U11 Girls Red Headed to Quarterfinals in CT Cup Tournament

New Canaan’s U11 Girls Red soccer team has advanced to the quarterfinal round of the CT Cup tournament after a weekend of stormy weather and unexpected controversy. Scheduled to play their third round game against Trumbull United Dynamite at Saxe on Saturday, the decision was made to play despite the heavy rain that had been falling since early morning. Undeterred by the adverse conditions, New Canaan came out with smiles on their faces ready for the challenge ahead. On a slippery field with puddles in front of both goals, the U11 girls began to dominate the action moving the ball well around the field with their accurate passing and incredible footwork. Leading the charge was the very capable Dillyn Patten who scored New Canaan’s only goal of the first half. The defensive squad led by Kaleigh Harden, Emma Lamaker and Katie Perlitz, as well as keeper Caitlyn Tully, held tough and denied Trumbull any scoring opportunities in the half.

As the rain continued to fall and conditions worsened, New Canaan battled on in the second half finding their stride and going on the offensive. Four more goals would be added to the scoreboard for the home team with Grace Crowell, Jade Lowe, Caitlyn Tully and Harden each finding the net. The clean sheet was secured by the composed and confident keeper Madeleine McLaughlin.

With 7 minutes left to play, the referee decided to call the game short with both coaches in agreement. New Canaan’s 5-0 victory would be short lived when shortly after the game Trumbull protested the win citing Cup rules that an “abandoned game” has to be replayed on the visitor’s home field the next day.

Fueled by the frustration of having to replay a game they had already won, the U11 girls travelled to Trumbull ready to assert their dominance over their opponent. With blue skies overhead and a chill in the air, New Canaan put on an impressive display of teamwork, determination and tenacity by scoring two early goals in the half. Assisted by Jade Lowe, both Dillyn Patten and Caitlyn Tully scored for New Canaan, while later in the half, Patten and Grace Crowell added two more goals to the tally. In our half of the field, teammates Avery Minter and Angelica Megdanis continued to control the pace of the action and pushed the ball forward to set up the offense. Goalkeeper Ashley Barton kept her poise in the net and made several important saves to keep Trumbull off the scoreboard.

Winning 4-0 at the beginning of the second half, New Canaan did not back down from their relentless style of play, continuing to maneuver the ball into scoring position. An early goal by Hollis Mulry via a beautiful pass by Patten brought New Canaan’s lead to 5-0. Although play-maker Patten had many quality shots on goal, it would be Kiki Brainard and Kaleigh Harden each drilling the ball into the net.

New Canaan keeper Hadley Beiles, whose scrappy goaltending kept the few shots that Trumbull attempted out of the net, assured the second shut out of the weekend.

With a final score of 7-0 New Canaan finally secured their spot in the quarterfinal round of the CT Cup. They will next face Old Greenwich RCC Thunder Blue in Cup action, and after a bye week, will resume their regular season play on Sunday, October 12 against division rival Southbury.

Pictured above – New Canaan’s U11 Girls Red huddle up before the opening whistle of Sunday’s game in a show of solidarity.