DARIEN – The Newtown Force boys 14-and-under travel soccer team dominated the South-West District, finishing 7-0 in league play while allowing only two goals and registering five shutouts … and none of that was going to change in the District championship.

With goals by Michael Gamse, Sean Burson and Justin Brophy the Force defeated Weston, 3-1, on Sunday to earn the championship and cap off a stellar 9-0 season.

Gamse entered the scoring sheet with a close header to put Newtown ahead, 1-0. After Weston equalized with a penalty kick, the Newtown defense – anchored by Dean Norado, Jimmy Mooney, Michael Mossbarger, Tarren Horvath and goalkeeper/co-captain Austin Puleri – kept a tight reign to deny and frustrate Weston’s potent attackers, who had scored four goals against Stamford in a semi-final match up.

The first half ended with the score knotted at 1-1, but the Force opened the second half very strongly with great passing and movements off the ball – much to the delight of the traveling parents and supporters who could be heard a mile away with their screaming and hollering.

With solid play by midfielders John Imbimbo and Ryan Norado on the wings, combined with Dan Gallagher’s penetrating and switching moves in the center, the Force kept the pressure on until Burson’s long-range shot beat the Weston goalkeeper to put Newtown up 2 -1.

In another Newtown buildup, a superb header by Peter Overdorf was denied by an excellent reaction save by the Weston keeper. Weston then mounted strong pressures of their own to try and score the equalizer, but the Force defense again rose to the occasion to thwart their efforts with overpowering cover and tackles.

Force defenders Jimmy and Dean made incisive runs down the right flank and the middle to drive Newtown’s counter-attacks, which helped to maintain the pressure on Weston. And with less than five minutes remaining, Justin Brophy put the game out of reach with a great finish off a goal-mouth feed.

The Force reached the championship game with a 5-0 rout of Wilton in the semifinals. Francis Afriyie, Gamse, Cameron Clark, Gallagher and Burson all scored while Thomas Healy provided an assist.

There were standout performances by all team members in the playoffs, including Joey Vanveen, Trevor Carey, and Tommy Stewart.

In other action –

TRAVEL

Boys U13

New Canaan 1, Cobras 0 – Despite best efforts, New Canaan edged out a 1-0 victory over the Cobras. Stephen Conway, Patrick Riccardi, Colin Moller and Ian Solaski played aggressively upfront each launching shots on goal. Alec Lockhart and Yoshi Kohrman-Glaser’s constant pressure bolstered a strong game by Sean Elliott in goal. Peter Kerns, Ricky Fuentes and Richard Greenwood contributed fine efforts in the mid field.

Cobras 3, Easton 0 – The Cobras finished the fall season in strong fashion with a decisive 3-1 victory over Easton. Sean Elliott played a great game in net. Matt Rahtelli, Drew Sullivan and Robert Willis applied defensive pressure throughout the match. Colin Moller scored the first goal on a hard shot just off the keeper’s hands, while Ian Solaski and Kieran Lardner netted the second and third scores on assists from Patrick Riccardi and Pieter Martino, respectively.

Boys U12

Greenwich 4, Beasts 0 – The Beast’s strong season ended with a semifinal loss to Greenwich. The Beast finished the fall season at 10-5-3, which was highlighted by a third place finish in the conference and winning the Ridgefield Labor Day tournament. The team looks forward to the up coming winter and spring season.

IN-HOUSE

Boys U14

Boots 5, AT&T 2 – Ryan Pisani and Chris Arnone scored to help lead the Boots to the win Chris Arnone and Ryan Moyer both did a great job as goalies and Christian Barrett played solid defense. Gavin Scallon and Mergim Bajraliu scored for AT&T while Brandon Unger did a great job at midfield and Jimmy Russo and Michael Senf were excellent on defense.

The Fives 5, AT&T 4 – Tyler Ruefenacht scored a pair of goals to lead The Fives to the win. James Holcomb, Daniel Colucci and Harry Solaski also scored. Matt Banda did a great job in goal. Gavin Scallon scored twice for AT&T while Mergin Bajraliu and Michael Senf scored one apiece. Taylor Rutter did a great job playing midfield and Brandon Unger played a good game overall.

Boots 1, The Fives 1 – Jake Tolson scored for the boots with Chris Arnone solid in goal and Eric Pisani playing well on defense. Tyler Ruefenacht scored for The Fives with Trey Dewald and Tom Ermis playing great defense and Matt Banda was excellent in goal.

Boys U10

Twisters 1, Silencerz 1 – Carter Nordman scored to lead the Twisters in a draw. Forrest Weatherby played excellent defense while Zach Weiland and Andrei Kalinowski both played very strong in goal. Kieran Lynch and Erik Von Schleusingen played a great game offensively. For the Silencerz, Nathan Augenbraun scored the goal with nice all around play by Christopher Horkachuck. Forest Speed was excellent in goal, and Ian Wilson played solid D.

Girls U10

Rockets 0, Funky Monkeys 0 – Brianna Baranowski and Emily Jerris played great in goal as the Rockets settled for a scoreless draw with the Monkeys. Nicole Russo, Grace Frost and Lauren Wilcox turned in strong overall performances. For the Funky Monkeys, Bailey Smith and Stephanie Carr were great in goal as Amy Pruner and Danielle Mola played well on defense. Anna Biondi played a great overall game.