BOYS U14 PREMIER

Spring 2000

 

STRIKERS 4, MANCHESTER 2: The Strikers offense, sparked by Ryan Taplin, Peter Dittmar and Brian Smith in midfield, came alive in the U-14 premier division opener for Newtown.  Andrew Fiscella, Matthew McFadden, Mike Vanasse and Marcus Tracy all scored for the Strikers while Jeremy Barczak, David Anderson and Devon Manfredonia anchored the defense. Manchester was able to score twice but Newtown controlled the pace of the game throughout.

STRIKERS 1, NAUGATUCK 1: In the first outdoor match for the Strikers their scrimmage against Naugatuck ended in a 1-1 tie.  Both teams fresh from indoor play found themselves winded by the open space and size of the field and unaccustomed to the different touch on the ball required for the natural grass.  Naugatuck netted the first goal on a breakaway through the Striker “D” after Newtown had pushed forward only to lose possession and get caught retreating.  Naugatuck maintained the lead until Ryan Taplin found Mike Vanasse’s direct kick and placed it into the nylon.  Both teams went on playing well but neither team could score a winning goal. Nathan Walzer was strong guarding the net for the Strikers with Jeremy Barczak, Mike Bonsignore and Jeff Brunaska all playing well on defense. Brian Smith and Peter Dittmar help the Striker’s control the ball with confident midfield play.

Winter 2000

 

Newtown 3, South Central 3: The Strikers finished their division play with an aggressive match against South Central Storm who shared second place in the division with Newtown, prior to the match.  Mike Vanasse netted a first-alf ball for the Strikers but South Central held onto a 2-1 lead at the half.  The Storm went up to 3-1 within minutes of the second half but Newtown kept its composure and soon Ryan Taplin brought the Strikers within one. Mathew Miller found Vannasse’s rebound off of the end wall and tied the match at 3-3. David Kugielsky and Sean Rawson both strengthened the offense with aggressive. Nathan Walzer patrolled the net and kept the team organized with confident instruction and support.

BOYS’ U10 TRAVEL

Indoor

 

VIPERS 10, EAST HAVEN 8: The Vipers ended their season with a ten-8-cious (10-8) win over East Haven for the 1st place title in the Oakwood Indoor U-10 season. Tony Gallucci netted three goals and Justin Miller added one in the 1st half as Newtown’s goalie Danny Smith and defensive strongholds Chris Meier and Jason Smith allowed only three for East Haven.

Drew Taylor and Alex Bowen provided supportive midfield play but with the match heating up in the second half the Vipers could not break away and develop a lead of more than two goals.

East Haven answered every Newtown score with one of its own and it wasn’t until the last minutes that Newtown pulled away by two and was able to shut East Haven down.  Five Vipers contributed with second half goals: Kevin Davies (2), Kevin Troy (1), Max Hoagland (1), Nick Kallivrousis (1) and Miller (1).