Youth league action
A pair of goals in the closing four minutes rallied the Lawrence Hawks to a thrilling, 4-3 victory over the Lawrence Landslide in U-9 travel soccer action Sunday at the Lawrence Elementary School.
The Landslide were poised to post their first win of the spring season, when forward Thomas DeMartin dribbled the length of the field and slotted a goal from a sharp angle with seven minutes remaining to stake his side to a 3-2 lead.
DeMartin also scored with an assist from forward midfielder Case Jemison in the 13th minute of the second half and assisted on Sam Gorski’s opening goal in the first half.
The Landslide also received valuable contributions from defenseman Kevin Bruns and midfielders Tim Finnerty, Colin Annand and Ian Amidon, as well as Jesse Goldstein in goal.
Brad Lewis helped anchor the midfield for the Landslide, and while Sean Pankiewicz bolstered the defense, John Murawski boosted the attack.
The Landslide, coached by Tom Amidon and Romy Toussaint, return to action on April 30 against the Hopewell Comets. The match will kick off at the Lawrence PBA field off Route 1 at 2:15 p.m.
Stingrays
The Lawrence Stingrays U-9 girls soccer team dimmed the Trenton Lighting Sunday, with a 4-0 shutout at the PBA field in Lawrence.
Megan Riley, playing center forward for the first time, led the scoring with two goals one assisted by left wing Heidi Sabatura.
Gina Grabowski and Jessica Warren booted in the other two goals.
The Stingray’s offensive depth kept the Lightning on the defensive. Grabowksi, Riley, Sabatura and Warren were joined up front by Lauren Raymond and Nicole Krawcyk. Halfbacks Megan Spoth, Brynn Kelly, Liz Darbee and Molly Goodell controlled the midfield for the Stingrays.
Indefatigable defenders Naomi Berman and Ashley Parkhan cleared the Trenton attacks, while playing the entire game without substitution.
Goalie Jen Korngut earned the shutout with five saves.
On April 2, the Stingrays defeated the Hopewell Rapids, 4-3, at the Timberlane fields in Hopewell.
Sabatura scored all four Stingray goals. The Stingrays’ April 9 match against the Robbinsville Rhythm was snowed out and will be rescheduled for a later date.
Rockets
The Lawrence Rockets dug into a wet and muddy home field at LES against the Robbinsville Raptors on Sunday, but lost the tight match, 4-3.
In the first half, Matt Spoth converted a precise pass from Phillip Annand for their first goal, while Robbinsville put in two.
In the second half, Ryan Pizzutillo booted in two one on a determined assist from Hiroki Katsumata.
Goaltender Michael Forker stopped numerous shots on goal several of which were one-on-one with the Raptor strikers.
Strong defensively were Zack McNair, Tamai Young, Matt Hedden, Justin DeMarco and Andrew Goldberg.
Additional offensive pressure came from Connor Choi and Dan McQuarrie.
The Rockets play the Hamilton Blizzard April 30 at Mercer County Park.
Hawks
The Lawrence Hawks U-9 team won their second game in a row Sunday, just getting by the Lawrence Landslide with a 4-3 win.
Ryan Richardson scored the game-winner with less than five minutes to play.
The Hawks had to battle back from a 2-0 deficit for the exciting win with second half goals by Brock Krawczun, Toby DiCovella and Vinoth Birabaharan.
The Hawks were led by Ernie Carnevale, as well as Garrick Hatrack, Krawczun and P.J. Miller.
Birabaharan, Richardson and Josh Solow controlled much of the midfield play, providing pressure on the opposing defense the whole game. On the forward line DiCovella and Alex Kushner both played a strong game, creating numerous scoring opportunities.