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 Youth Soccer
Wilton Girls U10 Blue (2009) Defeats Southbury U10 Red (2009), 4-1
Wilton Girls Blue U10 continued its winning ways on with a commanding 4-1 victory on the road against Southbury’s Pomperaug U10 Girls Red. Early play was marked by Wilton controlling the midfield with Grayson O’Donnell and Gabby Ray keeping the ball in the Southbury half. Strikers Alexandra Jankowski and Maddie Rayment peppered the goal with shots, but the goalie was up to the challenge, blocking the first 11 attempts and frustrating the Wilton attack. Late in the first half however, a booming shot off the right foot of Casey O’Connor found the back of the net and put Wilton on the board with a 1-0 halftime lead.
In the second half, a new Southbury goalie was called on to withstand Wilton’s high powered offense, but the afternoon would be a long one. Audrey Lepore‘s breakneck attack continued to pressure the beleaguered defense, creating multiple scoring chances along with fellow forward Andie Langeland. Striker Victoria Jankowski finally capitalized, with a goal off an assisting pass from Zoe Blum. Sadie Sherman followed up moments later with a rebound goal putting Wilton comfortably ahead. Defenders Sophia Solomon and Ally Phelan squelched any Southbury attack with only a goal off a controversial penalty kick sullying the clean sheet of Wilton’s defense. A final goal by Phelan off a Lepore cross pass capped the road victory, and earned the squad a round of well-deserved donut holes.
Wilton Girls U10 Gold Falls to Fairfield, 0-3
Despite their strong effort on a steamy day, the Wilton U10 Gold team was defeated 0-3 by Fairfield.
The first half was evenly matched, with lots of excitement, as Wilton not only successfully created a human wall to defend a penalty kick by Fairfield within its box, but then quickly recovered the ball, allowing Christina Perez to run it down the field and make her first of two impressive attempts to get on the scoreboard. Although the defense–led by Katie Lalor, Ashley Pencu, and Lauren Ely–held strong, repeatedly returning the ball back to Wilton control, the score at halftime was 0-1.
In the second half, Kate Wickersham pushed the ball down the field on a few break aways, with the assistance of Elissa Enman, Lilianna Carvajal and Anna Robustelli, who supported the midfield and offensive efforts.
What the scoreboard doesn’t reflect is that Sienna Carvajal and Helena Wang, who took turns defending the goal, ably blocked 11 other strong attempts by Fairfield to raise their score!
Wilton 2009 Boys Gold Finish in Scoreless Tie vs. Westport Red, 0-0
The first half ended in a stalemate due to the stalwart defensive efforts of Luke Adams, Caden Colaneri, and Callum Gemelli. Matthew Fogarty made a terrific block on a free kick, and Tristen Albright had numerous saves in goal to thwart several close scoring attempts by the Westport forwards.
In the second half, Wilton goalie Oscar Wayland also made a number of difficult saves in goal to keep Westport scoreless. The Wilton offense worked hard with nice passing by Carter Burkhart, Nathan Partenza, James Ryan, and Dylan Yushchuk, resulting in several scoring opportunities for Kai Yuschuk and Tristen Albright. The game ended in a scoreless tie.
Wilton’s 2007 Boys White Falls to Ridgefield, 0-3
This past Sunday, the Wilton 2007 boys had a tough loss on the road in Ridgefield. Despite great goalkeeping by Trevor Galligan and exceptional offensive plays by Reed O’Neill, Nathaniel Kalter, Daniel Allam, Afroz Ali, Phineas Wayland and Or Eisdorfer, Ridgefield picked up three goals in the first half, one of which was an unfortunate ricochet off of a corner kick by Ridgefield.
In the second half, the pressure was on and the defense shined as Hirsh Iyer, Noah Levy, Ronan O’Halloran and Trevor Wisdom managed to keep Ridgefield at bay by clearing the ball and making way for offensive forwards, Matthew Martins, Ryan Miller, Robert Prather and Brian Sallese to put on the pressure on with several shots on goal. Although they made every effort, they weren’t able to recover and fell to Ridgefield in the end with a 0-3 loss.
Wilton 2010 Boys Gold Team Stumbles at Trumbull, 1-5
The Wilton 2010 Boys Gold soccer team fought admirably against Trumbull despite the beating sun on Sunday. Shortly after the first goal scored by Trumbull, Evan Ash ran down the field and scored. Kevin Garcia played in goal, and starting defenders Andrew DeMasi and Topher Jackson as well as Ben Cannavino and Rohan Saini in midfield prevented any further goals in the first half.
In the second half, the heat took a toll on all. John Mannix in goal had many saves, but the solid shots by Trumbull proved to over power Wilton this time. Coach Cardona kept the boys positive. Many shots were attempted by Alex Shiue, DeMasi, Saini and Ash, persistent to the last whistle.
Girls U11 White Smashes OGRCC Thunder, 7-1
Wilton Girls U11 White took control of the game early on with a goal by Kelly Mancuso (who also scored two more goals later on for a hat trick). Nitya Pandit contributed two more goals along with Charlotte Mannix and Lilah Crispino. Wilton’s offense kept the pressure on throughout the game with shots on goal and assists by Kerry Dodman, Claire Rosolen, Preethi Vijay and Rachel Phippen. Grace Johnson and Kara Mobyed made many saves as goalies in the first and second half respectively. In addition, Ava Ray, Keira Rafferty and Sasha Handel contributed to Wilton’s strong defensive line-up.
Girls U10 White Go 1-2 at Tiger Tuneup Tournament, then Tie Fairfield 3-3
The Wilton Girls U10 squad hit the road for a packed 24 hours of soccer this past weekend.
The full slate kicked off Saturday afternoon with three games at the Tiger Tuneup in White Plains, N.Y., with the team going 1-2 and improving markedly with each contest.
After a tough loss in the opener to eventual champion EYSA Olympique, highlighted by some stellar saves from Isla Dzik, Wilton quickly fell behind 0-2 to Quick Silver Football Club in Game 2. But the team showed impressive resilience, battling back behind the dogged play of Abby Savage on the wing and goals from Mia Timnev and Abby Philippon. The contest ended in a 2-3 setback for Wilton but set the stage for a breakout Game 3.
Wilton played its best ball in the tournament’s final game, holding Ramapo Valley without a single shot. Katie Cosentino’s impressive work in the midfield translated into early goals by Naomi Cronley and Philippon, and Harper Crawford powered home the final tally to provide the margin in a 3-0 victory.
Nineteen hours later, Wilton was back on the pitch in Fairfield. Gaby Torres led a solid start for Wilton with great work along the right midfield, followed in that same role with continued impressive play by Madison Pendergast, but Wilton was unable to capitalize, with a couple of unlucky breaks dropping the team into a 3-0 hole.
From there, however, it was all Wilton. Taryn Czick led the team back with a hat trick–one goal in the first half and two in the second–including the final strike with five minutes remaining. On defense, Katie Mesh made one of the plays of the game, hustling back and clearing the ball just before it crossed the goal to keep Wilton in it, and Caitlyn Tsai repeatedly cleared Fairfield’s forays into the Wilton zone, helping Timnev pitch a shutout in the second half to preserve the 3-3 draw–and sending everyone home for some much-needed rest.
Wilton Football
Wilton 6th Grade Blue Posts Another Shutout, Defeating New Canaan White, 28-0
The 6th grade Warriors defense came to play on Saturday under the lights at Fujitani Field, never allowing the Rams a chance at the end zone. Every member of the team contributed on defense, recording at least one tackle, and at least four players had tackles for a loss including Cole Siegel, Liam Snyder, Jack Schwartz, and Cael Dexter. Ryan Luchetta and Luke Ginsburg both intercepted the New Canaan quarterback, stopping any momentum the New Canaan offense was able to generate.
The offensive line of Maja Driscoll, Cole Galante, Jack Huntley, Ryan Luchetta, Liam McKiernan, Ryan Meenan, Jack Santosky, Siegel, Henry Soojian, Jaxon Thomas, and CJ Young has been the Warriors’ secret weapon this season, opening up huge holes for the running backs and providing great pass protection. It did not take the Warriors long to get on the scoreboard with Ginsburg scoring a 55-yard touchdown on the first play from scrimmage. Schwartz followed that up with a 42-yard touchdown run of his own. Then, proving they could move the ball in the air as well as on the ground, Snyder completed a pass to Ray Ferranti for a 45-yard touchdown.
Strong running by Will Cristini, Charlie Keller, Luke Perna, and Ryan Stocker kept the ball moving and the clock running. A great pass from Dexter to McKiernan led to a big gain and kept the Rams defense off balance. The final touchdown came after a methodical drive on the ground brought the Warriors to the 5-yard line and Dexter punched it in from there. Ginsburg converted on two live PATs and the Warriors sealed the victory with a final score of 28-0.
Wilton Youth Tackle Football 4th Grade Falls Short to New Canaan
The Warriors came into New Canaan‘s Dunning Field on a hot, late summer day with every reason to be confident; they had just defeated a tough Rams’ Team the previous week. The Warriors’ defense took the field first, with strong tackling from Henry Snow, Emmett Sommer, Denny Dustin, and Michael Duarte, topped off with a Colin Faherty pick. The Warriors were ready to roll with solid runs from Nick Skillin, Cody Korpan, and Dustin, but the drive stalled. The Warriors’ defense held tight to force the Rams to a three-and-out drive with a punishing tackle by Jaxon Lin, but the Rams’ defense answered with a three and out stand of their own to end the first quarter.
The defensive battle continued with strong play from Skillin, Sommer, and Wyatt Hoffstatter to stop the Rams on fourth down inside the Warriors 10-yard line. The Warrior offense struggled, and the defense was back on the field. Dylan Flanagan and Duarte answered with solid tackles, and Hoffstatter hurried the Rams quarterback, forcing an incomplete pass, helping to end the drive. As the Warriors took the ball, time ran out at the half.
The Warriors started the second half with the ball, and despite stout runs by Skillin, Cody Korpan, and Flanagan, that drive stalled too. The Warriors’ defense came back strong again with tackles from Trey Rivera, Liam Pierson, Jack Condon, Wyatt Kreter, and Skillin, and stopped some dangerous pass completions from becoming Ram touchdowns. Even with solid offensive line play from center Charlie Heffernan, Bly Christianson, Colton Korpan, Cooper Rekow, Cole Herbst, August Furman, Mark Whitman and crew, the Warriors’ next drive was thwarted. The game was now well into the fourth quarter. Brady Corry was outstanding on defense, along with Finn Snyder, and Snow adding a huge backfield tackle, yet the Rams were finally able to score a touchdown on a drive powered by a long pass completion, and add a two point conversion kick.
With less than three minutes on the clock, the Warriors’ offense was feeling salty. Michael Lenz passed the rock to Faherty for a first down. The Warriors were now running the ball between the tackles, driving at the heart of the Rams defense. Dustin and Corry had several angry runs inside. As the Warriors’ drive headed toward the red zone, time ran out…
While the Warriors fell short, they left the field on the hottest day of the season with heads held high. These boys know they can compete with the best. Now it is time to work harder, and dig deeper. Win on three!
Wilton 5th Grade Stomps Stamford, 16-0
Sunday afternoon brought another win for Wilton 5th grade football against a big Stamford team. The lethal combination of quarterback Charlie Calabrese and running back Jake Padilla started the Warriors on the path to victory with a first touchdown. The impressive run was made possible by fantastic blocking by Max Totten, Hunter Lishnoff, Ray Slough, and a picture perfect block by Evan Christianson into the sidelines. A field goal kicked by Mason Behar brought the score to 8-0.
Possession of the ball by the Stamford team was shut down quickly by Josh Meltzer and Cayden Stevens, putting the Warriors in the driver’s seat again. Quarter 2 saw several remarkable runs and pass plays by Kieran Wiseman, Blake Ongley, Emma VanHeyst and Will Byrnes, resulting in a second touchdown for Wilton by Craig O’Neill, with another 2 points added by Behar, bringing the score to 16-0 at halftime.
The cheerleaders kept the crowd entertained with their half time show, which has begun to incorporate more and more challenging stunts. Both the team and the crowd appreciate the support of the cheerleaders and their families.
The second half saw a number of great passing plays to Theo Satrazemis and Trevien Goldman and fantastic defensive play by Charlie Roy and Marco Chila, who leapt over a pile of players to recover a fumble. Congratulations to the Warriors on their second shutout of the season.
Main article image: #33 Will Byrnes with the carry in a 16-0 win over Stamford