State Champions: Stamford Youth Soccer U11 Team

The Stamford Youth Soccer League’s (SYSL) Boys U11 White Team won the Connecticut Cup this past weekend.

The team won the championship on Nov. 7 by beating Weston’s U11 Blue by a score of 5-1 at the Farmington Sports Fields in Farmington. The Connecticut Cup is a state-wide competition in which travel teams from around Connecticut in the same age group compete against one another. The Connecticut Cup for the U11 age group fielded 80 teams this fall.

In their advance to the CT Cup finals, the SYSL U11 Boys White team won five games, against Wethersfield Fury, Wilton U11 Blue, Newington Strikers, New Canaan Red, and Farmington U11A, leading to the final against the Weston U11 Blue team.

A majority of the 14 players on the SYSL Boys U11 White team have played together since U9, with their Head Coach, Jason Segovia, of the Quality Touch Soccer Academy, which provides professional training to the SYSL. In the CT Cup, the team was also coached by John Anderson and Bill Sawch, volunteer assistant coaches, and managed by Christina Vander Kolk.

Team members are William Anderson, Massimo Costa, Darsein Gabriel, Logan Goncalves, CJ Hyde, Dima Lonevsky, Edwin Medina, Antonio Ninivaggi, Andre Quijada, Arian Recinos, Malik Samms, Brian Sawch, Dylan Schmitke, and Luke Vander Kolk. In League play, the Hurricanes finished their season in first place with a 7-1-0 record, and head into the playoffs on Saturday, Nov. 14, with a semifinal game against the Soccer Club of Ridgefield (SCOR).

For more information about the league, call 203-322-5455 or visit the Stamford Youth Soccer League website at stamford.soccer.com.

Contributed photo: Stamford Youth Soccer League Boys U11 White Team after winning CT Cup Fall State Championship. Front row, from left: William Anderson, Luke Vander Kolk, Andre Quijada, Dima Lonevsky; back row, from left: Edwin Medina, Logan Goncalves, Brian Sawch, Dylan Schmitke, Antonio Ninivaggi, CJ Hyde, Malik Samms, Darsein Gabriel, Massimo Costa, Arian Recinos.