NEWINGTON – If there is a CSJA State Cup game to be played, you can almost bet that Newtown and Farmington will be playing it.

Just like they did in the spring U11 State Cup final, the two teams met once again – this time in the fall U12 State Cup final on Saturday in Newington. And like they did in the spring U11 State Cup final, the Newtown Vipers – this time by a 3-1 count – defeated Farmington to capture the title.

A field of 60 teams began competing earlier this fall for the chance to claim the championships and the Vipers had to tough it out through six matches. The Vipers brought back their entire spring roster – with the addition of one new player – and felt confident they could control their own destiny by maintaining the quality of their game.

“All 16 boys played with heart, determination and intensity and produced a genuine team effort,” said the coaching staff.

Goaltender Danny Smith – already with five State Cup shutouts – sparked the Vipers with an outstretched leap that punched a sure Farmington goal away from the far upper corner. The defense quickly then settled in and Sean Weir, Mat DeBrantes, Kevin Davies, Chris Schreiber and Chris Meier all denied Farmington the chance to build an attack.

 Justin Miller and Jason Smith used the center of the field to control the Viper ball movement and in the 16th minute a wide ball, played from midfield to Kevin Troy, led to Troy’s cross to the far post – which Paul Andras headed in for for the first goal of the game.

Four minutes later, Ethan Canfield’s left-footed ball found the nylon and the Vipers went up 2-0.

Meanwhile, Max Hoagland and Drew Taylor both added tireless minutes on the midfield flanks.

With the opening of the second half Newtown found itself retreating as Farmington’s aggressive play stretched the Viper defense, but Danny Smith and the defensive core held the opponents scoreless until the 57th minute. Awarded a direct kick from the top of the 18-yard box,  Farmington’s midfielder pushed the ball just over the touch of Danny Smith’s fingers.

Farmington was revitalized but the Vipers maintained their composure. 

Behind only 2-1, Farmington’s play became rough and relentless. With six minutes left to play, Miller was sidelined after a takedown in the box. Farmington attacked once again, but DeBrantes made a sweeping run across the field to stop the lone Farmington forward.

With possession back at the Viper’s feet, Jason Smith pushed a long ball through to outside-mid Troy, who fought into the box – where he was taken down. As Troy left the field limping, Miller came back in and laced home the penalty kick, giving the Vipers the 3-1 lead.

Although the score would stand until the final whistle, it was the defensive core that held strong and once again proved to be the steady foundation that this team has been built upon. Newtown scored 20 goals against State Cup opponents, but allowed just one goal.

The path to the State Cup title was paved with victories over New Canaan (6-0), New Milford (2-0), Easton (4-0), Avon (1-0), Wallingford (4-0) and, finally, Farmington (3-1).

In other action . . .

BOYS C/D

DANBURY 1, EAGLES 0: For the Eagles, Ben Wicki and Jonathan Zigman played great offense, Cody Cullens had an outstanding game covering both ends of the field from his midfield position and goalies David Manville and Evan Gregoire did an awesome job in the net.

BOYS E

NIGHTMARE 1, WILDCATS 1: Christopher Bock of the Nightmare and Michael Cogginello of the Wildcats scored the only goals in this 1-1 deadlock. For the Nightmare, Stephen Ashbolt, Nathan Barrett and Jacob Barrett were solid on defense. For the Wildcats, it was a total team effort.

DOGNABBERS 5, DESTROYERS 5: Daniel Lynch, Steve Musco, Spencer Scott and Dent all scored to lead the ‘Nabbers while George Zaruba, Harrison Gillis and Timmy Lacouture scored to lead the Destroyers. Andrew Cuccic of the ‘Nabbers and Collin Tredger and Gregg Mufatti of the Destroyers had solid games.

DOGNABBERS 3, TORPEDOES 0: Patrick Fay scored one goal and assisted on another to lead the ‘Nabbers to the win. Daniel Lynch scored two goals. Timmy Wilmot and Aaron Caldwell combined for the shutout with support of Brendan O’Connell on defense. For the Torpedoes, Nick Martinez made several great plays in goal as Zach Bryan and Evan Capienza had nice performances.

DOGNABBERS 4, STINGERS 2: Daniel Lynch scored a pair of goals while Spencer Scott and Steve Musco scored one apiece to lead the ‘Nabbers to the win. Shane Casey had an assist. Patrick Fay and Aaron Caldwell were strong on defense.

DOGNABBERS 5, DESTROYERS_2: The ‘Nabbers finished an undefeated season with a win over the Destroyers. Daniel Lynch scored three goals and Steve Musco added two. Tory Deakin had a pair of assists. Zach Dent, Spencer Scott also had assists. For the Destroyers, Shulig Halili and George Zaruba scored with assists from_Harrison Gillis. Ryan DiLuoffo and Colin Tredgers played well in the midfield.

VELOCIRAPTORS_1, CHEETAHS 1:_Kyle Willliams scored the lone goal for the Raptors. Derek Krewson, Kevin Curry and Conrad Normann played great games for the Raptors. Josh Gilbert, Austin Jones, and Ivan Hutchinson were the standouts for the Cheetahs.

BOYS F

WOLFPACK 1, SONICS 0: Chad Cullens scored the only goal of the game to lift the Wolfpack to the win. Keegan Lombard and James Radcliffe anchored the strong defense for the Wolfpack. For the Sonics, Chris Arnone did a great job on offense. Joey Coelho also helped lead the offense and got his first shot on goal. Ben Stoler led the defense.

ROCKETS 4, TIGERSHARKS 1: Ryan Cassidy scored a pair of goals while Trey Trudell and Sean Burson scored one apiece. Collin Gage and Thomas DuLuoffo controlled the ball at the defensive end. For the ‘Sharks, Nick Gerbo scored off an assist from Christian Gregoire. Luke Shearin and Alex Newfeld anchored the D.

ROCKETS 5, WILDCATS 0: Will Fletcher, Jack McManus, Ryan Cassidy, Sean Burson and Brandon Body all scored to lead the Rockets to the win. Fletcher and Drew Robinson also had assists. For the Wildcats, Mike Greenwood and Cavan McCaffrey led the offense while Yanni Koutnous and Nick Sajovic paced the defense.

GIRLS F

ALL STARS 3, HURRICANES 0: Jennifer VanVeen scored twice and Ali Korchman also scored once to lead the All-Stars. Katie Cummings, Gabrielle Milano and Kristen Grabowski played well for the All-Stars. Caroline Lawrence, Alicia Carrafiello and Jessica Gorski turned in strong games for the Hurricanes.

SPEED DEMONS 4, LIGHTNING 2: Sarah Murtha scored four goals to lead the Speed Demons to the win. Emily Erickson and MacKenzie Terrell assists. Lexis Black played very well. For the Lightning, hard teamwork and good defensive play led the way.

BOYS U10

RAPTORS 3, WATERTOWN 0: The Raptors played their final game of the season by avenging a previous loss to Watertown with a 3-0 win. Jeff DiNicola scored the game’s first goal with an assist from Adam Buccino. Newtown’s second goal was scored by Andy Lapple with assistance from Sam Hoagland. Danny Clement scored the teams third goal with the help of Daniel Greenwood. Chris McCann, Ben Morrison, Colin Jacob and Matt Iassogna all demonstrated strong play for the Raptors.

GIRLS U10

RAMPAGE 4, SOUTHBURY 0: Chelsea Fay, Berenice Bryant, Melissa Schreiber and Katie Pessin scored goals and led the Rampage to the win. Allison Modzelewski, Schreiber and Bryant all registered assists. Jordyn Good had an outstanding day on defense, corner kicks and goal kicks. Pessin and Bryant shared time in goal and recorded the shutout.

GIRLS U11

HURRICANES 6, WATERBURY 0: The Hurricane’s well-balanced attack produced six different scorers – Sarah Shannon, Kelley Sullivan, Kasey Schulz, Collen Thornberg, Adelle Cerreta and Emily Weber. Nora Lynn Shimko, Megan Hanson, Tania Domingos, Haley Keane and Katie Serok controlled the midfield with Molly Curry, Emily Weber and Cassie David turning back anything Waterbury could muster.

GIRLS U12

NAVIGATORS 3, DANBURY 2: The Navigators rallied from a 2-0 halftime deficit on goals by Harriet Morgan (2) and Jackie Schulz. Katie Powers had a strong game in goal with support from Julie Landin and Christie Attanasio on defense. Eva Cerreta and Ashley Braun also played well.

WATERTOWN 3, NAVIGATORS 1: Alana Bilangi scored the lone Newtown goal on an assist from Jackie Schulz. Eva Cerreta and Caroline Kraich led the defense while Rachel Maley, Katie Kirrane and Claire Ober supported the offense.

NAVIGATORS 4, NEW HARTFORD 0: Jackie Schulz scored three, first-half goals to lead the Navigators to the convincing win. Julie Landin also scored while Harriet Morgan had two assists and Jackie Petrasanta had one. Eva Cerreta, Rachel Maley and Katie Kirrane led the midfield play as Jackie Kirol powered the defense.

GIRLS U14

BERKSHIRE 3, NITROS 1: The Nitros closed out their fall season with tough loss, finishing 2-7 overall and 1-6 in the league. The Nitros remained competitive throughout the season in the older U14 bracket. Like most of the season, the Nitros played with no reserves due to illnesses and injuries and Berkshire used their bench strength to outlast the Nitros, scoring two goals in the first half and one more in the second half. Erica Vacaro scored in the first half to keep the Nitros in the game. The offense had many close scores thwarted by a very tough Berkshire keeper. Emma McHugh’s keeping with several great saves and strong defensive play from Shannon Kirch, Jen Iassogna, and Kristine Salbu made it a close game.

SAMBA TTP

BOYS U13

WEST HARTFORD 4, SAMBA 1: West Hartford scored two quick goals to shock Samba. Brian Conroy responded with a long goal that caught the West Hartford goalie by surprise and brought the score to 2-1. Samba played well in controlling the mid-field, but was subject to some breakdowns, resulting in two second half goals for the opponent. Justin Durelli and Mark Cinquegrana played well in the back field, and Jack Quinn and Chris Finstein provided offensive pressure.

SAMBA 2, BRIDGEPORT 0: Samba prevailed against a spirited Bridgeport team, with a goal in each half provided by Joe Rahtelli. Brian Conroy played a strong all-around game and assisted on the first goal. Chris Collins, who assisted on a goal, and Michael Vontobel stood out on defense. Goalie Sean Cummins recorded his 6th shutout in league play. Samba closes the regular season with a 6-1-2 record and awaits the results of other games to determine possible playoff standings.