The Galaxy and Blizzard tangled on Friday, September 21. The Galaxy got on the board first, thanks to an unassisted goal from Alyssa Sweeney. Sweeney scored again moments later on a breakaway to give the Galaxy the 2-0 lead at the half. Emma Beaulieu and Victoria Williamson came out firing for the Blizzard, but Alexis Bell and Sarah Morneault put up a solid defense. Alisa Brewer made the margin 3-0 when she blasted in a shot just past the keepers’ hands. Katie Ford and Skyler McAtee attempted a counter attack for the Blizzard, but goalie Elise Guerrette gobbled up all their shots.
Contributed photo OLIVIA HUDSON of the Galaxy battles with Shaye McHatten of theHurricane in a recent summer match.
The Tornado and Hurricane also met up on Friday afternoon. The Hurricane had two second half goals for the 3-1 victory. Taylor Williams put the Hurricane up 1-0 when she crushed a free kick into the goal. The Tornado tied it up later in the first half when Page Kidney scored off a pass from Michaela Dumais. Taylor Williams tallied another unassisted goal to put the Hurricane back up by a score of 2-1. Kailee Ferris added a late insurance goal for the Hurricane. Alison Bell and Alex Michaud played strong defensive for the Tornado. The defense of Sedona Lucas and Abigayle Shaw helped preserve the win for the Hurricane.
The Galaxy and Tornado clashed on Wednesday afternoon.
The Galaxy finally broke through with two goals in the second half. Kassidy Voisine hammered in a rebound to give the Galaxy the 1-0 lead. Alyssa Sweeney added an insurance goal later in the second half off a play set up by Regan Nelson. Leslie Mejia and Casey Lovely tried to get the Tornado on the board, but Galaxy halfback Olivia Hudson’s speed thwarted their opportunities.
The Blizzard dropped a hard fought game to the Hurricane in the late Wednesday afternoon. The Blizzard defensive unit Rachel Maxwell, Skyler McAtee and Katie Ford kept the explosive Hurricane offense in check during the first half. Cassidy Soucier finally broke through late in the first half when she scored off a pass from Taylor Williams. Emma Beaulieu and Emily Colligan created some great chances to score for the Blizzard, but Abigayle Shaw and Emma Curtis stopped them, allowing a 1-0 advantage at halftime. The Hurricane picked up the intensity against a tired Blizzard team in the second half. Sedona Lucas upped the lead to 2-0, finishing off a Cassidy Soucier assist. Taylor Williams made it 3-0 moments later, stealing the ball off a goal kick and blasting the ball into the back of the net. Williams’s second goal made the difference 4-0, with the assist going to Michaela Dube. Madison Walton of the Hurricane and Abigail Shaw of the Blizzard exhibited their keeper skills.
The Missiles had goals from three different players on their way to the 3-1 win over a much improved Drillers team. Byron Winslow scored the lone goal of the first half, giving the Missiles the early 1-0 advantage on an unassisted goal. Kyle Rider put his team up 2-0. Alex Brewer later made it 3-0 when he slammed in a loose ball in front of the net. Jake Kinney got the Drillers on the board late in the second half, but they couldn’t follow it up with anymore goals.
Parker Lambert’s goal midway through the first half was all the Sounders needed as they went on to defeat the Blast, 1-0. Grant Stewart made solid saves in the Blast goal, keeping the high powered Sounders offense to just one goal. Cooper Madore and Josiah Morse made offensive runs for the Blast, but Sounders defenders Grant Bridges, Patrick Cash and Marcus Ouellette cleared away all their chances.
Jacqueline Lambert’s two goals helped the Mutiny earn the 2-2 tie against the Clash on Tuesday afternoon. Kaleigh Kinney gave the Clash the early lead when she scored a penalty kick in the first two minutes of the game. Lambert’s first goal came unassisted just before halftime. Bridgette Carrier’s aggressive play led to the second goal of the day for the Clash. Lambert again tied up the game, this goal coming off a breakaway. She wove her way through the stingy Clash defense. Danielle Allen and Shantel Seeley led defense for the Mutiny, while Hannah Guerrette and the Staples twins, Blake and Brynn, solidified the Clash back line.
The Crew and Clash met up on a soggy Thursday night under the lights. The Crew came out aggressive, looking to avenge their only loss of the season in the teams’ last meeting. Crew striker Madalyn Caron had some great chances in the first half, but Clash keeper Amanda Charette made the saves. Carly Bell breke through for the Crew, blasting a shot just inside the far post. Jordi Legassie picked up the assist. The Clash had their best opportunity to score late in the first half, when a foul in the penalty area led to a penalty kick. Kaleigh Kinney struck a good shot, but goalie Cameo Madore made a huge save.
Standings for games played through September 27: Crew, 6-1; Rapids, 2-2-2; Mutiny, 1-3-2 and Clash, 1-4-2.
Leading scorers for games played through Sept. 27: 1. Jenna Hallett, Rapids: 10 goals, 0 assists; 2. Carly Bell, Crew: 7 goals, 2 assists; 3. Kaleigh Kinney, Clash: 7 goals, 1 assist; 4. Krystal Kingsbury, Clash: 6 goals; 4. Jacqueline Lambert, Mutiny: 6 goals; 5. Jordi Legassie, Crew: 5 goals, 2 assists.
Kaleb Donovan’s pass found Jacob Carter for the game winning goal with 5 seconds remaining to give the Sting the 3-2 decision over the Strikers. The teams battled in the first half to finish off their chances. Devin Cray was finally able to break through late in the first half to give the Strikers the early lead. His long shot deflected off a defender to give the Strikers the 1-0 halftime advantage. Ben Nickerson tried to tie it up for the Sting early in the second half, but Andrew Paterson soared up to deflect and corral the shot that was headed for the upper corner of the goal. Nickerson got the better of the second match up, weaving through multiple defenders before slipping the ball into the corner of the goal. He later gave the Sting the 2-1 lead with another unassisted goal. The Strikers got the equalizer thanks to Aaron Kofstad and Colin McKay; McKay scored off the assist from Kofstad. Each side pressed hard for the go ahead goal to no avail until Carter’s shot found the back of the net.
The Express and Kicks followed. Defense was the name of the game in the scoreless first half, as Cody Kennedy of the Express and Brian Fournier of the Kicks dove to keep the game at 0-0. The second half started with Ryder Soucy scooping up a loose ball and chipping it in to give the Kicks the 1-0 lead. Joseph Patenaude tied it up for the Express when he hooked a corner kick just inside the near post of the goal. The game ended in a 1-1 tie.
The Sting offense proved to be too much for the Express as they rolled to the 5-0 win on a wet Thursday afternoon. Ben Nickerson put the Sting on top minutes into the game when he pushed in a loose ball from Nick Raineri’s corner kick. The Nickerson/Raineri combo hooked up again a couple minutes later to give the Sting the 2-0 advantage. Clint Adler notched his first goal of the season when he slammed in a rebound, putting the Sting up three goals heading into intermission. The Express came out on the offensive in the second half. Jacob Carter gave the Sting a 4-0 lead when he finished off a pass from Ben Nickerson. Carter then assisted the final Sting goal, scored by Michael Donovan.
The Kicks and Strikers met up in a second game Thursday afternoon. Trent Wilson used his moves to get to the goal first, staking the Kicks to the early lead. Colin McKay tied it back up for the Strikers with a blast from outside the 18 yard box. Wilson answered back with his second goal. Trevor Levesque used his speed to knock one in just before intermission, giving the Kicks the 3-1 lead at the break. The Strikers came out in the second half on fire. Isaac Michaud pulled the Strikers within one on his second goal of the season. Cody Lyford then tied it up with an unassisted goal of his own. Garrett Kidney and Aaron Kofstad solidified the Strikers’ back line, and Austin Albert and Dylan Ouellette were the defensive stalwarts for the Kicks. Trent Wilson’s third goal of the game proved to be the difference. He converted on a penalty kick to propel the Kicks to the 4-3 decision.
Standings for games played through Sept. 27: Sting, 6-0-2; Kicks, 4-2-2; Strikers, 3-5 and Express, 0-6-2.
Leading scorers for games played through September 27: 1. Ben Nickerson, Sting: 15 goals, 2 assists; 2. Trent Wilson, Kicks: 8 goals, 0 assists; 3. Colin McKay, Strikers: 6 goals, 2 assists; 4. Ryder Soucy, Kicks: 5 goals, 0 assists; 5. Jacob Carter, Sting: 4 goals, 2 assists.
Contributed photo JAKE KINNEY of the Drillers clears the ball in a recent match of recreation soccer.
