Alexandra Gelvin gave a feed to Hadley Walker who wasted no time to put it home for a 1-0 New Canaan lead. Walker, fresh off her goal, took a corner kick that found its way to Celia Parkhill who threaded a shot through a crowd of defenders to make the score 2-0. Shelton fought back with a couple of offensive runs only to be shut down by some great play by Amanda Vigano, Chloe Oyekanmi and Sofia Brauweiler. Goalie Logan Severance was only tested a few times but was true to the task of keeping the ball out of the net. Before the end of the first half Maeve Hibbert sent a long pass to Claire Ognibene who created some room to send a center pass to Gelvin. Her shot found the back of the net for a first half lead 3-0 to New Canaan.
The second half was more competitive but the team kept their lead with some great work by Hibbert in goal, Vigano, Severance and Brauweiler on defense and Auerbach, See and Oyekanmi controlling the center of the field. Quinn used her speed and passing skills to create some threats but the Shelton goalie stood fast. With time winding down, Ognibene scored the final goal unassisted to make it 4-0 in favor of New Canaan. A great team effort, which resulted in some high quality goals, made for a great win for U10 Girls Black.
Defender Olivia West. Contributed
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New Canaan U13 Girls Black Beats Fairfield 4-0
On Sunday Oct. 25, the New Canaan U13 Girls Black team and FUSA, two undefeated teams, met head to head. The NC girls battled it out taking Fairfield 4:0 holding onto their first place standing.
In the first half, Macy Owsley set the team up nicely with two goals. The first goal was assisted by Amanda Miller and the second came from a beautiful cross by Olivia West.
In the second half New Canaan’s confidence built with two more goals from Elizabeth St George. The first goal started with St George taking it through Fairfield’s defense and with a nice tip over to Miller was able to take some pressure off and receive the ball back to finish. Her second goal came off a perfect pass from Sophie Lagarde.
Once again, New Canaan created great scoring opportunities from midfielders Pippa Williams, Cameron Murphy, Sarah DiCosmo and Sophia Patterson (player of the week) aiding in the record number of goals scored in their bracket. But, New Canaan’s defense deserves the credit for holding back Fairfield to the bitter end. It was Ann O’Shea, Blaine Burke, West and Lagarde as well as goalie Samantha Finn that shut down this undefeated Fairfield team.
Sajan Shah taking control of the ball with great back up by Jack Mitchell & Holden Prymas. Contributed
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U9 Boys White New Canaan FC tie Shelton 2-2
It was a busy weekend for U9 Boys White, with games on both Saturday and Sunday. On Saturday, U9 Boys White faced Shelton here at home. Shelton dominated the 1st half of the game scoring two goals resulting in a 2-0 lead over U9 White. However, U9 White persisted and never gave up. After some good teamwork and communication, Sajan Shah took the ball down the field and ripped by the goalie after intercepting a goal kick to score 2-1. Shah then took the ball down the field again and scored the second goal resulting in a 2-2 score against Shelton. A well deserved tie for U9 White!
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Girls U11 White Ties FUSA Blue 1-1
The New Canaan Football Club U11 Girls White team played to a tie against FUSA Blue in Fairfield Saturday. The first half was back and forth action in both offensive zones, with Bella DeFelice keeping New Canaan in the game with some tough saves. The first half ended deadlocked at 0-0.
The second half saw a tough bounce get past keeper Emily Fox, putting FUSA ahead 1-0, but New Canaan kept up heavy pressure and it paid off with a strike by Abby Holmstead to knot it at 1. Fox continued her fine job in net making a great save with 4 minutes remaining to preserve the tie.
Girls U11 White Defeats Wilton Gold 2-1
On Sunday, the White team played Wilton Gold in a late afternoon game in Wilton. As the shadows covered the field and day got cooler, the action heated up between these two evenly matched teams. New Canaan got on the board with a goal by Ava Dunn at the 20:00 mark. Wilton tied it up with 10:00 left in the first half, but Bella DeFelice, facing heavy pressure, kept Wilton off the board for the rest of the half to keep the game knotted at 1-1. After a hard fought second half, which saw two New Canaan players leave the game with injuries, (both later to return,) Victoria Lockhart and Delaney Hoey combined on a goal to put White ahead for good. Defelice kept Wilton off the board for the entire second half, stopping some tough shots from the home team.
Maddie Tully driving the NC Red offense. Contributed
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New Canaan FC Girls U9 Red Team Triumphs Over Westport
This past Sunday, the NC Red girls trudged out onto a soggy pitch still covered by a pale haze from the early morning rain. Shaking off the residual morning chill, the NC Red girls launched into early play with excitement but Westport’s explosive energy proved too hard for them to contain. By the middle of the first half, New Canaan found themselves down 0-2 as whispers broke out in earnest amongst the concerned parents on the sidelines. Undaunted, the NC Red girls kept up the offensive pressure until Maddie Tully broke free from a horde of determined defenders and powered a crossing shot past a diving Westport keeper to bring to score to 1-2. Westport answered again several minutes later, bringing the score to 1-3 and leaving the slightly dazed NC Red girls licking their wounds as they marched off for the half.
Only the fates know what Coach Luke promised the girls during the halftime break, but they emerged emboldened and empowered to prevail in this clash of soccer prowess. Within the first minute of the second half, Tully planted a well-timed shot into the right side of net following a clever assist from Sydney Patten through traffic. Still looking to settle the score, Tully soon after carved a deft run up the right side of the pitch and completed her hat trick by blasting a bullet shot at the Westport keeper; finishing off with a quick tap into the goal as the ball proved too hard for the Westport keeper to handle. Now tied 3-3, the NC Red girls dialed up the heat and kept the pressure on Westport. Midway through the half, Paige Place caught a rebound shot on goal and smashed it past the startled keeper to bring the score to 4-3 and putting New Canaan in the lead for the first time in the game.
Several minutes later, Madison “Maddy” Hartnett added the all-important insurance goal with a missile-like shot into the upper left corner on a feed from Patten. Leading 5-3, the parents watched nervously as the NC Red girls strove to maintain their lead on the back of strong defensive play from Parker Hanson, Nikki Ferraro and keeper Reese Quinn. With a few minutes left, Westport scored again bringing the score to a nail-biting 5-4 but the NC Red girls held their ground and emerged victorious for the day. A special shout out for Julia McPhillips who helped cheer the girls on to victory and was part of this special win.