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. Result write-ups will be grouped by sport and published in the order they are received.
Football
Undefeated Wilton 3rd Grade Blue Defeats Westport, 20-6
On a crisp, fall evening under the Friday Night Lights at Fujitani Field, the Wilton 3rd Grade Blue faced off against Westport 3 South. Westport started with the ball and three plays later Westport punted. On Wilton’s first offensive play of the game Craig O’Neill scored a touchdown.
Westport’s second possession was a three-and-out. Wilton’s relentless defense, including Theo Satrazemis, Max Totten, Lincoln Jones, Curtis Jackson, Trevien Goldman, Josh Meltzer, Grant Stein and Will Byrnes, formed a solid wall that kept Westport down.
On Wilton’s second possession, Wilton managed to get a first down but was unable to advance the ball any further, and then punted. Westport’s third possession was another three-and-out.
On Wilton’s third possession the team marched down the field, with a long run by Jake Padilla. The drive was capped off with a beautiful touchdown run by Charlie Calabrese and a 2-point conversion caught by Charlie Roy in the end zone.
On their final possession of the first half, Westport was able to score a touchdown, but missed on the extra point. At the end of the first half, Wilton was ahead, 14-6.
Wilton started with the ball in the second half, and moved up the field with great runs and blocking by the offensive line of Marco Chila, Quint Furman, William McDonald, Philip Mouracade and Hunter Lishnoff, but unfortunately Westport intercepted the ball. Westport was unable to capitalize on their turnover, however and Wilton regained possession.
The Warriors controlled the ball for most of the fourth quarter. They drove down the field but on fourth-and-goal were unable to score, turning the ball over to Westport. On their opponents’ next offensive play, Wilton’s defense–including Mason Behar and Evan Christianson–forced a fumble, recovered by Kieran Wiseman. Two plays later, Emma vanHeyst scored another Wilton touchdown.
Westport’s final possession of the game ended with a game-ending interception by Blake Ongley. The final score of Wilton 20, Westport 6 ensured that the 3rd grade Blue Warriors remains undefeated, 5-0.
Photo (above): #5 Emma vanHeyst runs for the touchdown.
Wilton 7 White Victorious Over Fairfield 7 Blue, 8-6
Wilton 7 White once again found themselves in a battle to the final minute of the game, and for the second week in a row, came out on top, improving to 4-1 on the season. Max Silva, typically a top receiver for Wilton, started his first game at QB this season while filling in for the injured Grant Masterson. Silva overcame not only a tough Fairfield defense, but also a driving rain to make a number of key plays, including the most important of the game, a blocked extra point that sealed the victory with less than a minute left in the game.
Silva had tons of help, especially from the tenacious defensive front of Jimmy Luce, Kieran O’Neill, Ryan Farrar, Cole Boniface, Ryan Keenan, Charlie Fisher and Tyler Hough, who stuffed the Fairfield offense time and time again. Although the score was tied 0-0 at half, Wilton appeared to score late in the first half after a 57-yard hookup between Silva and Eli Ackerman, and then a 17-yard run by Joe deGrasse. The touchdown was called back on a holding penalty that nullified the touchdown. deGrasse was hardly done for the day though, as the running back and middle linebacker led the team in tackles, while also overpowering a Fairfield runner to cause a forced fumble, and fumble recovery.
On offense, Wilton took their first possession of the second half, and quickly got on the board two plays later behind a 52-yard pass from Silva to deGrasse and then an 18-yard deGrasse touchdown run that was set up by a perfectly executed trap block by Boniface, Andrew Pelicano and Luce.
On defense, linebacker Wade Steffens and cornerbacks William Ryan and Ackerman, were key in limiting the Fairfield passing attack. Linebacker Ryan Jackson made a number of tackles in his first start for Wilton’s defense. Offensively, Chris Calderone, Ben Pond and Brennan MacGregor helped fill the void left by both Jackson Luther and Chris McCann being unable to suit up for the game. Lastly, punter O’Neill had a key, 33-yard punt that pushed Fairfield back at a key point in the game.
Soccer
Wilton Boys U10 Blue Face Off Strong at Columbus Day Tournament
Although considered underdogs, the Wilton Boys U10 Blue earned a respectable showing against the leagues’ top tier opponents.
The early morning opener was filled with back and forth action against a speedy Stamford White team. The boys came out quickly, and it showed with an early goal in the first minute of play. The lead alternated throughout the first half, with Stamford ending on top. The second half continued with a similar pace, but the boys turned up the intensity and battled back to a 6–4 win. All around team effort on both sides of the field by Stefano Cross, Alessandro Ochoa, Evan Lalor, Amit Solomon, Jack Crossen, Charlie Roy, Finn Burke, Luke Perna, Matt DeMasi, Maddox Backman, Jack Barker and Will Soucy.
After an inspiring first win, Wilton dropped both afternoon games to the talented Westport Blue and Old Greenwich White teams. The boys seemed to struggle with their opponents’ speed on the ball, which proved difficult to generate any sustained momentum. However, the team’s stout defense kept the scores tight and competitive for the majority of play.
In the end, the team gained some invaluable experience and proved that they can complete with the league’s best.
Wilton Boys 2008 Blue Show Spirit at Columbus Day Tournament
Wilton Boys 2008 Blue team participated in the Columbus Day Rush Tournament this past weekend and played in the Premier bracket which included premier clubs throughout the area. While this town team has only played together for six weeks, they held their own against three formidable more experienced teams.
Game 1: In the team’s first match up against South Central Premier, Nicholas Marini was in goal and faced early and constant pressure. He held them off with incredible saves but, eventually, holes in Wilton’s defense allowed for a goal by South Central.
As Wilton nerves settled, they responded with a quick breakaway and goal by Liam Joy. South Central responded quickly with another couple of goals ending the half with South Central in the lead 4-1.
This previously undefeated Wilton team entered half time a little frazzled but turned it around with spirit entering the second half. Wilton owned the half with constant shots on South Central by Eammon Zadourian, Brendan Morris and Joy. Blake Ongley, Harrison DeStefano and Nolan Milhouha also kept the pressure on South Central with attempts on goal. When they lost control, strong defense by Jake Padilla, Brad Mallory and James Dineen showed South Central they were not going to be intimidated. A final breakaway by South Central, however, added one more goal to their final 1-5 score but the team left the field feeling much better about their performance versus first half.
Game 2: In Wilton’s second match up they faced off against Everton FC Westchester with Joy in the goal for both halves. From the whistle, Everton showed their experience and strong ball handling with early shots on goal. Joy had several incredible saves but eventually Everton got two goals. Mallory had an awesome drive through Everton’s defense but wasn’t able to convert the shot into goal. The half ended at 0-2 Everton.
The second half began with Everton once again in control adding a quick goal to their score. Wilton’s DeStefano got possession and showed his club an awesome break away and successful goal. Unfortunately, no amount of defensive hustle by Wilton could prevent the last Everton goal ending the game 1-5.
Game 3: Wilton’s final matchup was for the consolation title in the premier bracket and they faced Fairfield Revolution. The first two games had taken a toll on the boys’ confidence but as they got into a groove, Wilton kept pressure on Revolution’s defense for most of the first half. When they lost control, the opposing team scored but Wilton didn’t lose hope. A corner kick by Joy resulted in a goal ending the half at 1-1.
With the wind at their backs, Wilton entered the second half with great offensive skills by Marini and Milhouha. Padilla, now in goal, had an awesome save. Wilton kept the pressure on Revolution and they were rewarded when Joy broke away to get another Wilton goal. With the momentum Wilton kept up their hustle and Joy added one more goal to end the game 3-1 in Wilton’s favor. A great way to end a very competitive tournament for the boys.
Wilton Boys U13 Blue Win 2-of-4 Tournament Matches
On a chilly wet morning on Saturday, Oct. 8, the Wilton BU13 Blue team participated in the Bethel Columbus Day Soccer Tournament and came out on fire in their two morning games, winning both 3-2 (vs. Suffield) and 4-0 (vs Oxford).
Game 1: Against Suffield, Declan Healy took to the goal and Wilton’s offense started out slow, letting Suffield slip in two goals in to take a 2-0 lead. From there, the offense was led by Ryan Leung, who had quick breakaway to score Wilton’s first goal. Also on offense was Christian Marroquin, Luke Pacheco, Jack Dodman, and Connor Lillis. The offense was supported by midfielders Robbie Ballentine, Luke Barbieri, Connor Morneau, Matthew Tabet, and Matthew Tully. On defense Tommy Lowell and Scott Mills anchored the middle with Luke Medalla, Thomas Welch, RJ Bartels, and Luke Eberhart providing strong support on the outside.
Shortly before half-time, Tully made a perfect assist to Leung who put it in the goal to make the score 2-2 tie at the break.
The second half started with strong plays by Leung and Dodman, with a couple of near misses on goal. Pacheco scored the third goal after Leung’s shot rebounded off the goalie making the score 3-2 Wilton. Wilton hung on to win 3-2 with strong defensive plays made by Mills and Lowell to secure the victory.
Game 2: In the second game, Lowell took to the goal against Oxford. Leung scored two goals in the first-half resulting in a 2-0 halftime lead for Wilton. In the second half, Wilton started strong with four attempts on goal by Leung, Barbieri and Tabet all just missing. Leung then made it a hat trick with his third goal followed by a goal by Pacheco (assisted by Leung), leading to the final score of 4-0 for Wilton.
Game 3: It was a very tight contest against New Milford with Eberhart in Goal. Scoring attempts by Leung and Lowell were blocked. Eberhart made several great saves throughout, keeping it 0-0 at the half. Healy returned to the net in the second half and several attempts by Dodman, Lillis, and Lowell were deflected by the opposing goalie. New Milford broke thru to take a 1-0 lead and the game ended 0-2 in New Milford’s favor after a successful penalty kick.
Game 4: This last match against Old Greenwich started with Mills in goal making a great save on a penalty kick, followed by Lowell in the goal in the second half. After a long day of soccer, the team was flat throughout the game and lost, 0-4. The team ended the tournament with a very respectable 2-2 record. Dhuruv Rokkam missed the tournament.
Girls 2004 Blue Place First at SCOR Columbus Day Tournament
The Wilton Girls 2004 Blue team came in first place in their age group at the SCOR Columbus Day tournament. The team outscored their opponents 5-0.
Field Hockey
Wilton 5/6 Blue Shuts Out New Canaan in September Home Game
It was perfect weather for Wilton’s 5/6 Blue Field Hockey team to play their first game on the new turf at Fujitani Field, on Saturday, Sept. 24. A great week of practice carried over to game time as 5/6 Blue took control by scoring two minutes into the game and never looking back. While autumn leaves may have begun to fall, what wasn’t falling was the level of intensity from Wilton Blue as the first half was played entirely on the New Canaan side of the field.
After halftime, team play and spirits continued to soar. The offense kept up the scoring pressure while the defense forced back the few attempts which made it across mid field. As the final whistle sounded, Wilton carried their goalie off the field as proud owners of a shutout win to break in the new turf.
Photo (above): Wilton Youth Field Hockey Coach Jenn Kendra goes over strategy during halftime of 5/6 Blue’s win over New Canaan at Memorial Stadium. The team: Lily Abud, Annika Aronson, Grace Bernardini, Katie Brandt, Katherine Costanzo, Grace DiBuono-Krafick, Eva Filipponi, Hannah Fitzgerald, Lila Fox, Virginia Hastings, Poppy Herve, Elizabeth Kendra, Madeline Levi, Ella Mancuso, Isabella Mouracade, Marianna Ramirez, Aimee Rovere, Carly Russell, Mela Rutkowski, Avery Schestag, Violet Smith, and Catherine Yoon.
