Field Hockey
Hat Trick, Shutout for NC 7 Red
—submitted by Darleen Ferraro
If you were at Treadwell Park on Saturday, October 21st, in Newtown you would have thought the heat on the field was coming from the 75-degree weather that day; however, any spectator would have told you that wasn’t the case. The NCYFH 7 Red team turned up the heat with their long drives, lightning speed and amazing stick work. There was no way this team was going to let Newtown even get the ball into scoring position. This held true for the entire game and not one shot was made on NC’s ready and waiting Goalie, Lucy Parsons-Hills.
A trail of opponents were no challenge for Shawna Ferraro who took the ball and scored her third goal of the game: Hat-Trick!
The offensive line was eager to start making their mark on this combined 7/8 grade team. After a few minutes of battling, the girls decided it was time, for Christina Ferreira shot a drive across the field and Youl Na and Katherine Squillante were ready and waiting to tap it in. Squillante took hold of the drive and shot it passed the goalie. The score was 1-0.
Newtown tried to retaliate, but NC Red was not about to let that happen. Finally, after having her four shots on goal get stopped by the Newtown goalie, Shawna Ferraro decided enough was enough and turned up the heat even more. She took away a “hat trick” and scored three goals in a row. Her first goal came from her partner in crime, Polly Parsons-Hills, for the dynamic duo know how to strategically work the field together. Parsons-Hills passed it downfield to Ferraro who slammed it into the net. The next goal was again scored by this duo; Parsons-Hills hit a side shot across the field to Ferraro who, using a reverse stick, shot it in the corner of the goal. Ferraro’s third goal of the game was taken from a mid-field pass made by Taylor Cloud. Ferraro stickhandled passed the defensive line and then took a long shot that bolted into the net. The score was 4-0.
Christina Ferreira controls the ball sends it across to assist with the first goal of the game.
Up until the very end of the game, Newtown continued to try to hold NC Red from scoring. Avery Morawa and Abby Richardson both had shots on goal. Saige Hartsleif and Victoria Lockhart were always there and stopped
any attempts made by Newtown to get the ball passed the midline. Katherine O’Connell and Ellie Parkhill took charge of the sidelines and hit drives to place the ball in front of the net. One of these passes hit the stick of Abby Evans who then turned and swiftly shot it in to score the last goal of the game. The score was 5-0 and NC 7 Red claimed yet another shutout victory.
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Soccer
Reviews Are In for the NCFC 2007 Boys Red: ‘Glorious and Victorious’
—submitted by Ed Ho
As the greater New Canaan community continues to support our fellow Americans struggling with their recovery efforts from a series of gut-wrenching natural disasters, I would just like to take a moment to reflect on the GLORIOUS weather we enjoyed this past weekend. We are truly thankful and truly blessed.
Now for the VICTORIOUS…
The 2007 NCFC Red Boys won 2-1 against Weston in an away match on Sunday. Many of you following us know that we posted zero wins last year and are now, for the first time in the elite division, in possession of a winning record with 2 Wins, 1 Loss and 2 Ties. No one knew how to script a winning season seven weeks ago when the season began. And as you’ll soon read, that script is still being written by this intrepid group of 10 year old boys from New Canaan and their amazing and theatrical Coach, Dan Clarke.
A Chamber of Commerce day for soccer in Westin set the stage for the match. And while the weather appeared much lovelier than the quality of play on the field, the NC boys scrapped their way to an early lead when Javi Minuesa once again converted a free kick from at least 20 yards out. This time he selected the “perfect free kick into the upper left corner that no one can save” shot. What will Javi do for an encore we all wondered? His showmanship delivered a breakaway thru the middle of the Westin defense, leaving him one on one with the keeper – a deft touch to the right corner and Minuesa put NC up 2-0 at the close of the first half. So, how did the boys script an early lead, “Javi & Javi” was my compactly worded response to the NC supporters at Westin.
Coach Dan, clearly had an extra cup of coffee that morning as he was more demonstrative than usual, imploring the boys to “keep their shape” on the field, and at times shouting, “you’ve lost your composure!” (pronounced calm-poh-shah’) But you know who didn’t lose his composure? First mention to Chase Harden, with solid goaltending and brilliant defense; Dylan Ho with a few skillful dribbles that led to a great shot just turned away by Weston’s keeper; Joaquin Blanco and Brooks Walker who form the dynamic duo guarding the backline; Sajan Shah whose graceful gazelle like strides remind me of NatGeo epsiodes; Max Maggard who continues to play with his sense of reckless abandon; Bennett Pertusiello who practices 500 corner kicks a week and may be the best set player in the league; Ryan Stannard and Drew DeGaetano who may occasionally show up late for dinner but are never late when it comes to chasing down breakaway opportunities; Rohan Shinoy who has found his game and poses a constant threat to opposing defenses; William Arnold who plays with such style that the team’s just cooler whenever he’s on the field; and last but certainly not least, Shane McMahon whose intensity and hard work on and off the field are a role model to us all.
Let me also give extra kudos to Coach Dan for setting an ingenious offside trap saving a Westin goal and preserving the NC victory.
So, here’s my script to keeping up the winning ways. Get the best out of our boys Coach Dan, a Shakespearean like cast has been assembled for you and we all know that it just takes that unique sense of British showmanship each weekend to deliver another “Bravo” from your most ardent supporters.
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New Canaan Girls U11 Red Punches Ticket to CT Cup Semifinals with Penalty Kicks Win
—submitted by Steve Place
Let’s be perfectly clear: There are few things more nerve-racking in sports than a soccer game ending with penalty kicks. Having played their hearts out for regular time, and then again in extra time, soccer teams place their hopes on the sure feet of their strikers or the quickness and good fortune of their goalies. Penalty kicks are loved, hated, feared and anticipated, often all at the same time. And this past Saturday, the New Canaan U11 girls red team steadied their nerves and drove four penalty kicks passed the Tolland goalie to move on to the CT Cup Semifinal game. Sydney Patten, Madeline Tully, Peyton DeCamillo and Kate Kupchak all struck the ball well and true, while Isabelle Janiga stood tall in goal and turned away the final shot which propelled the girls on to a 4-2 penalty kicks win (1-1 in regular time).
The team controlled the flow of the game during regular time and overtime, but couldn’t seem to find the net. When asked how many shots the team had throughout the course of the game, Coach Luke Green responded with, “A million.” Despite they lack of offensive output, the teamwork extremely hard, never losing focus despite the physicality of the game and continued to push the action into the Tolland half of the field.
The hard work paid off, as Madison Hartnett scored with some nifty footwork to find time and space to propel the ball into the back of the net. As has been the case throughout the season, Reese Quinn, Cailey Varas and Georgi Owsley controlled the midfield along with Patten and Hartnett, while Leanela Negron and Tully continuously stretched the Tolland defense with deep runs. Eleanor duPont, Julia McPhillps and Paige Place provided pressure from the wingback position and DeCamillo, Kupchak and Christina Swarni held the Tolland attack in check for most of the game. No small feat considering Tolland had scored 15 goals during the previous 3 rounds of the tournament.
And it must be added that while ice runs through the veins of the girls of Big Red, the same cannot be said for the fans on the sidelines. Hoodies were pulled over heads, eyes were closed, chairs were folded up and thrown to the side. New Canaan FC president Krista Tully exclaimed, “I’m having a heart attack.” Ahh, the joys of ULittle athletics.
The New Canaan Girls U11 Red team is the last remaining New Canaan FC team in the CT Cup. They continue in their quest this Saturday against Farmington at Saxe Middle School.
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New Canaan Girls 09 Red Victorious Over FUSA U9 Team 1: 2 to 1
—submitted by Anne Walker
Late Sunday afternoon, NC Girls 09 Red faced Fairfield at Farm Road. In typical fashion, the girls started off slow, warming up as the first half unfolded. Fairfield scored first, leaving New Canaan at a deficit until Mimi Matviak shot the ball in the far corner of the net from outside the box.
With a tied score at half time, the girls stepped up their game during the remainder of the game. Passing improved as the girls better kept their shape.
As a result, they controlled of the ball most of the time and had myriad opportunities to score.
They finally capitalized when Maggie Greiner shot a great pass to Kathleen Langford, who then pounded the ball into the goal. Sienna de Kanter and Maggie Newport took turns as goalkeeper. Madison Schulte and Zanna Moor played great defense and Niamh Cooney, Whitney Hoegstedt and Maddie Kupchak were aggressive in offense, keeping Fairfield at bay for the rest of the game.