U11 Girls Red Defeats Division Rival Southbury 3-2

The U11 Girls Red soccer team extended their regular season record to 4-0-1 by defeating their division rival Southbury by a score of 3-2.

Playing at home on Sunday, with clear blue skies overhead, New Canaan had been anticipating this match up all season and arrived focused and ready to play.

It was evident almost immediately that this was going to be a physical, back and forth game with the mid-fielders seeing a lot of the action.

Relying on their speed and excellent passing game, the U11 girls held their own on the field until a Southbury striker appeared out of nowhere for the breakaway shot on goal.

New Canaan keeper Katie Perlitz made a “body sacrificing” dive to block the shot but couldn’t quite get her hands on the ball. Jade Lowe, pictured above, immediately answered back with a goal of her own to tie the score at 1-1.

Goal to goal action continued throughout the half with the New Canaan back line, led by the powerhouse combination of Kaleigh Harden, Avery Minter and Grace Crowell, doing their job to win tackles and distribute the ball up field.

After Southbury sneaked another hard shot past Perlitz, Crowell stepped up the pressure and scored New Canaan’s second goal off a perfectly executed pass sequence from Dillyn Patten and Hollis Mulry.

The second half opened with the same intensity as the first, with both teams coming out swinging. Game play was again very evenly matched with the New Canaan offense and defense getting an equally good work out on the field.

Front line teammates Patten, Caitlin Tully, Hadley Beiles and Crowell used their speed and effective ball control skills to make several offensive rushes to the goal, only to have Southbury’s superb keeper execute save after save. Always one to keep her poise on the field, Jade Lowe finally broke the deadlock by drilling a gorgeous shot across the net into the corner of the goal.

With 10 minutes left in the game, the pressure was now on the New Canaan defense and keeper Ashley Barton to stave off a tying goal. Barton stood tall and preserved the win by making several confident saves.

The U11 Red team will be busy this week preparing for their CT Cup quarterfinal game against Old Greenwich Thunder Blue on Saturday, October 18. They again face Old Greenwich on Sunday, October 19 in a regular season game.