By Ashley Winchester
An unseasonably warm weekend combined with post-Halloween high energy, making for close, candy-coated contests this weekend. Many tie matches showed improvements on all sides with three games left in the season.
Coventry vs. Ipswich (Jr-6)
With blood sugar still soaring, the six-year-olds of teams Coventry and Ipswich extended their post-Halloween highs to the south field in a non-stop, energetic end to end affair Saturday morning. In the first half, Coventry pressure yielded a miscue between Ipswich defenders and an own-goal on the Ipswich side. From there, play was spirited but even until Ipswich striker, Scott Bamford, broke free for the tying goal shortly before the half. Coventry rebounded in the second half with an early goal, waking up the insulin shocked Ipswich into turning up the aggression. Ipswich goalie Alston Biggs repeatedly came out from the net to cut down Coventry’s angled attacks. Forwards Owen O’Keefe and Kerrick Hahn kept up the pressure throughout the second half, but ran into the defensive wall of Coventry’s Jack Fitzmaurice and Hunter Wolf.
Leeds United vs. Tottenham (Jr-7)
Leeds United tied Tottenham in an evenly played match Saturday morning on the south field in Battery Park City. Isabella Pecorari and Marina Ouranitsas led Leeds’ offensive charge, scoring one goal each assisted by Cliff Benfield, Louis Moreschi, Bryan Burns and Lee Perry. Tottenham managed two goals against Leeds’ solid defensive line of Ethan Feldman, Ethan Skelskie, Violet Low-Beinart and Jackson Colins. Tristan Myers played solidly in goal.
Crystal Palace vs. Manchester United (Jr-7)
Crystal Palace challenged Manchester United to a tough match on the middle field Saturday morning. Crystal Palace dominated the first half, with two goals and numerous scoring attempts against Manchester’s enduring defense. In the second half, Manchester goalies Nicolette Catona and Andrew Jansen shut out persistent Crystal Palace charges, helped by John Barbieri, Michael Di Maria, and Dean Scotti on defense, for a 2-0 win.
Livingston vs. Celtic (M-9)
Another tight game by Celtic and Livingston left the first half of this Saturday afternoon game tied 0-0. The close play continued throughout the second half as Livingston played a strong defensive game against the Celtic chargers. Livingston coach Kate Shore said, “Our defense this year has been amazing. That, and the kids knowing their positions and whom they are to defend against has made them much stronger players this year.” With just a few minutes left in the game, a drive to the net by Livingston’s Justin Valenzuela gave them the go-ahead goal, helped by Jeremy Allen, David Hersey, Kiernan Hahn and Audrey Banks at midfield.
Dundee vs. Aberdeen (M-9)
Although Aberdeen lost to Dundee in their first game of the season early September, Aberdeen improvements made for a 2-1 win this weekend. The Dundee loss came despite the offensive attacks of Michael Herman, who snuck a goal past the Aberdeen keeper in the second half, supported by forward Katherine Lombard. Trevor Dolan and Henry Gunderson took turns keeping Dundee’s goal, making several diving catches to save the ball off the feat of the Aberdeen offense. Dundee’s defensive line of Eli Lavett, Emmett Smith helped defend against Aberdeen’s attacks. “It was a tough loss, but I gave the kids candy after the game,” Dundee coach Dan Costa said. “I think that sugarcoated the defeat.”
Rangers vs. Motherwell (M-9)
In the Minor 9 division, Motherwell met the Rangers for a rousing game Saturday afternoon. Within minutes of the start, Rangers’ forward Kyle Maer made the first and only goal of the half. Both teams played a stellar defense during that time, as Rangers’ goalie Nick Bader made three leaping saves, supported by defenders Ava Pollock and Roy Vlcek. Ian “The Bus” Petrarca kept the ball out of the Rangers’ goal in the style of his favorite American football player, Jerome Bettis of the Pittsburgh Steelers. In the second half, Motherwell’s Jake Miller sailed past the defense to kick in a goal for the team, supported by Allie Rossi who made her own attempts on goal. In retribution, Maer again scored, kicking the ball from midfield to secure the win for the Rangers.
Paris SG vs. Nice (M-11)
Paris and Nice battled midday Sunday in a tightly-fought contest, thrilling fans of both clubs. Nice fielded a revised lineup, powering up with the offensive trio of Philip Kay, Tim Rossi and Jake Shapiro, who passed smartly and strung together three goals. Minutes before the whistle, Paris’ Nicholas Mauceri lofted a high kick from inside midfield just above the outstretched fingertips of Nice goalie Scott Franchi, making the score 3-1 at the half. Midfielders again played a pivotal role for Nice as Corinne Cathcart, Hannah Moch, Meryl Dominguez, Alessandra Fusillo and Allesandra Rossi all contributed to their strongest outing of the year. Key clearing passes by Cole Evelev kept the game undecided until the final minute of play as Paris outscored Nice 6-4.
Bordeaux vs. Lyon (M-11)
Bordeaux met Lyon for a rematch this sunny Sunday afternoon. Both teams showed their improvement with a close game ending in a 2-2 tie. All goals came in the first half on breakaways from both sides. As reported by Lyon 6th grader Andrew Chow, the midfielders of both teams strangled the opposing offense as most of the play was contained to the center of the field. The Lyon lineup of Sasha DeGraeve, Matthew Hickey and Chow matched Bordeaux’s midfielders Sam Gilbert and Charles Chan. Victor Smith, Alex Wedmore and Lila Low-Beinart were locked in an offensive dogfight with Christian Albrizio the rest of the Bordeaux crew. Both teams pounded the opposing defense relentlessly, but neither goalie gave way. Sam Fishman of Lyon matched his performance in goal with Harry Cammer and Marlon Geshlider defending the Bordeaux net. Lyon defenders included Maya Ilyashov, Rashid Oord, Alex Lois, Jukie Tsai and Ian Tullis. The weekly Lyon game balls were awarded to DeGraeve for all around effort and Low-Beinart for excellent ball control and perseverance on offense.
Le Mans vs. Monaco (M-11)
Monaco played very well in a close 2-0 loss against a well coached and fundamentally sound Le Mans team. A penalty kick off a handball call in front of Monaco’s goal put Le Mans ahead in the first half. Monaco worked hard to overcome the loss of five key players at half time, including forward Nathan Miller. Monaco’s Michael Galindo, Woobens Celony, Santi Slade, Griffin Goldsmith, Jordan Segal and Madeline Spates played well throughout the field, helping the defensive line of Thomas Stolanski, Harry D’Agostino, Jamie Janovsky and goalie Jimmie Rogers. “We expect to continue to improve over our final three games,” Monaco coach Dennis Spates said.
Burn vs. Metrostars (Sr 12-13)
Another tie game was had by the evenly matched Metrostars and Burn in what Metrostars coach Harry Maurer called “the best game… of the season.” The Metrostars dominated the first part of play as forward Justin Montero scored two goals and Nathan Miller had another, supported by Woody Herman, Allen Stolanki and Ian Fried. The score was 3-2 at the half, and at the start of the second Burn kicked in another for the evener. Skye Clark, Luke Brown and Simon Krim on defense fended off additional Burn threats, supported by Metrostars midfielders Molly Stremba and Emma Shanahan to hold the tie.
Argentina vs. Canada (under 16, DSL vs DUSC)
With three games to go and a 7-0 record, the undefeated Argentina maintained their title in a tight game Sunday afternoon against Canada of the Downtown United Soccer Club in the under 16 division. The game was tied at 1-1 until the last two minutes of the game when Marco Capsouto put Argentina over the top with a hard shot from the 18-yard-line. Matthew Reitzfeld put an additional goal in with seconds left in the play to seal the game at 3-1. Argentina’s defense was anchored by Stephen Miller and Gabriel Barth-Maron, sweeper. Dagan Farancz, Argentina’s goalkeeper, saved countless shots. Dagan has the lowest goal against average in the division. The under 16 year olds are the oldest players in the Downtown Soccer League, and frequently play against other area leagues.
Brazil vs. Mexico (under 16, DSL)
Brazil played Mexico, another team under the umbrella of the Downtown Soccer League this weekend, besting Mexico 8-1. Alex Burwasser had numerous goals for Brazil, as did Matthew Critchlow and Joe Penny, assisted by Zoe Lutz and Will Schraft. The game ball went to goalie Simon Schreier who stopped three one-on-one shots by the opposition. Brazil currently has a record of 5-2, the second best in the division where both losses were to #1 Argentina. In an unofficial scrimmage Friday night under the lights, Brazil bested Argentina 4-1.
Thanks to the coaches who contributed to this report. E-mail soccer information to news@downtownexpress.com and Ashley@ DowntownExpress.com before Monday afternoon.
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