Each week, GOOD Morning Wilton will run news of weekend results and scores from Wilton Youth sports teams. Please send all stories and updates, along with a photo to editor@goodmorningwilton.com by noon on Monday of each week. Stories received after the deadline may not be included. Results write-ups will be grouped by sport and published in the order they are received.
Wilton Soccer Association
Wilton Girls U9 Blue Ends Season with Scoreless Tie vs. Fairfield USA U9 First Team
On the frozen fields of Merwin Meadows on Sunday, Nov. 12, the Wilton U9 Girls Blue Team reached a hard fought tie with their counterparts from Fairfield. The game was a back-and-forth battle for the midfield in the last game of the fall season. Solid goalkeeping of Casey O’Connor and Clara Fielden, with the support of the stolid defensive backfield of Allison Phelan and Sofia Solomon, stymied any offensive threats from Fairfield throughout the game. The ball-handling skills of Ola Jankowski and Victoria Jankowski, with the help from wings Sadie Sherman, Kate Wickersham and Maddie Rayment, resulted in several scoring opportunities that were only thwarted by excellent goalkeeping by the Fairfield side. Audrey Lepore and Andie Landeland battled their oversized counterparts in the midfield and nearly converted a number of opportunities with timely challenges and excellent passing. In a well-played game from both sides, the 0-0 tie represents the result of a solid foundation for the team to build upon when the spring season resumes in 2018.
Undefeated Boys U13 Blue Finishes Season as Champs
The Wilton Boys U13 2005 Blue team had a great regular season, ending the season undefeated with seven wins and one tie. On a cold Saturday semi-final, Wilton defeated the fourth seeded Easton Redding United team, 3-0, and turned its gaze to the next day’s rematch against the number two seed Stamford Hurricanes Gold, which Wilton beat 5-2 earlier in the season.
On Sunday, Nov. 12, Wilton started strong. Gavin Lowne scored on a corner kick in the first four minutes. The Wilton offense of Wyatt Jones, Lucas Rodrigues, Gavin Lepore, Luke Yerrall and Peter Grandolfo, kept the ball in Stamford’s side of the pitch for most of the first half. Wilton’s midfield of Jonathan Yerrall, Lowne, Luka Andjelkovic, and Zachary Yuschuk was a solid wall. Anything that got past was easily dispatched by the defensive team of Declan Brokaw, Jason Miller, Aidan McCarthy, Liam Pearsall, Aaron Leinberger, and Mark Pirro. However, Wilton struggled to get the ball into the net and the first half ended with Wilton up 1 -0.
Stamford came out strong in the second half. Wilton goalie Brendan Morrissy did a diving save on a penalty kick halfway through the second half. Wilton was getting tired, and with 10 minutes left in the game, Stamford was able to convert a corner kick to a goal. Three minutes later, Stamford put another one into the net. The Wilton boys were on their knees. Wilton’s season was over, but it wasn’t. Wilton pressured Stamford relentlessly in the last five minutes, and Grandolfo crossed the ball down by Stamford’s goal, which was deflected by a Stamford defender into their own net. Three minutes later, after a few other missed opportunities, Grandolfo took a shot from 30 yards away into the Stamford goal. Stamford did not give up and drew a foul; the kick was a well-placed shot but Wilton’s goalie thankfully managed to stop the ball. Wilton players booted the ball downfield to end the game 3-2 in favor of the Warriors. Special thanks to Jason Greasley for coaching the boys to a successful regular season and winning playoffs.
Wilton U9 Boys Blue Falls to Darien Blue, 1-5
The Wilton U9 Boys fell to Darien, 1-5 on Sunday. The first half was tough for Wilton, even with great possessions and challenges from Liam Backman, Gavin Levenherz, Jacob Albanese and Mario Coppola. However, Darien kept the pressure on, and Wilton ended the first half with a 0-4 deficit, despite the serious efforts by Sean Kaliski in goal.
In the second half Wilton built up serious momentum and dominated possession. Great hustle by Jack Mulfinger, Giacomo De Paola, Conor Filip, and Josh Comiskey, plus strong work by Goalie Ryan Vermulen contained Darien to a single additional goal. After being fouled, Caio Thakur converted the penalty kick, putting Wilton on the board.
Congrats to the team for pushing through a tough season! Thanks to coaches Ritesh Mistry and Matt Jessop, and manager Jonna Backman. Good luck to the boys in the Spring!
Wilton Boys U11 Gold Win Division Co-Champion Title
Wilton U11 Gold entered the single-elimination, season-ending tournament as the third seed, and emerged the division champ.
The team’s semi-final match-up on Saturday in Stamford was against the second-seeded New Canaan, who drew with the Warriors in the regular season. In the first half New Canaan struck first off a penalty kick rebound, which Warriors goalie Trevor Galligan initially saved in impressive fashion. Wilton didn’t waste much time in equaling the score off of a set piece finished by Bill Stofega off a cross from Tyler Jackson.
The second half proved to be a defensive battle with Noah Levy, Dominick Cilento, Ronan O’Halloran and Trevor Wisdom not allowing many opportunities and Galligan making some nice stops. The defensive corps got stronger and stronger as the season progressed anchored by those four plus Reed O’Neill (not available for tournament due to illness) and they played stellar defense throughout the tournament. Wilton manufactured some good opportunities in the second lead by Mason Behar, Warren Hamilton, Stofega, Jackson, Samar Rokkam, Brian Sallese and Milan Petrosyan but wasn’t able to score which lead to OT.
Wilton scored the game winner in the middle of the first overtime on a quick strike by Behar. The defense held strong in the second OT and the offense put pressure on the NC goalie on runs by Hamilton and Behar. The game ended with a score of 2-1.
The finale against an undefeated Westport team took place on Sunday and proved to be a true defensive battle. Wilton had several nice runs, which were stopped by some strong goal keeping by Westport. Galligan made a remarkable diving save late in the first half to keep Westport off the scoreboard. The second half continued the back and forth affair which ended in a 0-0 tie and a co-championship for the Warriors.
Despite Heart and Grit, Wilton U11 Boys Blue Succumbs in Semis to Rival Westport, 1-3
The Wilton U11 Boys Blue team closed out a fantastic fall 2017 campaign with a hard fought battle against local rival Westport in the Southwest CT district’s division A semifinals. The team had battled their way into Saturday’s playoff by securing a gutsy 1-1 tie on the road against top seeded Bethel the weekend prior.
Against Westport, Wilton unfortunately came out on the wrong side of a 3-1 score, as fast turf and bitter cold weather made for challenging conditions, but also an exciting up and back game.
The first half began with both teams searching for openings. Westport found first blood on a penalty kick awarded midway through the session. Wilton goalie Will Soucy blocked the shot and nearly thwarted the attempt, but unfortunately it bounced just out of reach and into the net. Soucy made many great saves throughout the match, as he has all season long. Between him and his defense, Wilton recorded among the lowest goals against averages in the league this season.
Down 0-1, Wilton showed their usual heart and resilience by bouncing back quickly. The Blues put Westport under some heavy pressure. A neat combination between Wilton playmakers Jack Crossen and Matt DeMasi lead to a penetrating through ball that Andrew Partenza ran down and deposited in the far corner of the net to knot the game at one apiece.
In the second half, Wilton’s stalwart defenders Stef Cross, Jack Barker and Maddox Backman kept Westport at bay, and continuously pushed balls back into their midfielders. Finn Burke, Jack Vermeulen and Luke Perna battled fiercely for possession and were able to launch numerous attacks into Westport’s defensive end. A tenacious Alessandro Ochoa put the defense on their back foot with run after run, helping Wilton to gain an advantage that nearly resulted in more than a few goals. Despite the sustained pressure by Wilton, Westport found a way to break the tie midway into the 2nd session, and then added another goal late as Wilton was desperately pushing numbers forward in the search for the equalizer. Amit Solomon and Charlie Roy were missed in the last match, but were big contributors to the team’s success this season.
The season concluded with Wilton Blue accumulating 10 wins against some of the region’s most formidable competition. They finished near the top of the league tables, just a few points out of the number one spot, which they had held until a wild final weekend of league matches.
Coach James Mallet helped the boys grow both on and off the field and the team wishes him great success in his next coaching endeavor.
Two Tough Losses for Wilton 2008 Blue in Double Header vs. Darien
Wilton 2008 Blue finished the fall season with a double header against Darien on Sunday, Nov. 12.
In the first game, Darien put the pressure on early keeping play in the Wilton end for almost the entire first half. Defensive play from Boden Davi, Mick Hamilton and Greg Bocchino helped to keep Darien from capitalizing on early opportunities before Harrison DeStefano scored off a beautiful assist from Nick Marini. Unfortunately, Darien answered back with four goals to end the first half at 1-4. Big saves by Peter Braid in both halves kept the score from being even more lopsided. Wilton fared better during the second half. Aggressive play from Cooper Buchichio, Blake Ongley, Brenden Morris and Michael DiLullo kept the ball in the opponent’s end more. Liam Joy scored a late goal as did Darien leaving the final score at 2-5.
The second game was more evenly matched with multiple scoring chances for both teams. Davi and Hamilton played hard on defense and Bocchino made important saves to keep the score tight. Scoring went back and forth between the teams throughout most of the game. Buchichio and Marino were instrumental in breaking the ball the out of the Wilton end, and DiLullo and Ongley kept the pressure on Darien. Joy scored first for Wilton; Morris drove the ball past the Darien goalie on a rebound off Braid’s shot for the second goal; DeStefano kicked one over the Darien goal keeper to tie the game at 3-3. Two late goals by Darien made the final score 3-5.
Wilton Girls GU 12 (2006) White Go Entire Season Undefeated
It was a beautiful Sunday afternoon at Ambler field as the Wilton GU12 (2006) White played Westport in a championship rematch of two divisional powerhouses. Once again Wilton’s “steel curtain” defense of Grace Biondo, Julia Steenbock, Caroline Luce and Charlotte Stapkowski shut down Westport’s scoring chances throughout the match. When Westport did break through the line, Maddie Phelan’s goal tending was exceptional. Wilton had several chances but both teams went into the half tied at zero.
At the start of the second half, Wilton came out strong with an early breakaway goal by Ella Breitenbach via an assist by Sienna Magazino. Wilton continued to provide relentless pressure dominating the midfield with aggressive play by Sara Fernandes, Brooke Uleha and Maddy Gillespie. After a highly questionable handball, Westport scored via a penalty kick. Tied at one a piece, Wilton’s front line of Melissa Ongly and Caitlyn O’Grady pressed the Westport defense with several scoring chances. After a tremendous punt by goalie Megan Dodman, Wilton’s midfield and offense came alive passing beautifully resulting with another goal by Breitenbach.
At the end of the second half it was all Wilton shutting down Westport’s chances, resulting in Wilton White going undefeated and winning the division. It was an outstanding fall season with 30 goals for and only 11 allowed against. Congratulations girls, and thank you coach Terrell Whitting for an outstanding season!
Wilton Youth Football and Cheer
Undefeated Wilton 5th Grade Blue Wins FCFL Championship
The Wilton 5th Grade Warriors tackle football team won the FCFL Championship game on Saturday, defeating Westport 21-0 with the same formula that worked for them all season–a strong running game and a defense that just doesn’t allow points. The offensive line of Vito Banner, Maja Driscoll, Cole Galante, Jack Huntley, Liam McKiernan, Ryan Meenan, Liam Murphy, Jack Santosky, David Schubkegel, Cole Siegel, Henry Soojian, Jaxon Thomas, and CJ Young was strong as always, creating a lot of running room for Cael Dexter, Jack Schwartz, Luke Ginsburg, Nate Jackson, Ray Ferranti, Ryan Luchetta, Charlie Keller, Will Cristini, James Jackowski, Ryan Stocker and Liam Snyder.
Wilton got on the board on its first possession with Dexter running it in from the 5-yard line for the first touchdown. Two drives later, Ginsburg scrambled 25 yards for the touchdown and added the 2-points on a successful kick. The final score came on another Dexter run from the 20-yard line with Schwartz adding the extra point with a strong run up the middle.
The defense ensured that it was never close. Nine different Warriors recorded tackles, including Driscoll, Snyder, Meenan, Murphy, Siegel, Schwartz, Dexter, Ginsburg, and Keller. Wilton also forced two turnovers–Dexter had an interception and Murphy recovered a Westport fumble. The Warrior defense recorded its 8th shut-out of the season, allowing just two touchdowns during their 10 game season. Led by an excellent coaching staff of Ed Keller, Jeff Siegel and a host of other dedicated dads, the 5th grade Warriors had a season to remember–10 wins, no losses and an FCFL championship. Great job boys!
Wilton 4th Grade Warriors Blanks Rival New Canaan Black, 13-0 in Semi-Finals
With an impressive regular season record of 7-1 and a dominant quarter-final victory over Darien, the 4th Grade Warriors squad headed into the semi-finals with a lot of momentum. Their semi-final opponent was its key rival, New Canaan Black, which had eliminated the Warriors in last season’s final and gave them their only loss this season. But this time it was Wilton’s day, as the Warriors exacted revenge in an impressive 13-0 victory.
Wilton’s defense showed up well prepared and especially fired up, limiting NC Black to very little yardage in the first quarter. The defense was led by the Warriors’ stout linebacker corps of Jake Padilla, Craig O’Neill, Charlie Calabrese, Charlie Roy and Blake Ongley.
Wilton’s offense then started to get going late in the first quarter orchestrated by Calabrese at the helm and thanks to some solid blocking upfront spear-headed by Max Totten, Quint Furman, Theo Satrazemis, Hunter Lishnoff, Cayden Stevens, Roy, Trevien Goldman and Evan Christianson. Then at the start of the second quarter, Kiran Wiseman exploded for a 30-yard run to put Wilton up 6-0.
The rest of the second was a back-and-forth affair, with both defenses clamping down. Wilton didn’t allow much lead upfront by Marco Chilla, Wiseman, Jack McMenamy and Grant Santosky among others. And Wilton’s speedy secondary of Emma VanHeyst, Will Byrnes, Mason Behar, Erik Kieran, Ellie Smith and Mikey Butler made sure that Wilton avoided the big-play including any completed passes.
The third quarter proved to be a continuation of the defensive battle with several highlight tackles by O’Neill and Padilla. Wilton’s offense then started to gain momentum in the fourth with some pivotal first down runs by Calabrese. Then Wiseman scampered in from the 4-yard line with five minutes remaining for his second TD of the day. Calabrese brought in the conversion on a keeper to make the score 13-0. Wilton would squelch any further progress by NC and Patch Angerame lead Wilton in its victory formation.
Wilton now heads into the final against New Canaan Red.
In Double Overtime, Wilton 6 Blue Earns Berth in Championship
Wilton 6 blue played Westport for a semi-final match up where Wilton was seeking revenge for a late season 12-14 loss to the Wreckers. Wilton drove 40 yards in the first possession and was led by QB Luke DiRocco. The offensive line of Dylan Long, Eli Meltzer, George Papakosmas and Lorenzo Caratozzolo led the dominant push forward. Westport got the ball back and got a first down, but were held and forced to punt. Wilton had a 15-play drive, but four penalties for 35 yards proved to be too much. On Westport’s second play, they broke a 77-yard pass for a TD. Colin Gilmore, Thomas McDonald, Max Roberge and Barrett Leary all brought new energy and the offense moved the ball well with solid runs by Jack Costello and Harry Polito. Wilton ran out of time with the score 0-7 at the half.
Westport was held to a 3-and-out at the start of the half. Wilton had some production on offense, but again two flags stalled the drive. Westport again went 3-and-out. Wilton’s next possession worked (no flags) with a 12-play drive where Todd Woodring had a 6-yd TD run, following it up with a kicked PAT to even the score 7-7.
Now the defense would be tested. Carter Stephenson, Charlie Caporrino and Quinn Silva dug in and bent, but did not break to hold the Wreckers to an 11-yard play drive. Wilton’s next possession ran out the clock to send the game to overtime.
Wilton won the coin toss and chose defense first and gave up no yards in three downs. On the 4th-and-goal pass by Westport, Ethan Gallo had the huge sack fumble to end the possession. Wilton had three short runs to have 4th-and-goal from the 8-yard line, which materialized as a DiRocco pass to Henry Roy. The move was close to ending it, but double overtime it was.
Now Wilton was on offense first. The first three plays netted 7 yds and with a 4th-and-goal, Woodring put it over the line, and then converted the PAT to make the score 14-7. Now it was Westport’s turn on offense. First and goal from the 10 and they broke for a quick TD. Now the Wreckers gambled and went for a two-point conversion. They dropped back to pass, but Roy pressured the QB to the ground, the quick pass was incomplete, making the final score a 14-13 victory for the Warriors. Wilton earned its ticket to the Championship game with back to back overtime playoff wins.
Wilton Eagles Capture Inaugural Wilton Wilton USA Flag Football Super Bowl (1st/2nd Grade Division)
The Wilton Eagles captured the first Wilton USA Flag Football Super Bowl (1st/2nd Grade Division) on Saturday, defeating an outstanding Bears team to cap off a 10-1 season. The Eagles jumped out to a quick 7-0 lead on a touchdown strike from Brayden Preisano to Kellen Zadourian. Both teams moved the ball up and down the field efficiently in the first half with plenty of offensive entertainment for the fans on hand on a cold blustery afternoon. The Eagles offense was firing on all cylinders with touchdown runs from Preisano, Andrew Sherman, Max Weigold, Connor Lane and Douglas Gubner. The offense was also sparked by key contributions from Chase Friedman and Michael Zeoli. In a back-and-forth affair the Eagles came up with several big defensive stops in the second half led by Taylor Lishnoff and Will Farinas to seal the victory.
Congratulations to the Eagles and the Bears on an exciting and successful season!
Pictured above, front row L-R: players Michael Zeoli, Chase Friedman, Douglas Gubner, Will Farinas, Kellen Zadourian, Brayden Preisano, Andrew Sherman, Max Weigold, Taylor Lishnoff and Connor Lane. Back row, L-R: coaches J.R. Sherman, Anthony Preisano, Justin Weigold and J.L. Lane
Wilton Little Leage Softball
Wilton 10U Softball Wins Indoor Softball Tournament
Propelled by excellent pitching and defense, the Wilton 10U Girls Softball team won the Inaugural Bobby Valentine’s Sports Academy Indoor Softball Tournament last Saturday. The tournament featured five area teams: Darien, New Canaan Black, New Canaan Red, Norwalk and Wilton. Each team played two pool play games during the day. Teams were ranked at the end of pool play by win-loss record and run differential, with the top two teams playing for the championship. In the Championship Game, Wilton (1-0-1, +12) defeated a very good Norwalk team (2-0, +9) 6-5 in extra innings.
Wilton began the day with a 17-5 win over New Canaan Red. The offensive attack was fueled by multi-hit performances by Olivia Feldman, Grace Qudeen, Ava Gaudio and Sofia Samai. Sarah Morris, Grace Couch, Kaitlin Feldman and Allison Rayment all added hits. Pitchers Samai (one strikeout) and Couch (five strikeouts) kept the New Canaan offense in check.
In the second game, Wilton tied New Canaan Black 4-4 in extra innings. Kelly O’Malley, Samai, Olivia Feldman and Kaitlin Feldman all had hits. The pitching was again quite strong, led by Couch’s five strikeouts. Kaitlin Feldman added a strikeout and made key plays at first base. Catcher Annie McMahon threw out two baserunners. Sophia Viggiano made a critical play at third base, as did Grace Qudeen at shortstop.
In the championship game, Wilton rallied from behind twice to edge an excellent Norwalk Zoomers team 6-5 in extra innings. Ava Gaudio’s clutch single to left field tied the score at 3-3 and forced extra innings. Norwalk pushed across two runs in top of the last frame to take a 5-3 lead. In the bottom half, Wilton scored twice to tie the score. After an intentionl walk to Samai loaded the bases, Viggiano worked a walk to force in the winning run. Morris played great defense in left field, cutting off two rockets and limiting Norwalk batters to singles. O’Malley played a strong first base. Catcher McMahon threw another potential base stealer. “Ace Grace” Couch struck out eight batters to quiet a very potent Norwalk line-up.
“Our players battled all day and into the night. They never gave up, even while trailing late in our last two games. I am proud of how hard they played and mentally strong they were,” says the team’s head coach Aaron Feldman.
The team was coached by Feldman, Tom Viggiano, Avery and Amanda Samai, Beth Anne and Matt McMahon.
Photo attached by Beth Anne McMahon