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Soccer
New Canaan’s Natalie Owsley (with the ball) and Katharine Byrne move the ball past the New Milford defense. Contributed photo
The New Canaan Soccer Girls U10 Red Team Continue to Win
The New Canaan Soccer Girls U10 Red Team improved to 5-1 when the girls defeated the New Milford G team on Sunday, Oct. 19.
Although the day was windy and cool, the Red Team came to play and “brought the heat.”
The game began as mainly a defensive battle. The New Canaan offense made multiple scoring attempts but was unable to find the goal in the face of a tough New Milford defense and goalkeeper. The New Canaan defense also protected its end with the goal tending of Evelyn Slatoff shutting the door on all of New Milford’s goal attempts. As the half time whistle blew, the score was the same as it started, a 0-0 tie.
After regrouping at half time, the Red Team came out fired up and pressured the New Milford defense.
Controlling the ball, New Canaan’s Ava Gizzie broke free at midfield and used her speed to get behind the defense and launch a shot past the New Milford goalie to put up the first points of the game. At 1-0 the offense did not let up and continued to control possession of the ball. Grace McManus would make the score 2-0 when she positioned herself perfectly to score on a rebound off of the New Milford goalie.
With just minutes to play New Milford managed to score a goal, but it would be too little too late. Julia Dunn’s goal keeping and the defense remained steadfast in keeping New Milford out of the net. The game ended in victory for the New Canaan side, with a final score of 2-1.
U11 Girls Red – Back Row: Ashley Barton, Coach Gwyn Jones, Hadley Beiles, Madeleine McLaughlin, Dillyn Patten, Grace Crowell, Jade Lowe, Kaleigh Harden; Front Row: Angelica Megdanis, Hollis Mulry, Kiki Brainard, Emma Lamaker, Katie Perlitz, Avery Minter, Caitlin Tully. Contributed photo
U11 Girls Red Headed to CT Cup’s “Final Four”: New Canaan defeats Old Greenwich Thunder Blue 3-1 to move on to semi-final round of CT Cup Tournament
New Canaan’s U11 Girls Red soccer team has earned a spot in the CT Cup’s Final Four, joining Ridgefield Black, Middlebury FC and Avon Blizzard.
Playing on the road Saturday against Old Greenwich Thunder Blue, the U11 Red girls were determined to secure their place in the semi-final round of this single elimination tournament.
Playing on less than ideal field conditions, New Canaan took the first few minutes of the half to assess their opponent’s style of play and respond accordingly.
It was evident early on that Old Greenwich relied heavily on goalie punts and power kicks to move the ball down the pitch. New Canaan stayed true to their trademark passing game and utilized the full field to move the ball into scoring position.
Front line teammates Dillyn Patten, Jade Lowe, Grace Crowell and Hollis Mulry effectively controlled the ball and took several quality shots on goal. Strong goaltending denied New Canaan their first goal until Katie Perlitz placed herself directly in front of the net to slip one past the Old Greenwich keeper. New Canaan did not let up the offensive pressure with Kiki Brainard and Hadley Beiles hustling around the midfield to distribute the ball with precision control.
The defensive squad, anchored by Kaleigh Harden and Emma Lamaker in the center and Caitlin Tully and Avery Minter on the sides, played tough and were successful in keeping the ball out of the middle. New Canaan goaltender Ashley Barton, who played the entire 70 minutes in the net, was solid throughout the game and held Old Greenwich to only one goal—a powerful direct kick that soared high in the goal just past her fingertips.
Tied 1-1 at the half, the tension could be felt on the field and on the sidelines.
The urgency to break the tie was palpable as New Canaan opened the second half with their signature determination, grit and maturity.
Quickly resuming their attack mode, the offensive combination of Patten, Brainard and Lowe were relentless in their march to the goal. After many attempts to score were thwarted by impressive goaltending, Patten finally got her goal off a textbook assist by Brainard. A final insurance goal was added by Brainard, who drilled the ball in to the net after the keeper batted the ball away. To help assure the win, New Canaan defenders Madeleine McLaughlin and Angelica Megdanis kept Old Greenwich at bay while the clock ran out.
Always keeping their poise on the field and putting faith in their speed and ability to pass the ball, the U11 Red girls have put on a stunning display of teamwork throughout this tournament.
As the only team from New Canaan left in the CT Cup, they will proudly represent their hometown next Saturday, Oct. 25, against Ridgefield Black in the semi-final game. For the third time this fall, they will face Wilton Blue on Sunday, Oct. 26, in a regular season game.
New Canaan U9 Red players from left to right: Benjamin Bilden, Jack Cuda , Cole Wilson and Ethan Schubert stomp Stamford 6-0. Contributed photo
U9 Boys Red Soccer Still Undefeated after 6-0 WIn over Stamford
The U-9 Boys Red soccer team maintained its undefeated status and displayed the players’ depth of talent in Sunday’s 6-0 win over Stamford.
When New Canaan took a sizeable early lead, Coach Chris Gilligan played the boys in less familiar positions and they responded with still more goals and a still- impassable defense.
For the game’s first goal, Benjamin Bilden masterfully passed the ball to Jack Cuda, who slipped it past the goaltender. Will Langford then angeled a goal from the middle of the box into the corner of the net, just beyond the goalkeeper’s reach.
Teddy Hoffstein, Jack Cuda, Ethan Schubert and Felipe Galavis gave their opponent minimal opportunities for possesion of the ball. The half ended with a striking goal by Augusto Baldini.
As the second half rolled on, Jayden Oyekanmi and Ted Werner’s competent kicks took command of the ball once again. Cole Wilson finished off the game with a breakaway sixth goal.
Teddy Balkind kept goal for the first half and Augusto Baldini and Jayden Oyekanmi took over in the second half. Next week the team will host the undefeated Monroe Panthers.
Maggie Murphy leads an offensive drive down the field during New Canaan’s win against Stamford on Sunday. Contributed photo
New Canaan U9 Girls Storm the Stamford Hurricanes 3-1
The New Canaan U9 Girls Red team chalked up another win defeating the Stamford Hurricanes on Sunday, and improved its season record to 4-1-1.
In the first half, both teams came out strong and fought hard for possession. Despite Stamford’s tough physical play, New Canaan midfielders Alexandra Gelvin, Tema Wagner and Kailee See held their ground and consistently kept the ball in Stamford’s zone. At the end of the half, neither team could convert, and the game remained scoreless.
In the second half, New Canaan got hungry and stepped up its game. Lexie Tully scored first by racing up the wing and drilling a hard shot into the corner of the goal past a stunned Stamford goalie.
The U9 Red struck again when Ava Pertusiello broke through Stamford’s defense and connected with Maggie Murphy, who immediately drove the ball into the corner of the net.
Kelly Polacek continued the momentum and relentlessly weaved her way down the field on a masterful run that put New Canaan up by three goals.
Offensively, Katie Quill and Isabel Cavanagh led some excellent drives up the wing and fired several shots on goal, but couldn’t find the net.
Meanwhile on defense, Lila Volpe, Murphy and Tully were brilliant at denying Stamford’s numerous offensive attempts and held them to only one goal.
New Canaan Girls U11 Black Soccer Come Alive in 6-1 Win Over Bethel
New Canaan Girls U11 Black soccer traveled on Sunday to meet a Bethel team looking for revenge after a 5-1 loss to New Canaan in the first game of the season.
Maybe it was the chilly temperatures or maybe it was the long car ride, but New Canaan got off to a slow start and got bogged down in the middle of the field allowing Bethel several quality chances and an early goal.
But the second half was a whole different story and the girls came out playing with speed, composure with the ball, and quality passing that led to an eruption of scoring from six different players.
Meghan Driscoll got them started of a couple of sweet passes from Bella Licata and Anna Barnard. Then it was Driscoll’s turn to assist with a pass to McKenna Usher who drilled a shot to the back of the net.
Continuing the trend, Usher then passed back to Abbie Gaudreau who arched the ball over the goaltender’s head for a crowd-pleaser of a goal from the outside.
Next it was Grace Flatow’s turn to get in on the action with another high shot from the outside that drifted over the goaltender. Carolyn Baran followed suit with her own goal from the top of the box. And Kitty Rawlings-Green put the icing on the cake, finding the back of the net with assists from Baran and Barnard.
New Canaan 7th Grade Red Field Hockey Team after a 4-0 Win Over Wilton. Congratulations girls! Contributed photo
Field Hockey
New Canaan 7th Grade Red Field Hockey Is All Smiles After 4-0 Win Over Wilton
The clouds rolled in and the temperature began to drop to more fall-like levels as the New Canaan and Wilton players took the field.
New Canaan jumped on offense right away and spent much of the beginning of the game parked in front of the Wilton net peppering the visitors with quality scoring chances. Wilton’s goaltender came up big and the defense stacked the goal line to keep New Canaan off the board.
Wilton was not without its chances in the half, but goaltender Kaitlyn Fico’s strong footwork kept the score 0-0 at the midway point in the game.
New Canaan came out flying in the second half and the girls’ superior stick-handling and precision passing paid off, first with a crossing pass from Estelle Asker to Alexandra Riley for a goal and minutes later Reilly returned the favor with a crossing pass to Asker who one-timed the ball into the back of the net.
Any advances Wilton tried to make were quickly turned back by the solid defense of Nicole Demers and Skye Risom. New Canaan wasn’t done scoring yet and finished the game with two more goals from Emily Knight—one off of a hard fought scrum on front of the net and another off a long shot from the outside.