Banner Day for New Milford Travel Soccer

On a typical fall day in November, the New Milford girls soccer teams accomplished a considerable feat. All three teams were vying for undefeated seasons and looked to complete the trifecta with wins over Paramus squads. 

The day began early with the U10 team taking the field at 9am. After 20 minutes of great defense by Paramus, Olivia Gouldsbury put the Knights on the board with an 18 foot shot from the left wing with the assist going to Kara Hill. With time running out in the first half, Kaylee Babasade chipped in New Milford’s second goal from inside the penalty box.

The second half opened with Ally Whittaker scoring a breakaway goal giving her team a 3 goal cushion. New Milfords's defense stepped up and held Paramus off for a 3-0 victory. The girls went 9-0, scoring 53 goals and allowing only seven goals this season. Coach Gouldsbury and Coach Valuzzi are looking forward to working with such a talented group of athletes next year.

The U12 team was next up. It was a slow start for the girls trailing one zip at the half. It was first time all year the team was down a goal. The team used the halftime to settle down and came out confident in the second stanza. New Milford finally broke through when team captain Alyssa Henyecz knotted the score in the 39^th minute. The team responded to the goal as Fiona Matthews scored to give the team a lead it would not relinquish. Henyecz and Nicole Capasso added insurance in the 54^th and 55^th minutes respectively. The team went on to win 4-1. 

Throughout the season, aggressive play by midfielders Amanda Gouldsbury, Olivia Shabo, Juliana Morales and forwards Elisha Cross, Kayla Ricciardelli, Amber King, and Alyssa Colacci led a high-scoring attack. A tenacious defense including Justine Jasuale, Manisha Oza, Jessica Moskal, Erin O’Grady, and Paloma Camacho made things easy for goalkeepers Kaitlyn Carberry and Autumn Becker as opponents were held to just 4 goals in 10 games. New Milford U12 Girls have now won 31 games in-a-row going back to the 2009 season and three consecutive NJJSL championships.

It was up to the U14 girls to complete the sweep of Paramus in the late game. The teams had played two close games during the regular season with New Milford winning 3-1 and 4-3. The team expected another tough game. The game started fast and physical with each team somewhat defensive. New Milford scored first at the 20 minute mark as Lexi Monroy took a beautiful feed from Justine Ricciardelli and finished to give the team a 1-0 lead. Nicole Garcia scored off a scrum in front of the Paramus goal to make it 2-0 at the half. Both teams left the field knowing it would not remain the halftime score. 

Paramus battled back and scored two goals 10 minutes into the 2^nd half to tie the game. The New Milford girls had to dig deep and showed great resolve. Ricciardelli led Monroy who then crossed the ball to forward Mary Kate Doran. Doran deposited the go ahead goal past the Paramus goalie to make it 3-2 with less than ten minutes to play. It became a defensive game at this point. Defenders Lindsay Williams, Valerie VanWestervelt, Natalie Miller and Alyssa Jasuale held the fort down. New Milford added an insurance goal with two minutes to play. Ricciardelli blasted a direct kick that looked headed for the top corner. The goalie made a great save, but Monroy was there to ice the game and give the team a 4-2 triumph. 

The team ended the season 8-0 and made the New Milford girls 27-0 for the season. Midfielders Marissa Tormo, Caitlin Magala, Melissa Schwartz, Ashley Zion, Casey Schreck, Samantha Morales, and Jamie Whittaker helped control the field all year and Keira Collazo was strong in the goal. The team only allowed 8 goals all season. Incredibly, the final tally for the teams overall: 138 goals, 19 against.  It was an unprecedented season for girls soccer in New Milford.