DIVISION 3 GIRLS
Dahlia Florals 3, Jack’s Nursery 0
In the HVSA Division 3 championship, Dahlia Florals Pink Flamingo Ninjas and Jack’s Nursery and Landscaping ended in a 3-3 tie Jack’s Nursery after a wonderfully played game and two overtime periods on a cold and windy Saturday.
Dahlia Florals took an early lead with the strong wind to their backs off of Emily Wessler’s assist to Chelsea Kent. The lead was short lived, as Jack’s Nursery stormed back to take a 2-1 lead off goals by Amanda Flanders and Emilie Sawicki.
Carly Brant made the tying score by Dahlia’s seconds before the half Ended.
The second half excitement opened when the Wessler-to-Kent connection occurred again, only to be tied by Jack’s Emilie Sawicki with a goal as 10 minutes remained in regulation.
Dahlia’s strong midfield of Sierra Mitchell, Emma Coyer and Sophia DiDonato kept the pressure on, while defenders Beth Hooks, Faith Doldy, Mariel Haynes and Piper Brant continued to hold the line.
The game was finally decided in penalty kicks.
Goalkeepers for the Pink Flamingo Ninjas were S. DiDonato and C. Brant.
DIVISION 3 BOYS
Jack’s Nursery & Landscaping 6 , Union Line Garage 2
Jack’s Nursery played a great game Saturday with Eddie Keifer scoring two goals, with an assist from Josh Parker. Other goals made by Josh Parker, Andrei Eichhorn, Aaron Dandurnd and Mike Bates.
Stanley Liu, Mike Bates and Ben Licciardi played great defense so that Union Line Garage did not score any more goals, and goalie Andrew Sagotsky made some great saves.
Regent Floor Covering 3 , Brooks Landscaping 2
On Saturday, Regent Floor Covering lost its first game of the season in a close match with Brooks Landscaping, 3-2.
Ten minutes into the second half, Brooks Landscaping had pulled away to a 3-0 lead. Undeterred, Regent kept the attack coming. Striker Juan Carlos Perez blasted a corner kick into the center of the box, which midfielder Chris Sawicki headed the ball into the back of the net.
Five minutes later Juan Carlos blasted a shot from about 30 yards out to make the game, 3–2. Later in the half, Regent missed at least three open-net shots while Brooks played outstanding defense to preserve the win.
Regent Floor Covering 5, Callaway Henderson 1
On Sunday, the semifinal match pitted number-1-seed Regent Floor Covering against fourth-seeded Callaway Henderson.
In a play seen many times this season, striker Juan Carlos Perez blasted a corner kick into the center of the box and midfielder Chris Sawicki made contact to drive it to the back of the net. Later in the half, Callaway Henderson scored to deadlock the match.
In the second half, Regent Floor’s attacks yielded a goal when Juan Carlos was assisted by a 15-yard cross from Sawicki. Midfield Louis Azara scored his first of two goals, followed by a booming 30-yard shot from Defender Saahith Kusupudi. The high-scoring half made the final score 5-1. Striker Dan Polvererjan assisted one of Louis’ goals and controlled the tempo of the offense. Striker Alex Botero barely missed a shot on goal in the second half.
The defensive line led by defenders Benjamin Veale, Samuel Roth and Jonathan Sharma protected the lead long enough for the offense to kick in. Both goalkeepers, Emerson Hoagland and Hunter Boggess, had outstanding saves.
The semifinal victory for Regent Floor Covering sets up a rematch of Saturday’s game versus Brooks Landscaping for the championship. Regent Floor leads that season series, 2-1.
DIVISION 2 BOYS
Capital Health System 4, Hopewell Express 3
Pennington Quality Market 2, Hopewell Express 0
Hopewell Express Ends Season with Exciting Playoff WeekendIn the semifinal game of the playoffs, fourth-ranked Hopewell Express lost to the top-ranked Capital Health System, 4-3, in a hard-fought match.
Express scored first on a goal by Rich Kiefer. Capital then rallied for 3 straight goals heading into the 4th quarter. A late charge by Express tied the game with 2 more goals by Kiefer, including a penalty kick. Capital found the back of the net on a late breakaway to end things at 4-3. It was a great effort by all players on the Express.
Saturday’s loss put Express against Pennington Quality Market on Sunday in the third-place matchup. Both teams struggled to get things going early, but the intensity picked up as time ticked away. The match ended scoreless, with the same result after 10 minutes of overtime. This left penalty kicks to decide the outcome, with PQM prevailing.
It was a great season for the Express with the boys all improving as soccer players, teammates and friends.
DIVISION 2 GIRLS
Diana’s Epiphany 2, Purtuc Dental 1
On Saturday, Nov. 14, the Diana’s Epiphany girls’ team won, 2-1, against Purtuc Dental. With the game tied, 1-1, Tessa Caputo scored the tying goal. The game ended in a shoot out, with Tessa Caputo and Sofia Swindell scoring and Hannah Cooper kicking the winning goal.
Thunder U14 boys
The Thunder came away with another hard-won victory, defeating Newark Golden FC, 2-1, on Sunday.
In the first half, Newark pressed on offense with numerous shots on goal. An inadvertent deflection off the Thunder defense resulted in Newark’s only score.
Despite that setback, the Thunder defense, anchored by Liam May, stood strong, turning away all other scoring threats. Supporting May with defense and key clears were Justin Lauricella, Marcus Christensen, Austin Nemec, Sid Dhar, Alex Javick, Matthew Young and Ryan Balog.
The Thunder took control of the game midway through the second half. Offensive pressure and great passing yielded shots on goal from Dylan LeRay, Zach Achenbach, Luke McManimon, Sean Lawton, James McLaughlin, Alek Michelson, Collin Havens, Anand Wetzel, Rehan Yadav, Derek Maggion and Luke McManimon.
All that pressure paid off when Lawton found Achenbach at the top of goal box for the team’s first goal. With less than 5 minutes to go, McManimon drilled in the go-ahead goal off a pass from Michelson.
Hurricanes U14 girls
The Hopewell Valley Hurricanes advanced to the championship game of the MAPS 2015 Fall Challenge, winning all three of their flight games before losing the final to Wayne SC GGG.
The Hurricanes opened up the tournament on Saturday with a 1-0 victory over Mercer FC Everton, as Kerry Buglino knocked in the game winner off a Julia Alito cross in the second half, while the Hurricanes stingy defense secured the clean sheet.
Alito provided a first-half goal in the Hurricanes next game to take the lead against NJ Rush, which responded with a second-half goal to tie the score, before Julia Peters scored the game winner off a breakaway and left footed strike in the final minute.
The Hurricanes wrapped up group play Sunday morning with a dominating 3-1 win over Blackwatch Premier from New York, getting on the scoreboard early when Ellie Hawkey delivered a 30-yard free kick, followed up by a tap in goal from Fiona McCaffrey off a feed from Peters.
Peters finished off the scoring on a determined run through the box and score in the second half.
The Hurricanes advanced to the championship game against Wayne SC GGG. After getting out to a slow start and giving up two early goals, the Hurricanes responded with two goals from McCaffrey before halftime to knot the score. One came off a Peters assist, and the second on a one-time finish off a perfectly lofted service into the box from Charlotte Hare after a skillful buildup on the left wing.
Wayne took the lead with 15 minutes left off a free kick and finished the game off with a goal as time expired.
The Hurricanes goalkeeping tandem of Kate Allen and Maddie Schrader was stellar throughout the tournament behind a rock-solid defensive effort from Carly Sison, Chloe Mummert, Anna Cappucci, Emily Cooke and Adelinne Danieluk. The Hurricanes’ possession passing was a key driver to their success behind steady midfield play from Jolene Evich, Anna Neal and Molly Rhoads.
Riptides U10 boys
Kieran Karp had a hat trick and Brandon Napoleon added two more as the U10 Riptides rolled to a 7-1 win over Cranbury.
Garrett Wille and Daniel Golian also added goals, while Lukas Ansari, Cameron Velez, Rex Peters, Karp and Napoleon all had assists.
Alex Romano and Matthew Whitlock played terrific defense, while Charlie Stock-Natalias played well in midfield. Christian Mayer and Will Stover were solid on offense.
Lightning U8 boys
The Lightning won its seventh game last Saturday afternoon , 4-2, over the South Brunswick U8 Soccer Club.
Jackson Sub, Tyler Yadamiec, Dylan Napoleon, Gavin McCaffrey, Logan Gonsalves and John Jaihan used passing and teamwork to keep the ball away from South Brunswick. Michael Whitlock and Ethan Nau used strategic kicks, fast reversals and fast thinking to score four goals. Noah Rodriguez and Ty Becker were fast on their feet, with both boys playing roles of both offense and defense.
Goalies Kyle Yadamiec and Jeremy Siegelheim kept a watchful eye on the action, only allowing two first-half goals.