Summaries provided by the Philipstown Soccer Club:
Storm Fall to Pumas
On a picture perfect weather day, the Philipstown Boys U8 Storm roared into their home opener with flashes of greatness from their veterans and newcomers alike.
After a fine indoors winter practice schedule, the Storm were hungry for their first game outside against the Newburgh Pumas to whom they lost last season by only one goal. The Pumas, however, showed their speed from the start, controlling the midfield line and making some precision passes through the Storm defense, enabling a couple of quick goals.
Within the first quarter the Pumas were leading 3-0. Team Storm shook off the initial scoring rampage and started playing their game. Veterans Joey DeMarco, Oliver Sanders, Parker Larsen, and Alex Gaugler showed great improvement from last year with their excellent passing, dribbling, and shooting.
The Storm goalkeepers, first Rhys Williams and then Alex Gaugler had some wonderful dives and saved more than a few goals. On defense, veterans Griffin Lucca and Henry Hedlund made valiant stops. The Storm really came together in the second half. Through mostly hustle and determination they were able to control more of the game.
One highlight was watching Sanders, Larsen, and DeMarco each dribble through multiple players and show off their skills. Demarco took the ball all the way from his defensive line weaving around others and scored the team’s only goal. The new players to the squad: Theo Sacks, Gavin Mahoney and Jack Ferreira looked good adding excitement, hustle, and contributing a few terrific plays. The energy of the team was not reflected in the final score of Pumas 6, Storm 1.
Rockland Panthers Defeat Arsenal
On Sunday, the Boys U13 Philipstown Arsenal traveled to Haverstraw to play the Rockland United Panthers. The Panthers proved to be a division powerhouse, setting an early tone with precision passing and aggressive play. In response, Philipstown stepped up their physical game but Rockland was hungry for 50/50 balls and controlled possession for much of the game.
Philipstown’s first half keeper, Chase Mayer, made several excellent saves and the defense of Patrick DiNardo, Roy Smith, David Tacuri, and Danny Urbanak along with holding midfielder Matthew Nachamkin worked tirelessly to stave off the Rockland attack. Fifteen minutes into the game, however, the Panthers finally were able to put a goal on the scoreboard.
Arsenal continued to fight for the ball and momentum swayed in Philipstown’s favor, but after a couple of near misses on the Rockland goal, the Gunners went into the half still down 1-0. In the second half, Philipstown took the field with renewed focus and started to put together combination plays that resulted in more scoring opportunities for the Arsenal team.
The Philipstown midfield of Colin August, Jasper Drake, Ryan Eng-Wong, Stefano Hammond, Evan Maasik and Stephen Robinson worked together to improve the team’s possession. Urbanak, Arsenal’s second half keeper, made several dynamic saves and helped keep his team in the game. Mayer lent his physical play to the Gunners’ defense, providing a much-needed spark on the field.
In the final seconds of the game, the excellent Rockland team put another goal on the scoreboard and the final score of the game was Rockland United 2, Philipstown 0.
Chargers Face-Off Against Rondout Galaxy
The Boys U16 Philipstown Chargers traveled North to Stone Ridge, NY this past Sunday for a scrappy game against the Rondout Galaxy. Rondout was first on the board after 30 minutes when some pushing back-and-forth near the Chargers’ goal led to a successful penalty kick for the Galaxy. Other than that one shot, the Chargers controlled the early pace of the game. Philipstown’s midfield was lead by Kyle Mayo, who along with Alek Maasik, Kyle Salva and Luke Wimer, was able to apply continuous pressure on the Galaxy.
The Chargers evened the table just after the half when Mayo passed to Salva at the top of the opponent’s 18-yard box. Salva immediately one-touched the ball back to Mayo who blasted a shot past the Rondout keeper to make the score 1-1. The Galaxy played an aggressive game and although they were stymied by the passing of the Chargers, they connected on a long shot just over the Chargers’ keeper to make the score 2-1.
Chargers strikers Tahiem McCormick and Luke Hammond blasted through the Galaxy defense several times, but the Galaxy keeper made a series of nice plays to keep the Chargers in check. As the minutes wound down, the Chargers lost a few players to injury and could not get back on the board, leaving the final score Chargers 1, Galaxy 2.
Old Boys Fall to Devils
The Philipstown HS Parrott’s Old Boys finally took the field, after two postponed games in the past two weeks. The team travelled to Monticello to meet the Liberty Devils. Unfortunately, only 10 Old Boys were available, taking on a full Devils roster. Playing a defensively minded game, the Old Boys held off a skilled Devils attack, and maintaining good possession.
The Devils managed to score at the 15-minute mark, but the Old Boys retaliated after being awarded an indirect from 25 yards. With an injury at the 30-minute mark, the Boys played a 9 v 11 game and held off the Devils in a show of composure and skill. The first half ended in a 1-1 tie, but the Old Boys were showing signs of playing without numbers. A few minutes into the second half, Old Boys newcomer Zach Kotzias beat out a Devils defender and keeper to an open ball, skillfully hitting the net, and putting the Old Boys ahead 2-1.
Shifting to a defensive formation, the Old Boys began to lose steam, as the Devils replaced players with fresh legs. Inevitably, the Devils would manage to outpace the tired Old Boys and scored 3 unanswered goals. Notably, goalkeeper Ted Northup held his ground, with numerous saves and admirable composure. Overall, the team looked strong, with energetic and skilled individual efforts, and a coordinated passing game, even lacking numbers. Next weekend, the team, hopefully with a full roster, travels to Goshen to take on the Blue Crew.
Phoenix Fight West Point Knights
The Philipstown Girls U12 Phoenix kicked off their season on Sunday against the West Point Knights. In the first half, the defensive line of Josie Foley-Hedlund, Ruby Poses and Walker Tinsley held back the Knights attackers. The Phoenix got on the board on a solo breakaway by Finola Kiter and shortly after Megan Ferreira brought the goal tally to two with a looping kick that dropped behind the Knights keeper.
Maggie Gordineer turned in a strong performance in the net with multiple saves against the Knights’ offensive line. In the second half, the Phoenix continued to fight hard against the Knights. The midfield line of Clara Tripp, Amber Skye-Korcz, Delaney Horan and Vanja Booth did a great job of moving the ball up the field giving both Megan Ferreira and Finola Kiter the opportunity to find the back of the net again.
Second half goalie Ruby Poses turned away multiple shots from the Knights offense with a strong performance in goal. West Point may have taken the match 9 to 4 but the Phoenix Girls walked away knowing that they had their best offensive goal tally to date.
Raptors Fall to Beekman, 2-1
In a tale of two halves, the Philipstown Girls U13 Raptors dominated the first half, only to see Beekman reverse the momentum in the second half and take the game 2-1. The game had a promising start with Raptor forward Brynn Martin feeding a perfect lead cross to fellow forward Bianca Harmancin, who outran the Beekman defense and confidently deposited the breakaway for a 1-0 lead just three minutes into the game.
The Raptors dominated first half possession and had several other scoring chances that they could not convert. Strong midfield play from Lili Westerhuis, Camille Maglio, Eden Feinstein, and Zoe Harris kept the ball moving to the Raptor forwards, and teammates Emilia Osborn and Katie Shields had chances that just went wide, to the credit of the hustling Beekman defense.
Raptor goalie, Dosi Weed, shut out the Beekman offense in the first half, denying all shots on goal. However, with the hot spring sun bearing down, the Raptors lost steam in the second half, as Beekman had the better chances and the a greater share of the possession. The Raptor backline of Mazzie Maxwell, Maya Osborn and Ella Ashburn could not hold off the onslaught, as Beekman reversed the Raptors’ first half edge by dominating the midfield and scoring twice on strong shots into the side of the net.
Weed kept additional shots out of the net with strong goaltending, and sweeper Sophia Scanga’s hustle saved a sure breakaway Beekman goal to keep the game in reach. But the final score stood at 2-1. The Raptors look to rebound next Sunday at 2pm at Haldane against Shrub Oak.
Philipstown Fire Fall to Warwick Fusion 3-0
The Philipstown Girls HS Fire lost to Warwick 3-0 in a game featuring good play by both teams. Valerie Scanga played well in the goal for the Fire. The Philipstown seniors, led by Teresa Figuerias, Mary Margeret Dywer, Michaela Khadubux, and Lila Osborn, who was coming back from knee surgery, played a good game for the Fire. The team worked hard to be competitive from the first whistle to the last.
