June 4

The Philipstown Girls’ U12 Phoenix won their first match of the season and of the entire 2016-2017 campaign versus the New Paltz Fire, 3 to 1.

During a rainy first half, mid-fielders Vanja Booth and Clara Tripp expertly fed the ball to the offensive line of Finola Kiter, Delaney Horan, Megan Ferreira and Madison Knott who dominated play and kept the ball on the Fire side for much of the first half. The defensive line of Walker Tinsley, Josie Foley-Hedlund and Amber Skye-Korcz along with goalie Maggie Gordineer wouldn’t let the Fire near the goal. The only goal for the Fire came from a lucky shot on an empty net. Forward Madison Knott hit pay dirt with her first goal of the season.

The teams went into the second half tied 1 to 1. In the second half, the Phoenix continued to press hard against the Fire. The offensive line did a great job of moving the ball up the field giving Finola Kiter the opportunity to score, not once but twice. The defensive line continued to make it difficult for the Fire offense to get close to goal and if they did, goalie Maggie Gordineer turned them away. When the whistle blew, the final score was 3 to 1, Phoenix. Today’s victory was truly a team effort and every player had a hand in the win. With three games left in the season, the Phoenix are looking forward to the challenges ahead of them knowing how far they’ve progressed this season.

Raptors Rip Rain-Soaked Beekman, 5-0

The Girls U-13 Philipstown Raptors continued their strong surge, winning their third game in the last four and avenging an earlier loss to the former Division I Beekman Bombers, 5-0, in a pouring rain at Beekman on Sunday. Playing without subs and their top goalie, the Raptors showed indefatigable resolve, as they continue to mature and move up the standings. The athletic Lili Westerhuis took over in goa and turned back everything Beekman had to offer. Westerhuis’s job was made a bit easier by her unflagging defense, anchored by defenders Mazzie Maxwell, Maya Osborn and Ella Ashburn, as well as sweeper Sophia Scanga.

Raptor midfielders Camille Maglio, Zoe Harris and Brynn Martin kept the ball moving to the Raptor forwards, who did not disappoint. Forward Bianca Harmancin, the Division’s leading scorer, netted the Raptor’s first goal, soon followed by midfielder Martin’s goal, which put the Raptors up to 2-0 at the half. Martin would then net the Raptors’ third goal soon after the second half began. Then, strong work from right forward Emilia Osborn helped lead to forward Katie Shield’s netting her first goal of the season, and the onslaught was on. Harmancin ended the scoring with her ninth goal of the season, bringing the final score to 5-0. The Raptors look to continue their winning ways at Shrub Oak next Sunday at 2pm.

Storm Take on the Pumas

The Philipstown Boys U8 Team Storm played a terrific game, showing more promise, poise, determination, and grit than ever before. The offense, led by Oliver Sanders, Lenny Wolfe, Connor Keagan, Rhys Williams, and Joey DeMarco, kept the Pumas on the defensive for the majority of the match. Wolfe and Sanders almost scored, but the Pumas’s goalkeeper was there to make the stops.

The Storm excelled in interaction, finding open spaces to pass, spreading out more, and always giving it their best. The defense had great moments, hovering around, covering man on man when it counted, and clearing the ball when needed. The sturdy trio of Griffin Lucca, Theo Saks, and Henry Foley-Hedlund hustled their best to stop a powerful and successful Puma team. Unfortunately, the Pumas capitalized on a few of the Storm’s mistakes.

Philipstown Draws Against Tough Rockland United Team

The Philipstown Boys U13 Arsenal travel soccer team hosted the division-leading Rockland United Panthers on Sunday in a steady rainfall. The undefeated Rockland had bested Philipstown in an early season match-up and the Panthers defense had previously only allowed a single goal in their first four games combined. Arsenal started the game demonstrating confidence and composure, dominating possession with crisp passing.

Seven minutes in to the first half, Arsenal middie, Evan Maasik picked up the ball on the left wing and hit a nice cross into the Rockland penalty box to striker Colin August. August brought the ball down and quickly took a well-struck shot that found the right side of the Rockland goal, giving Philipstown an early 1-0 lead. Rockland equalized only three minutes later after capitalizing on a scramble for the ball in the Philipstown penalty box. Ten minutes later, Arsenal regained the lead after Philipstown’s Stephen Robinson hit a great 25-yard through ball from the left side of the midfield to Maasik who was running into space past Rockland’s last defender.

Maasik received the ball in stride, took a couple of touches, and then found a great angle to strike the ball past the Rockland goalie into the left corner of the goal, bringing the score at the half to 2-1 Arsenal. Philipstown’s first-half goalkeeper, Danny Urbanak, was brilliant as usual, making several remarkable saves. Urbanak’s effort was supported by the exceptional defense of Patrick DiNardo, Rowen Kuzminski, Matthew Nachamkin, Roy Smith, Aidan Sullivan-Hoch, and David Tacuri.

In the second half, the Rockland United Panthers found their footing and tied the game again when they found space in the Philipstown penalty box, hitting a shot into the right hand side of the Arsenal goal, making it Philipstown 2, Rockland, 2. The Panthers then took a 3-2 lead when a Rockland middie took a long run from midfield before hitting a low shot into the right hand corner of the goal.

With only four minutes left to play and with all of the fans on the edge of their seats as they watched the physical, well-played match-up, Philipstown’s Colin August received the ball in the penalty box. As he tried to turn, a Rockland defender pulled him down and the referee called for a penalty kick. Jasper Drake struck the resulting penalty kick beautifully, hard and to the left corner of the Rockland net, bringing the final score to a draw, Philipstown 3, Rockland 3. Arsenal looks forward to their last game of the season next weekend against Pawling.

Chargers Battle Terminators In Rematch

The Boys U-16 Philipstown Chargers traveled North this week to take on the Dover Terminators. The match started with some good back-and-forth play, and Dover was able to get a cross through to the middle for a score 30 minutes in. Down 1-0, the Chargers finished the first half with a flurry of attacks, and midfielder Luke Wimer had several shots, including one that went off the side post. Goalkeeper John O’Donnell made some great saved to keep the game tight until the halftime whistle blew.

The second half saw more very competitive play on both sides. The Chargers brought the ball down field for several crosses, led Dominick Farina on defense by Kyle Salva and Luke Hammond in midfield. The Terminators got on the board again after a breakdown on defense, but then it was the Chargers turn to get on the board. On an indirect kick from just outside the 18-yard box, center-back Collin Eng-Wong lofted a cross to striker Taheim McCormick who headed a goal into the corner of the net to make the score 1-2 with 30 minutes left in the game. Both teams continued to have opportunities, but Dover’s lead scorer was able to knock several more goals before the game ended putting Dover up 4-1 to finish the game. The Chargers fought until the final whistle, and will look to rebound away next week versus Beacon.

June 11

In their final game of the spring season, the Boys U13 Philipstown Arsenal traveled to play the Pawling Lightning.

The two teams battled for possession for over fifteen minutes before Philipstown notched the first tally on a perfectly placed Jasper Drake direct kick that sailed past the Lightning keeper. Pawling tied up the game seven minutes later but Philipstown answered when Stephen Robinson won the ball in the midfield, passed to teammate Tim Ben Adi who in turn passed to striker Ryan Eng-Wong. Eng-Wong dished to Evan Maasik on the left wing who took a strong touch past his defender and struck a nice, outside of the foot shot into the far right corner of the Pawling net, bringing the score at the half to Philipstown 2, Pawling 1.

The second half started with Pawling getting a quick score from a beautiful header to even the game in the first four minutes. But Philipstown quickly tamped down any momentum from the Lightning’s exciting goal when only three minutes later, Arsenal middie Jasper Drake executed a brilliant corner kick that Evan Maasik leapt up to ridiculous heights to head in over the Pawling keeper’s hands to re-take the lead, Philipstown 3, Pawling 2. Undaunted, Pawling came back and tied the game yet again at 3-3.

With the afternoon sun taking a toll on both teams, over twenty minutes passed by without a Pawling goal thanks to the dynamic Philipstown defense of Patrick DiNardo, Rowen Kuzminski, Matthew Nachamkin, Aidan Sullivan-Hoch, David Tacuri and goalkeepers Colin August and Danny Urbanak. Midfielders Ben Adi, Drake, Eng-Wong, Maasik, Colin August, Ronan Kiter, Chase Mayer, Stephen Robinson and Roy Smith were relentless on attack, keeping the Pawling defense on their heels with great ball movement and constant pressure.

Late in the game, Arsenal took the lead again when holding middie Nachamkin won the ball and passed to Mayer on the wing. Mayer, reading the field well, sent a nice through ball to striker Maasik. Maasik sent a cross from the corner to the top of the goal box where Ryan Eng-Wong one-touched the ball in with a superb finish. In the final minutes of the game, speedy full back Rowen Kuzminski made a beautiful run down the right wing, passing the ball to Colin August who sent a masterful ball into the middle of the goal that was put away by Chase Mayer with a powerful one-touch bringing the final score to Philipstown 5, Pawling 3. The exciting win put a cap on an excellent season for Philipstown Arsenal who finished 4-3-1 in the second division.

Chargers Wrap-up Spring 2017 Season at Beacon

The U-16 Philipstown Chargers traveled up 9D this past Sunday to face-off against our northern neighbors, Beacon United. The battle on the field went back and forth with strong passing from the Chargers up field and solid defense led by Dominic Farina and Elias Henderson. Zach Maher provided power from the fullback position, and Hayden Mayer showed off his speed. Quinn Petkus did some man-marking to ward off the United shots, and Ben Strol was relentless when the opponents came down his side.

The first half ended with the Chargers down 2-0, but it certainly did not reflect the effort. The Chargers offense came alive in the 2nd half, when quick middie Kyle Mayo passed to Alek Maasik who entered the 18 yard area and blasted a strike from the corner to the side netting to make it 1-2. Beacon came back with a goal of their own, but the Chargers roared back. Collin Eng-Wong, who played middie and striker, crossed in front of the Beacon net, where left-mid Kyle Salva knocked in the Chargers 2nd goal. The offense continued to attack with Luke Hammond, Taheim McCormick, and Gabe Keller at striker making multiple runs with several near misses.

Luke Wimer pressured from midfield to both pass and win several thru passes. All-star goalkeeper John O’Donnell made some great saves and nearly scored in the waning minutes, when he went up for a Chargers corner kick that barely missed connecting with his head. For the final 15 minutes the Chargers had Beacon on their heels, but time ran out as the game ended 3-2 for the home team.

Behind The Story

Type: News

News: Based on facts, either observed and verified directly by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources.

Articles attributed to "staff" are written by the editor or a senior editor. This is typically because they are brief items based on a single source, such as a press release, or there are multiple contributors, such as a collection of photos.