Boys U-10 Division 3C
Somerville 2, Charlestown 0 — The “Townies” (5-1-1) suffered their first loss of the season in a hard-fought battle against a quality Somerville (5-2-0) team. Though the first half was a battle of field position, with Somerville capitalizing on their few offensive forays, the second half saw Charlestown post a 9-2 shots-on-net advantage and dominate play but unable to put the ball in the net. Forwards John Gaudian (5 shots), Ryan Messer (3 shots) and Matthew Coviello (2 shots) kept the pressure on and midfielders Daniel Sigmund and Aidan Shea, as well as Conor Kelly and Quinlan Carroll, continually drove to the net with deft dribbling and precision passing but they were met with a gang of swarming defenders when they were within striking range. Jeremy Shea and Owen Sullivan were defensive standouts for Charlestown. With only two games remaining, the “Townies” are still in contention for first place.
Boys U-10 Division 4D
By Carl Jahn
Charlestown 3, Somerville 1 — Saturday’s away game at Somerville (4-4) was breakthrough game for the “Townies”” (3-5). After a 0-4 start, they knew they were a better team than indicated by their record and had played tough teams close, and with a few adjustments on offense and better team defense, they believed they could do better. Although their recent fortunes had risen considerably, they shut out Medford and Reading and barely lost to powerhouse Malden, the boys had yet to defeat a team with a winning record. With their convincing 3-1 defeat against an experienced Somerville squad, the boys now believe they can compete with any team in their division. Saturday’s game was typical and atypical of their games this season. As in prior games, it was the team’s aggressive, rock-solid defense, fullbacks Daniel Bryan, Oscar Eldh Jahn, Anthony Sechek (goalie in 1st half) and Aedan Mcclaughlin (goalie in 2nd half), that established the tone of the game. These boys pride themselves in their open field stops, team play, and powerful clears. Unlike prior’games, however, all the scoring came from a single player, Aaron Wadman, who recorded his first career hat trick. Other leading scorers, Dominic Kennedy Slesar and Colin Devalle, had chances as well but it was their pinpoint feeds to Wadman, as well one off a tremendous clear from Eldh Jahn that led to the Wadman scores. As usual John Desimone, Daniel Kennedy and Henry Alitz each made huge contributions with hustle both on offense and on defense.
Girls U-12 Division 3C
By Karen Gentis
Wakefield 5, Charlestown 3 — Kalthuma Mohamed was captain for the game. The first half of the game was tough for the Charlestown girls. Wakefield came out strong and scored a few quick goals. The “Townies” continued to improve their play in the first half, but were unable to get any goals in the net. After half time, the girls picked up their pace of play and started making some great runs and passes. Standout forward Jackie Gentis, one of the elite players in the league, gave Charlestown some momentum when she scored the first goal with a beautiful shot to the
lower right corner. Anna DeVore helped out the team by trying goal for the first time and deflecting several goals. Aisling Newhall and Haley McLaughlin also shared time in goal contributing as well. Great individual effort was shown by Jackie Gentis, who ran the midfield playing both ends of the field. She was a constant danger, scoring multiple goals, after long runs through Wakefield’s defense. Kailey Kennedy-Slesar also made incisive runs deep into the defense. Haley McLaughlin, Chloe Shea, Anna DeVore, Aisling Newhall and Ella Moyes hustled the entire game and were instrumental in making a close come back. Julia Jacoby and Kalthuma Mohamed kept control of the backfield to give Charlestown a chance to make a come up. Although Jackie went on to score two more goals, the Charlestown girls weren’t able to close the gap.
Girls U-12 Division 3B
By Shana Sylvester
Wilmington 2, Charlestown 1 — The “Townies” played an excellent game against Wilmington on Saturday. Captains for the game were Isabelle Charbonnier and Hannah Reed. Maeve Fitz had a great game in goal during the first half with excellent saves and great clears getting the ball out of the Charlestown end of the field. Caitlyn McDermott played goal during the second half of the game with many great saves out of the air and a number of dives keeping Wilmington from scoring any more goals. The “Townie” goal was scored at the beginning of the second half by Josie Hoyt, on a breakaway with a great shot to the corner of Wilmington’s net. Defender Lauren Sweeney played an excellent game coming across the field on more than one occasion to stop Wilmington on their way to the net. Defender Emily Pardy spent some time at forward during the game getting some great shots on net that almost resulted in goals. Caroline Adduci again played every position throughout the game, hustling up and down the field and carrying the ball towards Wilmington’s goal. Lucy Donovan played a great game at defense and McDermott was back at defense for the first half after two games in net and did an excellent job moving the ball up field. Ruby Dunlea, Anneli Merivaara, and Reed played both midfield and forward during the game, taking the ball up the field and getting some good shots on net. Charbonnier and Fitz used their great ball skills and strong shots against Wilmington that were close to resulting in more goals for Charlestown.
Boys U10-3
Charlestown 4, Somerville 1– What a game for this Townie team as they faced off against Somerville on Saturday! Charlestown devoured Somerville, beating them 4-1. Charlestown had gone in to this game with a little trepidation as Somerville had stomped the two teams that Charlestown had lost to this season. And with goalie, Fergus Sullivan being out with a broken ankle, this team didn’t know what to expect. However, Charlestown had their best game of the season. They started the game with Somerville scoring the first goal of the game within the first couple of minutes. This could have shaken up Charlestown’s confidence, however, these kids rebounded, came together and worked like a team. Christopher Reed took the helm of goalie to start the game and did us proud blocking Somerville’s many attempts at goal. Charlestown quickly matched Somerville’s goal, with Scott Sigmund sneaking one past the goalie. He was assisted by a nice pass from Cole Strachan. The Charlestown offense had no problem getting past the Somerville defense, with Giancarlo Marte getting a nice fast break and scoring the second goal of the game for Charlestown with a nice assist by Owen Sullivan. Bringing the score of the first half of the game, 2-1, with Charlestown leading!
U12-1 Boys Soccer Team: Mayors Cup, Hill House, Somerville Report
The Boy U12-1 soccer team capped off a busy week of soccer with a 4-3 victory over Somerville in a closely fought match on Saturday at home. While not as intense as their last encounter with an unbeaten Somerville team in the Commissioner’s cup, the match was still a thriller. An early surprise goal by Somerville was followed by Nolan Doherty’s equalizer in the 20th minute. Somerville responded to take the lead as the first half ended. The indomitable spirit of this young team was apparent in the second half when two quick goals by Elias Sahile gave the lead to Charlestown. Confusion among the Charlestown team around a free kick awarded to Somerville resulted in a goal tying the game up at 3-3. A subsequent goal by Michael Ward gave Charlestown the needed victory. Now 4-3 for the season with two matches left, the team is sitting in third place in Division 2 behind Malden and Stoneham. Strong performances by Liam Kennedy in midfield, Vlad Sachek and Christian Escobar in defense contributed to the victory. Next up Wakefield at Moulton Field.
The Somerville match was the sixth of the week for the team following a strong performance in the Mayor’s Cup tournament and a highly competitive friendly match against Hill House respectively. Convincing victories over the North End and South Boston in the U13 division at a stormy Millennium Field assured the team of a place in the semi-final. However, a loss in the semi-final to a skilled Allston-Brighton team eliminated Charlestown from the competition.
A friendly rivalry may have emerged out of Friday night’s match against Hill House. The 4-1 defeat of the Charlestown team did not adequately reflect the closeness of the match. A rematch seems inevitable.
Girls U10-2
Wakefield 2, Charlestown 0 –The GU10-2 team had a spectacular game against Wakefield on Saturday in Charlestown. Led by captains Maggie G. and Alexis B., the team had control of the ball for most of the game. The two captains and the very reliable Juliette L. provided a strong defense against Wakefield. The offense, comprised of rocket cleats Lucie K., Clara R. and Claire L., never ever give up Katie E. and Quinlan O. and get around the Dfense Alta G. and Jolie D. exhibited some excellent teamwork moves that we had practiced during the week. Katie E. and Claire L. were relentless as goalies, blocking many difficult shots. In spite of the team’s strong performance, Wakefield was able to execute a couple of breakaways that led to 2 goals. Remember, stay in front of the red!