TYSL Commissioner’s Cup Results/BU14-1 advances to MTOC!

BU14-1 MYSL Commissioner's Cup Champions and MTOC bound!

Last weekend the Middlesex Youth Soccer League held its annual Commissioner's Cup playoff tournament. Winners in Divisions 1 & 2 advance to the Massachusetts Tournament of Champions (MTOC). The Tewksbury boys BU14-1 team battled in the Division 2 bracket and defeated both of their opponents to claim the league title and advance to the state tournament to be held next weekend in Lancaster, MA.

The Redmen won their first game 4-2 on Saturday against Melrose BU14-1. It was a tough matchup and Melrose challenged early. Melrose started the scoring with a blast from the 18 that was deflected. It took until the 27th minute before Tewksbury mounted a quality attack. It started with a Cody Souza steal deep in Tewksbury's territory making a nice pass to Adam Colon. Colon carried the ball shortly and sent it to Ameen Kalkhoran who saw Chris McCabe getting ready to break behind Melrose's defense. Kalkhoran chipped the ball through and McCabe was able to gather up the ball and score from just outside the penalty area to tie the game at 1-1. This was a spark for Tewksbury as they kept pressing and six minutes later took the lead for good when Ameen maneuvered through the defense and hit the back of the net with a low shot just inside the left post. Melrose went on the attack for the last three minutes of the half and had some good scoring chances. Their best chance came on a through ball. The Melrose attacker got past the defense and was chasing the ball for a good scoring bid. Keeper Jeff Carr left the goal line to try and beat the Melrose player to the ball. Both players arrived at the same time and Carr deflected the shot, but took the worst of the collision and was shaken up as play continued. With an empty net, the entire Melrose front line charged. Tewksbury defenders Connor Dane, Ethan Hepler, and Eric Gallant stonewalled the attack and blocked a couple of shot attempts. Carr was able to shake off the collision and ended the threat by pouncing on the ball at the foot of a Melrose forward just as he was about to hit another shot toward the goal. Tewksbury got a little breathing room early in the second half when the McCabe/Kalkhoran combo connected again. Kalkhoran made the steal and the pass as McCabe's second goal of the game came just six minutes into the half and the lead was 3-1. But Melrose kept it close as their most talented player took a long pass from his middie and outran the Tewksbury defense and scored from close range. Melrose nearly tied the game several times, but Carr made several big saves from point blank range. With 12 minutes left, Tewksbury went up by two again when Mike Flynn took the ball at midfield and took it himself, outrunning Melrose's defense, keeping good control of the ball on the rush and finally blasting it to the top corner from 18 yards out.

The Redmen won the title game on Sunday by score of 4-1 against Malden. Unlike the previous day's game, Tewksbury controlled this game most of the time. Six minutes into the game, Tewksbury went on top when Cody Souza scored on a sequence started with a corner kick. The corner kick went past the goal to the opposite corner. Adam Colon gathered the ball and smartly sent it back in front where Souza was able to  redirect the pass easily into the open side of the goal. Four minutes later, stopper Chris McCabe blasted a ball out of the Tewksbury end that went all the way through the Malden defense. Ameen Kalkhoran just beat the Malden defense to the ball and got a shot off from 25 yards out that was just at the limit of the Malden keeper's hands. The ball found the top left corner and it was 2-0. Middies Zach Bennett and Brendan Murray were able to keep the ball in the middle of the field, preventing any serious scoring threats. But after a foul, Malden had a direct kick from just outside the penalty area and they were able to convert on a high shot to the opposite post that was redirected by the forward and suddenly it was a one goal game at half time. Tewksbury wasted little time in the second half regaining control of the game. A Malden foul deep in the Tewksbury end resulted in a free kick that Adam Colon took and delivered it with a blast all the way to the other end of the field. Chris McCabe used his terrific speed to outrun everyone, carrying the ball in uncontested and scoring with a high shot. With the two goal lead, Tewksbury went into a defensive mode, but midfielder's Jack Bicknell and Rafael Perez pushed the attack. Though they didn't score, they kept the ball from penetrating too far into their own territory. Jeff Carr made several saves on the day, but most were routine thanks to the strong play of defenders Connor Dane, Ethan Hepler, and Eric Gallant. Tewksbury's final goal was scored by Ameen Kalkhoran from 30 yards out. Kalkhoran dribbled the Malden defense, found his shot and pounded the ball just under the crossbar out of reach of the keeper, making the goal 4-1 with twenty minutes left to play.

Congratulations to all the players and their coaches on a hard fought tournament and to the BU14-1 parents for their continued support!

Girls U14-1 seasons ends at the Cup

The girls U14-1 team were rewarded for their strong, undefeated season with a chance to play in the Middlesex Youth Soccer League Commissioner’s Cup.  The top 4 seeds of Division 2 would face off and the winner would advance to the Massachusetts Tournament of Champions (MTOC). 

In the semi-finals Tewksbury battled Chelmsford.  This was a very evenly matched game and remained scoreless at the half.  Victoria Mirabito would score the lone goal to advance the Redmen to the finals.  Sam Surowiec poked the ball away from a Chelmsford forward and sent it up the field to Izzy Picher who made a nice pass to Mirabito who wasted no time to get her shot off and passed the keeper.  The Redmen were able to protect their slim lead with a some key saves from Lindsay Harris and they came away with a hard fought win.

On Sunday they met Wilmington in the finals.  This was also a very evenly matched game.  Andrea DiCiacio was the defensive standout of the game as she worked hard the entire game to slow down the speedy and talented Wildcat left forward.  Rachel Sessa. Mirabito, Kelly Fortier, and Surowiec also played well on defense against a very fast Wilmington team.  Harris made a diving save in the first half to keep the game tied 0-0.  Kayla Devlin worked very hard tracking down loose balls in the Wildcat end but the Wilmington defense kept the pressure on all the forwards; making it difficult to get a shot off.  Forwards Maggie Penta, Devlin, Maddy Wescott, and Kayla Makooi struggled against the Wildcat smothering defense.  Middies, Emily Sessa, Alison Piricini, Picher, and Stephanie Graffeo tried to get something going on the offensive end but nothing materialized for them either.  With 6 minutes left in the half the Wildcats scored on a corner kick to give them the lead and eventually the win.  Wescott was injured shortly thereafter and the Redmen were down to 3 substitutes on this hot and humid day.  Tewksbury responded well in the second half and stepped up their offensive pressure but could not get one past the Wilmington keeper.  Harris kept them close with some amazing saves.  She showed Wilmington her 1-2 punch by saving a shot and then saving the rebound from the ground.  Harris dove to her right to make the first save and then on her side she stymied them twice to keep the game in reach.  Tewksbury had a chance to tie the game late with a direct kick but Sessa's shot was blocked away by the Wildcat defensive wall and never made it on net.  The Redmen never gave up and the offense put together several rushes but the whistle blew and Tewksbury would come up short.

GU10-7 debuted in the Commissioner’s Cup and finished strong 

The Tewksbury Muskrats, Team GU9-3, finished a very strong regular season with an 8-1 record.  By virtue of their excellent season, the team qualified and competed in the Invitational Commissioners Cup post season playoffs through Middlesex Youth Soccer.  The team finished as the tournament runner-up with a 2-1 record (Including two shutouts) versus three very talented teams; Waltham, Wilmington, and Burlington.