Game summaries provided by Philipstown Soccer Club:
U10 Hawks Defeat West Point
On a beautiful fall afternoon, the Girls U10 Hawks welcomed the West Point Knights to Philipstown Park.
Anna-Cat Nelson started the Hawks’ scoring, with a strong, low shot to the left corner of the goal, just past the West Point goalkeeper. Next up was Olivia Moran, after receiving a center pass from Marisa Peters. Moran perfectly placed her shot to score the second and final goal for the Hawks.
As always, Jessica Tudor and Taya Robinson commanded the defense, squashing many offensive plays and shots from the Knights while consistently pushing the ball back into the Hawks’ offensive end. Genevieve Knox, Fiona Mooney, Kate Perella and Gillie Soloviev tirelessly supported goalkeeper Ava Vasta to ensure the Hawks shut-out. Coaches Ralph Moran and Michael Robinson attributed the girls’ excellent passing to their win.
Wappingers Machine Downs Phoenix
Against a shorthanded Wappingers Wicked team, the Girls U11 Phoenix had the fortune of having an extra player on the field, but were shown that great positioning can outweigh a numerical advantage. By far the best team that the Phoenix have encountered this year, the Wicked had a number of speedy forwards who kept the defense of Laurel Sassano, Kira Drury, Josie Foley-Hedlund, and goalkeeper Sophie Tomlins on their toes from the outset.
After a couple of quick goals from the Wicked, the Phoenix settled down, and midfielders Ada Caccamise, Amelia Alayon, Sofia Rasic, and Lyla Chandler were able to move the ball up the field with the help of Zohra Kapoor, Dylan Ambrose, and Morgan Murphy. Ultimately, however, the Wicked prevailed with good positioning and passing, and downed the Phoenix 6-0. Perhaps fortuitously, the teams won’t meet again this season, and the Phoenix next face the Goshen Spirit on Oct. 15.
Rebels Hold Vikings to a Single Goal
Ultimately, it was the Beekman Rebels who held all of the answers when the Boys U9 Vikings were defeated by the patient, but relentless offensive attacks of the Rebels. Commendable defensive efforts from Oliver Choi, Joey Smith and Joseph DeMarco kept a Vikings comeback within reach. Despite a 3-0 half time deficit, the Vikings rallied and converted a defensive stop into a score.
Receiving a ball cleared by the Vikings defense, Rhys Williams sent a deft pass to Parker Larsen who redirected the ball beyond the reach of the Rebels goalie. Nonetheless, their opponents found five more ways to score before the final whistle rang on the 8-1 Viking loss. There is no rematch scheduled with the Rebels this season, so the Vikings have plenty of time to prepare for their next meeting with this skilled team. With a 1-2-1 record, the Vikings host the Goshen Red Wolves on Oct. 15.
Team Storm Breaks Out
What an amazing game Team Storm played on Oct. 1. The defense, led by Griffin Lucca and Lincoln Wayland blocked most attempts by the Nirvana Aspirante’s to score early in the game. Jack Ferreira, Chris Kordaris and Gavin Mahoney also came in to defend their own turf, battling a very talented and fierce offensive line.
Once the Aspirante strikers started to penetrate the line they had quality shots at our goal, but the day belonged to Theo Saks, our goalkeeper. Saks and his take-no-prisoner attitude were everywhere; he was diving, catching floaters and fearlessly chasing balls down. Saks could not have done more to keep the Storm in the game. He took a shot to the head but was undeterred and he saved a penalty kick shot. On the other end of the field, the offense had their best and most thrilling game yet.
Total team effort and unity was on display as well as incredible dribbling moves and passes. There was no shortage of passion, heart and guts, as the teams were tied going into the end of the second half. Oliver Sanders, Marco DiLello, Lenny Wolfe, Gavin Mahoney, Alex Gaugler and Lincoln Wayland led team Storm’s offense. Dilello and Mahoney had a few wonderful breakout dribbles which almost scored for us. Lenny Wolfe had his best game yet dribbling around their defense and shooting in his first Team Storm goal by driving the ball right up the middle.
The day belonged to all of Team Storm, however, Sanders, who covered the field, had his best performance yet taking away plays from the offense and driving and penetrating some awesome breakaway dribbles down the defensive side. He scored two goals, a career high, with a perfect assist from Dilello on the first and the other coming off a three-on-one situation. Team Storm never quits and they are a storm to be reckoned with.
Arsenal Drops Tough Match to Webutuck
The Philipstown Boys U14 Arsenal travel soccer team traveled to Amenia Sunday to play against the Webutuck Warriors. Philipstown started the first half flat and Webutuck played aggressive, maintaining possession and winning loose balls. Nine minutes in, Philipstown fans observed a Webutuck player score a goal from what appeared to be an offsides position to take a 1-0 lead.
Then, 16 minutes in, another “no-call” on an offsides play resulted in a second goal for the Warriors. A defensive breakdown by the Gunners at the 20-minute mark brought the lead to 3-0 Webutuck. The Warriors, making full use of their home-field advantage, scored a fourth goal at the end of the half and Philipstown went into halftime down, 0-4 against Webutuck.
Philipstown started the second half stronger, but the aggressive play by the Warriors made it difficult for Arsenal to gain a foothold. Seven-minutes in, the Warriors scored their fifth unanswered goal. Arsenal never gave up and 20 minutes in, Philipstown fullback, Ezra Beato, who had an exceptional game, gave the team a spark when he stole the ball from a Webutuck attacker, took a couple of touches for control and sent an excellent pass to teammate Evan Maasik. Maasik brought the ball down, sprinted past his defender and finessed a goal past the Warrior keeper.
Philipstown’s Daniel Carlos next won the ball in the midfield and sent a brilliant through-pass to Colin August who dribbled through several defenders in the penalty box and chipped a shot over the Webutuck keeper’s head.
Next, Arsenal middle, Danny Urbanak won the ball and passed to Evan Maasik. Maasik launched a curving shot over the keeper’s outstretched hands, wiping the smiles off of the Warriors’ faces with his second goal of the game. The dramatic shift in momentum came to an abrupt halt when the final whistle blew seconds later with a final score of Webutuck 5, Philipstown 3.
