(April 10th)The U11 Boys Red Team played splendidly and the Inter Bandits were lucky to walk away with a 1 - 1 tie. The defensive unit of Kyle Kupka, Myles Cecchetelli, Pat O'Shea, Greag Gagnon and Nick Martinelli stiffled the Inter attack allowing very few shots and a goal on a restart that was just too high for any U11 to catch. The midfielders and offense generated chance after chance with their great combination passing and 1v1, but a hot goalie and a couple of crossbars frustrated the good guys. Finally with about 10 minutes left John Bzdel outhustled their marking back, lofted a ball to Pokey Foley's head with he redirected to a wide-open Tom Granot, who equalized. Cory Kibler was solid in net. Men of the Match were stopper Myles and left back Pat O'Shea.Myles was spectacular in winning balls in the middle and starting the offense. Pat played a full match and turned back numerous attacks from their skilled right wing players.
The Under-11 Boys "Red" Team moved their spring record to 1 - 0 - 1 with a 4 - 0 victory over the Boston Blast. The two teams had played to a 2 - 2 draw last fall, but there was no doubt in this game as Western easily carried play throughout the afternoon. Whenever the Blast penetrated the Western end, the rebuilt defense was there to stifle the attack. The heart of this defense is made up of former forward Pat O'Shea, former goalie Kyle Kupka, and former midfielder Nick Martinelli, all three playing a big part in today's shutout. In goal, Kory Kibler and Nick Martinelli (final 12 minutes) shared the blanking. Leading the way offensively was Tom Granot with the initial goal and two assists. Also scoring goals were Eddie Mercer, Ryan Dickinson and Greg Gagnon. Men of the Match were Granot and "The Commander" Kupka.>
The boys U11 "Red" Team pushed their year-long record to 7 - 1 - 3 with a 6 - 0 blanking of SC Sporting. Scoring for the Black and Red were Kyle Cupka, Pokey Foley, Aardvark (Conner) O'Brien, Jon Bzdel, Greg Gagnon, and Torsten Johnson. Men of the Match were Jon and Greg for their spectacular goals. Both midfielders connected in the first half. Jon's was a 40-yard line drive that the keeper had no chance of catching. Jon, feeling no pressure, struck it in stride with the wind at his back. The frozen rope had true force and deflected off the unsuspecting keeper's hands. Jon also played well up front and out of the back. Greg had the first nominee for goal of the year. He one-timed a helf volley from the top of the 18 on a Kyle Cupka cross and put it in, upper 90. Surely no goal keeper at this age and possibly at any age could make a save on this shot. Nick Matinelli and Andrew Bemben shared the shut in goal for Western. The team is now 2 - 0 - 1 in the spring.
The U11 Boys red team jumped into first place with a 7 - 0 victory versus the Fuller Hamlets. Scoring for the good guys were Tom Granot (2), Ryan Dickinson, Torsten Johnson, Eddie Mercer, Kory Kibler and Kyle Cupka. Andrew Bemben and Kory split time in net, earning the shutout. Men of the Match were Ryan D. and Kory. Ryan, starting at center-mid, set up the first goal of the day after springing loose in the middele on a beautiful give-and-go with Jake Rothstein. He then hit striker Tom in stride versus the flat 3 of Fuller for the 1 - 0 lead. Ryan scored the second on a line-drive from 25 yards out. Besides starting in goal, Kory scored his goal on a pretty left-footed shot that caught the goalie going the wrong way. The team is now in first place with a 3 - 0 - 1 record and with 18 goals scored and 1 allowed.
The U11 Red team gave up 2 goals in the first ten minutes and then rallied back to take a 3-2 win away from the home Opponent, South Coast Scorpions.It looked rather bleak for the Western Boys as a missed call on an offsides and a great individual effort allowed a talented forward from the Scorpions to get two goals up on the good guys. Believing that a 2 goal lead was a small hurdle to face however, the black and red quickly changed the momentum and eventually won the game with 5 minutes left. The first goal came from a Kyle Cupka corner that found "Man of the match" Pokey Foleys' skillfull header. The second goal coming early in the second half was off a direct earned by Pokey. Kyle put a beautiful swerve that arrive just as Tom Granot did in the back far corner. The boys not content with a tie continued to drive limiting the shots on Keeper Cory Kibler to a few slow dribblers. Finally with 5 minutes left. Tom G drew the attention of 3 defenders in the box and deftly released to a waiting Ryan Dickinson who stung the back of the net from 6 yds out for the winner. Also earning Man of the match recognition was defensive midfielder Torsten Johnson. Torsten did a great job organizing the Midfield and winning loose balls. The U11 team has a chance to win the division with a win next week.
The u11 boys red team finished the regular maple season on a high note with a 3-0 win over FC Freedom. Six different players figured in the scoring to pace the balanced attack. Registering goals were Pokey Foley, Greg Gagnon, and the clincher by "man of the match", Andrew Bemben. Dishing out the assists were Myles Cecchetelli, second "Man of the Match", Eddie Mercer, and Tom Granot. Splitting the shut-out in goal were Kory Kibler and Kyle Cupka. The u11 red team ended the spring 5-1-1, combining for an impressive 10-2-3 final Maple record for the year. Now on to Holliston Memorial Day Tournament and then to the Andre Cup to determine a state champion.
The U11 Boys scored three times in the first half to easily defeat the Nashua World Cup SC 4 - 1. Individual tallies go to Chris Menard, Pat O'Shea, Greg Gagnon and Corey Kibler. Picking up assists were Tom Granot, Andrew Bemben, Kyle Cupka, Ryan Casey, and Pat O'Shea. Men of the Match were Torsten Johnson for his constant organizing of the defense and smart play from stopper and GK Kory Kibler who pitched a shutout in the first half and then scored the back-breaker against the opponent from NH in the second half as a striker.
The Under-11 Boys Red Team upped their record to 2 - 0 with a convincing 6 - 0 win over Freedom FC. The boys turned a lackluster first half into a convincing win. Selfish play and missed opportunities from the Western side, along with a hot goalie, kept the Boston-based team even going into halftime. In the second half ball movement and team play produced 3 quick goals in the first 10 minutes, leading to an easy victory. Men of the Match were Nick Martinelli and Myles Cecchetelli. Nick scored the first goal on a bullet from the top of the 18 set up by Torsten Johnson. He then had a beautiful assist on the second goal with some great hot spot play. Tom Granot was on the receiving end, one of his two goals for the day. Myles has developed into a phenomenal sweeper. His first touch, speed, ability to play with both feet, clean strikes and great anticipation is anchoring a defense that didn't give up a shot today. Myles also scored the 6th goal of the day on an assist from Tom Granot (Tom's second assist as well). Greg Gagnon and Kyle Kupka also scored, while Kyle and Ryan Dickinson had an assist.
The U11 Boys "Red" Team failed to hold onto a 1 - 0 halftime lead against Cape Cod, eventually losing 2 - 1. Greg Gagnon scored the lone Western goal on a sweet upper-90 shot. Men of the match were Ryan Casey (for his creative and unselfish play) and Ryan Dickinson for his ability to win 50-50 balls and attack out of the back. The red team needs to finish their early opportunities. This was a game that had they scored their first-half layups, the opponent would have "gone home early". Next week should be a good test with the first-place Expos coming to town.
The U11 boys finished early and often sending the North Shore United away still winless with a 7 - 0 loss. First half tallies by Tom Granot(2), Ryan Dickinson, Torsten Johnson, Ryan Casey, Myle Cecchetelli, and Man of the match Jacob Rothstein was more than enough for the good guys' victory. In the second half the team was limited (self imposed) to scoring only off of overlapping outside backs serves. Second Man of the match Eddie Mercer and a number of other backs served a dozen or so balls from this play but none could be finished. It was remarkable to watch them set it up and hold for the overlap though. Some pretty advanced stuff for 10 year olds. Eddie and Jon Bzdel shared net duty and split the shutout.
The Under-11 Boys Red Team battled the unbeaten Expos (formerly the FC Dragons) to a 1 - 1 tie. the whole team played excellent soccer while trying to overcome the boot and buggy style of the opponent. Tom Granot scored the Western goal on a nifty assist from Pat O'Shea after a well executed short throw from Griffin Foley. Men of the Match were Keeper Kory Kibler and outside back Ryan Dickinson. Kory went the distance in net and was solid, at times even spectacular. Ryan's speed, ability to help on the weak side, and ability to attack out of the back has made him an "all-star" at his new position.
Kyle Cupka and Andrew Bemben each scored and split the shutout in goal as the U11 Boys "Red" Team climbed into 2nd place with a 3 - 0 win over Tri-Valley. Tom Granot added a goal while Kyle, Pat O'Shea and Ryan Casey recorded assists. Greg Gagnon and Nick Marinelli were chosen Men of the Match for their defensive work inthe midfield. Tri-Valley, playing a 4 - 4 - 2, fielded a dynamic two-some in the central spots. Greg and Nick did a great job on double duty, starting the Western offense and guarding the dangerous pair.
Tom Granot scored twice but the Boston Blast came from behind to tie the U11 Boys Red Team. Men of the match were Ryan Casey and Pat O'Shea. Ryan was all over the field as an outside midfielder, playing 18 to 18 and recording an assist. Pat, who tallied the other assist, had his best game in a Western uniform. His ability to play with both feet makes him a tough mark and his speed and deception makes him a dangerous player. Netminder Kory Kibler played well as did wingback Ryan Dickinson.
The U11 Boys leap-frogged third-place Nashoba with a 2 - 1 win. Kyle Cupka scored with 2 minutes left from an assist from "Pokey" Olejarz to earn their fifth win of the fall. Also scoring for the Black and Red was Tom Granot off a serve from Ryan Dickinson that was deflected to Tom's head by a Myles Cechetelli thigh. Keepers Andrew Bemben and Kory Kibler played weill in net only getting beat by an opponents great header off a corner. Men of the match were gentle giant Torsten Johnson and super reserve Jacob Rothstein. Torsten was all over the field from his center back position, putting out Nashoba fires and starting the attack. Jacob came off the bench in the first half to calm down the rattled Western defense and again in the second half he came in to spark the offence, even gaining a penalty kick with his hustle and poise. The good guys hope to secure a spring "blue division" spot with a win next week.
It was a tale of two halves as Newtown carried play in the first, but was unable to get one off the patient Western defense. Kyle Cupka was exceptional in goal during this first period. The second half, however, was all WU. Midway through the half Chris Menard skillfully played a ball out to overlapping Eddie Mercer, who deftly tucked a ball behind the CT team's defense to a bee-lining Myles Cecchetelli. The young (U10) forward collected the ball in stride and blasted a shot past the stunned goalie. The Newtown team tried to counter but "Men of the Match" wing-back Connor O'Brien and Stopper Ryan Dickinson were there at every turn. Finally, with about 5 minutes to go, a Cupka corner was smartly redirected by Nick Martinelli to a waiting Griffin "Pokey" Foley who headed the ball home for the 2 - 0 score. Finishing the shutout was Andrew Bemben, who played keeper in the second half.
In the first game on Sunday, the boys got out to a 3 - 0 lead in the first half, but struggled to hold on, finally winning 3 - 2. Scoring for the good guys were Tom Granot off a served ball from Myles Cecchetelli. The second was a Pat O'Shea finish from a Ryan Dickinson header. Finally, the third was a Kyle Cupka swerve from a corner kick that found the back of the net. Kyle also played goal, splitting with Andrew Bemben. Men of the match were midfielder Griffen Foley for his outstanding work rate and Myles Cecchitelli for his play at sweeper.
Man of the Match Tom Granot finished twice for the 2 - 1 win. His first goal came from a great far-post cross from Kyle Cupka. The second goal came on a beautiful centering assist from Chris Menard. Also earning Man of the Match honors was Kyle Cupka who split time in goal with Cory Kibler and Griffen Foley. With the third win, the boys moved on to the semifinals.
Pat O'Shea started the scoring just a few minutes in on a beautiful assist by Andrew Bemben. After the early goal the boys thought it was going to be an easy game and Avon then threw everything they could at them. Thankfully, off a Jacob Rothstein throw-in Eddie Mercer redirected with his head to a waiting Chris Menard who lofted a ball far post and in. The two goals ended up standing, due to the outstanding work rate of Griffin Foley and the great goalkeeping of Kyle Cupka, men of the match.
The opposing team scored first, but the black and red never let down getting the equalizer on a Greg Gagnon finish from a Kyle Cupka cross. Also in the first half, Tom Granot scored his 4th goal of the tournament on a great redirect into the box from Man of the Match Greg Gagnon. Late in the second half the Old Greenwich team earned a penalty kick and turned it into a 2 - 2 tie. On to overtime it went and eventually PKs, where the good guys took the loss. Also earning Man of the Match was Chris Menard who played marking back and did a fantastic job holding their best player in check. Congratulations to the U11 Boys Red Team on their first tournament! Quite a showing!
The U10 team scored with 5 minutes remaining to avenge a couple of indoor losses to the U11 Soccer City team. Nick Martinelli and Andrew Bemben arrived simultaneously on a Ryan Dickinson cross to convert the chance and life the Developmental squad to its first MAPLE victory in their initial game. Men of the Match were field players-turned-goalies Josh Holt and Jonathan Bzdel. Both came up with big saves to pitch the shutout.
The Developmental Squad had another close game...but this time walked away a little short. The guys absolutely owned the first 20 minutes, but were too impatient inside the 18, shooting off-balance and inaccurately to keep the FC Puma team in the game. Great offensive runs by Tom Granot, Pat O'Shea, Greg Gagnon and Andrew Bemben could have easily put the game away early but the combination of good goal-keeping and inexperienced shooting kept the score at 0. Finally, on a great bit of combination passing by Ryan Dickingson and Eddie Mercer, the Western United side tallied with Ryan getting the goal and Eddie the assist. The second half was an up-and-down-the-field game, as the Puma side finally scored the equalizer. Both teams had many chances as the game wound down. The home squad pulled ahead with 3 minutes to go and despite the relentless attack from Western, were able to hold on. the developmental team again received great goal tending from their duo of Josh Holt and Jon Bzdel. Jon even saved a well-struck penalty kick. Earning "Man of the Match" honors was defender and U9 player Tim Goonan. Timmy played some tough, hard-nosed defense and made some unbelievable runs out of his wingback position. At this point after two games the developmental squad, made up of nine Under-10 players and nine Under-9 players, is progressing nicely and playing some very competitive ball.
The developmental team played a wonderful game versus Charles River United, but lost by a score of 4 - 1. The CRU team, a true U11 squad, was bigger, stronger, and more rehearsed, but the Western boys' technical ability and determination was something to behold. Scoring for the good guys was Tom Granot on a sweet assist from Patrick O'Shea. At the time, midway through the first half, the tally evened up the score at 1 - 1. A penalty kick and a couple of great serves sealed the game for the 4 - 0, first-place CRU team. Men of the Match were center backs Ryan Casey and Nick Martinelli. Both guys are getting their first taste of the "big field" and have worked well as the organizers of the back line.
The developmental team evened their record at 2 wins and 2 losses with a 2 - 1 win over the Shooting Stars. Man of the Match Tom Granot had both goals on assists by Andrew Bemben and Nick Martinelli. The first came on a beautiful outside pass by Dan Laizer that sent Andrew in on the right flank. From there he nicely tucked a pass behind the Stars defenders to Tom who skillfully collected the feed and finished. The second tally was set up by Griffin Olejarz, who knocked an attempted clear outside to Nick Martinelli. Nick sent a sensational serve into the box that was deflected by the Stars keeper to the hustling Granot. Tom sent the game winner home on a first-touch rocket. Josh Holt and Jon Bzdel shared keeper duties and continue to improve at the "new" position.
Undefeated North Shore beat the Western Developmental Team 2 - 0. The obstacle of overcoming a seasoned U11 team proved too great for the U9/U10 group, but the experience and pride of staying with a good older team was the highlight of the day. The boys certainly can be commended for their effort and the refusal to give up, despite the territorial dominance. Jon Bzdel and Josh Holt split time in net and both played well facing the many chances of North Shore. The stingy defense was led by Gabe Rudd, Nick Martinelli, Torsten Johynson and Ryan Casey.
The U10 boys dominated the second half, but were unable to mount the comeback, as they lost 3 - 1 to the Griffins FC. Tom Granot scored the goal on a scramble inside the 18. Unfortunately, it was the only goal for the developmental team this day. Two posts, a crossbar, and a handful of missed layups dashed the chances of the home Western squad. Man-of-the-Match was outside midfielder Dan Laizer. Besides saving a ball of our goal line, his hustle, toughness and smart play earned him the honor.
Man-of-the-Match Greg Gagnon was all over the field in his center midfield position, creating, defending and hustling, but the U11 Inter team scored 6 second half goals to win 8 - 1. The lone goal was scored by Tom Granot on a restart earned by Eddie Mercer.
In the second half of the double-header a 2 - 1 Western halftime lead was squandered by the good guys as Revere SC came back for the 4 - 2 victory. Scoring for Western was Tom Granot from Andrew Bemben and Andrew from Pat O'Shea. Goalie Hosh Holt played well as did center back Gabe Rudd.