Boys
U13 Arsenal 6, Ulster 4
Hyde Park 2, U19 Parrott’s Old Boys 1
Girls
Algonquin 2, U12 Phoenix
U13 Raptors 1, Red Hook 0
U19 Fire 3, East Dutchess 0
U13 Raptors Upset First-Place Red Hook
U13 Raptor goalie Dosi Weed was in fine form as she led a Raptor defense, anchored by veteran defensive backs, to a 1-0 shut out of first-place Red Hook.
Red Hook, which had not lost since September, tested Weed early, but the Raptor goalie turned back all balls sent her way. Midfielders Katie Shields, Camille Maglio, Zoe Harris, and Eden Feinstein helped relieve the Raptor defense of the Red Hook pressure by scrambling for loose balls, corralling air-borne passes, and delivering excellent passes to forwards Brynn Martin, Emilia Osborn, Lili Westerhuis, and Bianca Harmancin.
While there were several momentum swings, Red Hook appeared to tire in the second half resulting in several excellent scoring opportunities for the Raptors. The best came on a perfect pass from the Raptor midfield to a sprinting Martin, but the alert Red Hook goalie came all the way out to the edge of the box to block Martin’s point blank shot. The Raptors were not to be denied, however, as they broke through in the game’s final 11 minutes.
The Raptor midfield served another through ball to forward Harmancin, who rewarded her hustling teammates by fighting to the ball and rocketing a left-footed shot past the helpless Red Hook goalie. While the Raptors had the better of it in the second half, they needed defensive back Ashburn to outrun a Red Hook forward to a loose ball inches from the goal line with just three minutes remaining to preserve the win. The Raptors will return to the field after Memorial Day, and look to build on their inspiring play with an away game against the Beekman Bombers.
Phoenix Battle Algonquin Chelsea
Under beautiful blue skies, the Philipstown Girls U12 Phoenix battled the Algonquin Chelsea in their best matchup of the season. In the first half, the dynamic defense of Josie Foley-Hedlund, Isabella Lukic, Finola Kiter and first half goalie Ruby Poses repeatedly denied the Chelsea attackers. Midfielders Clara Tripp, Amber Skye-Korcz, Vanja Booth and Maggie Gordineer consistently fed the ball to forwards Madison Knott, Megan Ferreira and Delaney Horan.
The score was 1-0 Chelsea going into the second half. In the second half, midfielders Vanja Booth, Megan Ferreira, Amber Skye-Korcz and Clara Tripp continued to push the ball up the field giving our forwards Delaney Horan, Finola Kiter and Madison Knott multiple shots on goal. And once again, the defensive line of Isabella Lukic, Josie Foley-Hedlund, Ruby Poses and second half goalie, Maggie Gordineer shut down the Chelsea forwards.
While the final score was 2-0 in favor of Algonquin, Sunday’s game showcased the passing and spacing progress that the Phoenix have been working on so hard this season. This writer, along with the families of all the players, is always impressed by the heart and determination the Phoenix show in every match.
Boys U8 Storm Take On Yorktown
On a beautiful afternoon, the Philipstown Buys U8 Storm played a hard fought away-game against the Yorktown Fire. Without substitutes, and facing a Fire team with a deep bench, the Storm did a great job keeping the game close in the first half. First time goalkeeper Jack Ferreira and the defensive line of Lenny Wolfe, Henry Foley-Hedlund and Griffin Lucca did a good job of disrupting the Fire’s play.
Midflielders Joey DeMarco and Gavin Mahoney provided much of the ball movement, controlling the play and moving the ball out of the Storm’s half. Along with Mahoney, striker Rhys Williams had the best chances of the day on nice breakaways behind the Fire’s defense, and Theo Sacks seemed to be everywhere across the field. The lack of substitutes and a couple of minor injuries cost the team their enthusiasm in the second half, but the team will look to rebound on June 4 at home against the Newburgh Pumas.
Philipstown Arsenal Tames Tigers
For the second week in a row, the Boys U13 Philipstown Arsenal had the opportunity to redeem themselves from an earlier season loss and for the second time they answered the call. On Sunday Arsenal traveled across the river to face the Southern Ulster Tigers. The Tigers had previously beaten a short-staffed Philipstown 2-1, and this time the young Gunners had a deep bench and a fire in their belly.
It took a while for Philipstown to get their footing against the big and physical Southern Ulster team, but eight minutes in holding midfielder Matthew Nachamkin won possession and sent a brilliant through ball to teammate Ryan Eng-Wong. Eng-Wong flicked the ball on to Evan Maasik whose shot beat the keeper to the right corner of the goal to give Philipstown a 1-0 lead. Southern Ulster was able to stave off multiple attempts on goal by the Arsenal team and finally evened the game up at 1-1 in the 26th minute. Four minutes later, Maasik passed to Eng-Wong who was able to put a solid finish on the ball despite being slide-tackled from behind, and Philipstown went into the half up 2-1.
Arsenal goalkeeper Danny Urbanak and the Philipstown defense were exceptional against the speedy Tigers attack. Four minutes into the second half, Southern Ulster tied the game 2-2 but this only emboldened the Philipstown attackers who struck back with a series of goals. First, Jasper Drake cut through the Tigers’ defense and blasted a shot that the keeper tipped into the air. As the ball fell, Maasik leapt into the air and headed the ball over the keeper’s hands into the top left corner.
Next, the talented Drake took a masterful corner kick that went through the keeper’s hands for a “gol olímpico,” bringing the score to 4-2. Then Stephen Robinson sped down the left wing and took a shot on goal that teammate Stefano Hammond rebounded and Chase Mayer powered in for Philipstown’s 5th goal on the day. Southern Ulster put another goal on the board but Arsenal continued to pressure the Tigers’ defense.
Colin August rocketed a shot that the keeper was unable to handle and Evan Maasik pounced on the rebound, putting away his third goal for the hat trick. Southern Ulster wasn’t finished and scored a fourth goal but thanks to Philipstown’s defense and second half keeper Ronan Kiter, Arsenal was able to hold off the Tigers and finish with a 6-4 win. Congratulations to all the Philipstown Arsenal players for staging a strong end-of-season comeback in their division.
U19 Old Boys and Girls U19 Fire Host Home Games
The U19 Old Boys met the Hyde Park Cosmos at the Haldane turf in a heated and intense match, followed by an equally exciting game with the girls U19 Fire who hosted Eastern Dutchess United. The Old Boys and Cosmos staged a battle of the mid-field, with few meaningful strikes, due to solid defense on both ends of the pitch. Fifteen minutes in the Cosmos put in the first goal, which would be the only score of the first half.
With the possession battle continuing in the second half, at 15 minutes in, Justin Roffman fed a ball into Michael Harmancin for a tie-up score. Blaine Fitzgerald replaced Ted Northup as the Old Boys keeper, and he played a flawless half. Unfortunately, with about 5 minutes left, the Cosmos created a breakaway, and put one beyond the reach of Fitzgerald, ending the game 2-1 in favor of the Cosmos.
Next up, the girls Fire hosted the Eastern Dutchess United Pumas. The Fire, entering the game winless, were joined by newcomers Kyra Cimino (defense) and Giovana Fichera (mid-field). In a spirited game, the Fire ignited a strong offense that would see goals from Quinn McDonald in the first half, and Lila Osborn and Micheala Khadabux in the second half. The defense dominated the Pumas, who were unable to score on the confident Fire, resulting in a 3-0 win for Philipstown.
