U14/15 Wilton Travel girls vs U15 Westport Travel girls
On the crisp fall Sunday afternoon of Oct. 17, the Wilton U14/15 Girls travel team faced a tough matchup against Westport, which resulted in an unfortunate loss.
Wilton’s Arden Hamilton, Josie Silva, and Sasha Handel kept a strong defensive line to prevent Westport from having any chance at goal. Ella Loughran, Sophie Hall, and Keira Rafferty passed the ball through the opposing team’s midfield to give Wilton a chance at goal. Elizabeth Feckl, Anna Reiter, and Claire Rosolen had many great runs but were unfortunately stopped by Westport’s defense. Isabella Kaoud maintained good communication from the goal. Just before the end of the first half, there was a miscommunication in Wilton’s box that resulted in Westport leading 1-0.
During the second half, Feckl and Trisha Prabhu pressured the defense more. Loughran, Kaoud and Maddie Lowthert created many chances at a goal for Wilton. Westport bounced back at the chances at goal, earning them two more goals. Kerry Dodman, Morgan Donahue, and Nitya Pandit won many 50/50 balls in the midfield for Wilton. Unfortunately, Westport ended the game with a 3-0 lead over Wilton.
Wilton Soccer Association
The weekend of Oct. 2-3 was another gorgeous few days for youth soccer in Wilton as the teams and players took to the fields.
In what has become a special seasonal tradition, the Wilton High School boys and girls varsity soccer teams came out to the Wilton Soccer Association kindergarten, 1st and 2nd/3rd-grade youth games to show their support, share some skills and tips, and hand out free WHS varsity schedule posters to every WSA player.
The WHS teams, led by varsity captains Andrew Zizzadoro, Zarius Eusebe and Christian Furst for the boys and Emilia Hughes, Mia Pepitone and Erynn Floyd for the girls, came out in force to cheer on the littlest Wilton players.
Organizers say the connection among the WHS players (most of which are “WSA grads”) and the current youth players “is a joy to see.”
“It’s hard to tell who has more fun when the WHS players visit our K, 1st and 2nd/3rd teams… the recollection of playing WSA soccer as a 5, 6, 7 year old is strong for the WHS players and they love coming back to rekindle those memories,” WSA volunteer and intramural program leader, Jennifer Soudagar said. “Meanwhile, the excitement of seeing their ‘big’ Wilton ‘soccer heroes’ is real for the current crop of WSA kids. We are so appreciative of the WHS players’ commitment to come out each season.”
Selected Travel Team Recaps
2010 Boys Blue vs Old Greenwich
For the Wilton Boys U12 team, hard work on the practice field these last few weeks is increasingly paying dividends on game days each Sunday. The team connected on the field and made pass after pass against OGRCC Thunder in Old Greenwich. The first goal was scored by Charles Cahill early in the first half following a near miss off the crossbar. A combo of speed and pressure from midfielders Maurya Muppalla, Daniel Golodinski, John Desiderio, Liam Donahue and Gavin Steenbock enabled two more goals in the second half — one by Ronan Thompson and the other by Cahill. Multiple attempts on goal were cleared by defenders Charlie Schwartz, Timothy Haggerty, Noah Fox and Alex Shiue. Alex Knudsen and Jonah Cueff were stellar in goal making multiple saves at the net. The team looks forward to Kiran Thakur returning to the field.
2009/10 Girls Blue vs. Fairfield
The Wilton 2009/10 Girls picked up the victory Sunday at Kristine Lilly Field, winning a friendly against Fairfield, 2-0. Wilton got a goal in each half, from Harper Pattillo in the first and Avery DeCore in the second, and played staunch defense throughout. The 2009/10 girls have now allowed just eight goals in five games.
On Sunday, the defensive effort was led by the backline of Mia Timnev, Ashley Pencu, Harper Crawford, Mia Bayonne, and Carly Caldaroni, with goalkeeper Isla Dzik snuffing out the few Fairfield chances with a pair of great saves. Katie Cosentino, Katie Lalor, Tess Gibbons, and Heather Rushton controlled the action from the midfield, with Liesel Schmauch and Andie Langeland pushing the ball forward up front to keep Fairfield on the defensive from the opening whistle.
Selected Travel Development Team Recaps
2013 Boys “Real Wilton” vs. Fairfield
On Sunday, the 2013 Wilton Real boys squad engineered a thrilling come-from-behind victory over a talented Fairfield team. Griffin Erickson scored Wilton’s first goal off an assist by Raleigh Hanscom. Fairfield answered back with two goals and Thane Lepore added one for Wilton to make it 2-3. Fairfield added another one, but Alex Meken scored back-to-back goals tying the game 4-4. Wilton controlled the beginning of the second half with offensive pressure from Jack Torpe, Sean Ahearn, Brody Kear and Everett Neiman. Tough defensive play from Marco Bezanson, Will Pemble and Finn Thorsen kept Fairfield from adding to the score. With minutes left to play, Lepore scored to put Wilton ahead and Lochlan McBurney added another goal making the final score 6-4.
2013 Boys “Real Wilton” vs. Easton Redding United
On Sunday, the 2013 Wilton Real boys showcased their passing and finishing skills against Easton Redding United (ERU). Team Real took a quick lead with fancy footwork from McBurney, who brought the ball up the field to lead to a goal from Erickson. Meken also found the back of the net before ERU answered with a strong drive up the field for its lone goal. Torpe and Nieman each got a single goal in the first half. Ahearn worked tirelessly in the midfield to transition the ball up the field. Bezanson, Kear and Thorsen were like a stone wall with amazing defensive play. In the second half, Pemble’s determination led him to a goal. The hard work from Lepore paid off with an assist to Erickson, who smashed the ball into the net for a 6-1 win.
2013 Girls Blue Stars vs. Old Greenwich (OGRCC)
The 2013 Blue Stars played an exciting game against an evenly-matched OGRCC Thunder Silver team on Sunday, Oct. 17. Rory Stacy launched the ball past the OGRCC goalie to score the only goal for Wilton in the first half. Dylan Scalon and Samantha Travers skillfully moved the ball down the field on multiple breakaways and demonstrated strong passing skills. Elise Bowling and Jada Leporati worked hard on defense clearing the ball while Ashlee Jessup dominated the midfield. Riley Crossen drove the ball up the field repeatedly throughout the game. Kit Welly made consecutive saves in goal. OGRCC led 2-1 at the half. Welly returned to goal in the second half and continued to make save after save to hold the score until Travers scored for Wilton on a corner kick pass early in the second half. Audrey Hyland and Ellie Szymanowicz used their speed and ball-handling skills to move the ball upfield. Maggie Faherty scored off a pass from Scanlon to give Wilton a 3-2 lead. OGRCC tied the game at 3-3 until Ellie Ralph scored on a quick breakaway to give Wilton a 4-3 lead. Travers moved into goal at the end and made two spectacular saves to maintain the lead. OGRCC scored in the last two minutes to tie Wilton and the game ended in a 4-4 tie. It was an exciting game and the Blue Stars demonstrated their hard work in practice is paying off!