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The New Canaan U14 boys soccer team played its strongest game of the season, defeating Westport 5-3 at Wakeman Park in Westport on Saturday.

In the first half, forward Sam Rhodes scored the first of his four goals on a sharp pass from Wyatt Spangler. Center defender Teddy Greenspon distributed the ball effectively to his teammates, and forward Mike Nikolla had some nice runs up the field.

Rhodes scored his second goal on a strong run into the Westport penalty area, and the half ended 2-2.

The New Canaan midfield took over in the second half, as Jake Neuberger and Johnny Frey were standouts, with Neuberger scoring a goal. Forward Rhodes then added two more goals to help New Canaan get the win.

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Level 6 YMCA Regional All-Around Champion Quin Wolters competes on the beam during the meet in Kents Hill, ME.

Darien YMCA gymnasts continued their successful season at the YMCA Northeast Regional Championship meet May 3-5 in Kents Hill, ME.

Competing against more than 20 teams from throughout the region, the combined house and travel team gymnasts captured the 1st place team trophies for Levels 6 and 8, and Prep Op Platinum and took 3rd in Level 4 and 4th in Level 5.

Individual gymnasts winning all-around titles for their age group and level were Holly McGoldrick and Skye Greene in Level 4, Natalie Parker in Level 5, Gianna Cardini, Quin Wolters and Aisling Brock in Level 6, Nicole Carlo in Level 7, Adnerys DeJesus in Level 9 and Ellie Lufkin in Prep Op Platinum.

In recognition of the championship level of the competitors, awards were given only to 6th place in each age group.

In the Level 4 age 7 group, Wells Fischer placed 2nd on vault, 3rd on beam and 5th on floor and all-around (AA). Addie Hewitt was 3rd on bars and 6th on vault and AA. Melina Cardini was 4th on vault.

In the 8A group, Kate Wolters won the beam title with a 9.45 and was 5th on vault. Megan Mitchell was 5th on beam. In group 8B, Tori Ware was 3rd on beam and 6th AA.  Dillan Aysseh won the group 9A beam title with a 9.55 and was 6th AA. Lindsay Hall earned 6th on beam while Lizzie Canelli took 3rd on vault. In group 9B, Holly McGoldrick won the AA with a score of 36.9 along with the beam and floor titles. Skye Greene placed 2nd on beam, 3rd on floor, 5th on bars and 6th on vault on the way to winning the 9C AA title with a 37.325.

Charlotte Frank placed 2nd AA in the same group, took 4th on beam and won the bars and floor titles with 9.650 and 9.625, respectively. Lindsey Wallach placed 3rd on vault and AA, 2nd on floor and 5th on beam in the age 12 group. Also contributing to the Level 4 team’s success were Sommer Schmidt, Maisie Stewart, Megan Cutler, Maggie Russell, Kate Reeves and Katharine Glassmeyer.

In the Level 5 9A group, Natalie Parker was the AA champion with a score of 36.375, and also won the floor title, placed 2nd on vault and beam and 3rd on bars. Christina Pizzani was 2nd on bars, 4th on beam, 5th on floor and 3rd AA.

In group 10A, Lana Schmidt was 3rd on floor, 4th on beam and 5th on bars and AA. Tess Keating placed 4th on bars. Montana Osinski won the bars title for group 10B with a 9.050 and placed 4th on vault and 3rd on floor and AA. Stella Kamensky placed 5th on bars. Dorothy Browning won the floor title with a 9.2 and placed 5th on bars and 2nd on beam and AA in Group 11B.

In the age 12 group, Jane Ogden placed 2nd on vault, beam and floor and 3rd AA. Also contributing to the success of the Level 5 team were Meghan Sisk, Alexa Carrero, Emma Koerner, Kerry McDermott, Lily Fairleigh and Carson Halabi.

For the Regional Champion Level 6 team, Juliana Jordao placed 4th on beam in the age 8-10 group. In the age 11 group, Gianna Cardini collected the beam and floor titles along with scoring 35.975 to win the AA and took 3rd on vault and 5th on bars. Lucy Holzinger earned 2nd on beam, while Kaitlyn Moussignac was 4th on bars and 5th on vault. While winning the age 12 AA title with a 35.5, Quin Wolters also placed 2nd on vault and bars and 4th on beam. Elena Savas won the bars title with a 9.175, placed 2nd on floor, 6th on vault and tied for 5th AA with  Alexandra Nason, who also placed 2nd on beam, 6th on bars and 5th on floor.

Isabel Hansen won the beam and floor titles with scores of 9.175 and 8.8, respectively, and placed 5th on vault and 6th AA. Toni Cardini won the floor title in the age 13 group with 8.925, took 6th on vault and 2nd on all other events and AA. Laura Germishuys earned 4th on both vault and floor and 6th on bars. Lydia Groves placed 6th on floor. Aisling Brock collected the age 14 and up AA title with a 35.55 along with the beam and floor titles and placed 4th on bars and 5th on vault. Fiona Brock was 2nd on vault and beam, 3rd on bars and 5th AA.  Also contributing to the Level 6 team’s success were Emma Hunter, Wren Stewart and Nathalie Bravo.

The Darien Level 7s were led by Nicole Carlo, who won the AA with a score of 36.650 along with the beam title and placed 4th on floor and 2nd on vault and bars in the age 10-11 group.

In the age 12 group, Kelsey Fedorko won the beam title with a 9.5 and earned 2nd on bars before she was unfortunately injured and unable to continue competing.  Charlotte Henry also put in strong performance in the 14-year-old group.

For the Regional Champion Level 8 team, Kellie Arevalo was the bars champion for the age 11-13 group with a 9.05, placed 2nd AA and 6th on vault and beam. In the age 14-15 group, Perri Mirabile won the vault and floor titles with scores of 9.0 and 9.35 and placed 3rd on beam and AA. Samantha Karpenos won the bars title with a 9.1, earned 2nd on vault and 5th AA. Christina Brandt won the vault title for the 16 and up age group with an 8.6 and placed 2nd on floor and 5th AA.

Once again the sole competitor for Darien at Level 9, Adnerys DeJesus, continued to dazzle, winning 1st place on all events and scoring an impressive 35.225 AA and a 9.4 on beam.

The Regional Champion Prep-Op Platinum team was led by Ellie Lufkin, who won the AA for the 14-15 age group with a score of 34.87 as well as the bars and floor titles and placed 2nd on vault and 3rd on beam.

In the 16-and-up age group, Kajsa Lundeen was 2nd on vault, 4th on bars, 3rd on beam and AA and 6th on floor. Marya Von Schmidt was 2nd on bars and floor and 4th AA. Caroline Congdon won the beam title with a 9.5 and placed 3rd on bars and 6th AA.

Darien YMCA Level 9 gymnast Adnerys DeJesus with her first place All Around trophy won at the Northeast Regional Championship meet in Kents Hill, ME.

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The New Canaan U12 girls Black soccer team defended its home turf with a 5-0 shutout of Fairfield Blue on Sunday.

New Canaan got goals from Katie Miller, Natasha Tchir, Kelly Barker, Jessica Boolukus and Erin Corbett.

New Canaan goalies Kelly Barker and Julia Tamburro combined for the shutout. Also contributing to the shutout were New Canaan defenders Meghan Kloud, Cait McCarthy and Karlijn van der Loo, who demonstrated great ball skills.

Lauren Canet, Ella Goodman, Cait McCarthy and Natasha Tchir controlled the ball at midfield. In the forward positions, Kaitlyn Moussignac, Caitlin Lefferts and Jessica Svagdis all helped set up the goals for the win.

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The New Canaan U13 girls soccer team picked up a 7-4 win over Easton/Redding on Sunday.

New Canaan got strong defensive contributions from Fiona DeMott, Kearney McKiernan, Natalie Lopez and Charlie Gardner.

The offense of Georgia Stewart, Sophie Gardner and Sophie Curcio worked hard passing to each other until Curcio was able to get a breakaway and score the first goal for New Canaan.

Near the end of the first half, Ellie Perlitz and Lauren Gilbert made an overlap pass to Curcio, who scored again. ERU was able to get a ball in through goalie Belle Broll to end the first half.

In the second half, Kearney McKiernan and DeMott came off the defensive line to play offense, and both scored a pair of goals.

Because of the mercy rule, New Canaan was only allowed to pass, which allowed ERU to get three by goalie Lauren Gilbert.

With a minute left in the game, New Canaan was permitted to shoot, and Curcio scored the final goal.

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New Canaan played a competitive first half in a Saturday game with Darien at Conner Field, but its lack of scoring punch resulted in a 4-0 loss.

In the first half, left defender Corban Basile turned back several Darien scoring chances, and forward Francisco Gonzalez made some excellent runs up the left sideline, but the Reds could not score, and the half ended with Darien up 1-0.

There were multiple scoring chances for New Canaan in the second half, as forward Sam Rhodes had two good chances, and Andrew Weitz had a hard shot deflected by the Darien keeper.

Center midfielder Teddy Greenspon and center back Spencer Frye each put in a solid performance, but the game slipped away, and the Reds were defeated 4-0.

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The U13 New Canaan girls Black soccer team notched its second straight shutout with an easy 3-0 away win at Darien. The victory boosted the team’s record to 2-1.

New Canaan dominated possession and the result was never in doubt.

Sixteen minutes into the game, Chloe McAuliffe found the net after a good left-footed cross from Nichole Labadie near the end line, only to be disallowed for outsides.

New Canaan continued to push and was rewarded at 36 minutes, with Labadie once again providing a diagonal cross to McAuliffe, who patiently approached the keeper and then firmly struck the far post with a firm right-footed strike.

After the break, Alana Tonghini netted New Canaan’s second goal, tapping in McAuliffe’s rebound off the keeper. Labadie’s left-sided cross set up McAuliffe’s shot.

Four minutes later, McAuliffe scored her second goal, a nice left-footed finish after a fast series of passes from Becca Walshin to Tonghini to McAuliffe. Midfielders Anne Johnston, Labadie, Niki Orndahl, Lexi Smicka, Tonghini and Walshin helped keep McAuliffe busy in Darien’s side of the field all day.

The back line of Abby and Nicole Weiss, Katie Kennelly and Annabella Zannini were once again rock solid, as Darien did not have a single shot on goal. Goalkeeper Skylar Severance was never seriously tested.

New Canaan hosts Bethel next week.

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Members of the Whirlwind National Team accept the championship banner. From left, Kyle O’Donnell , Kirsten Parkinson, Sean Burston, Allie Coleman and Joe Somma. Back row from left, Adam Genuario, Allie Courtney and Andrew Bologna. Front row from left, Kylie Towbin, Rachel Burston and Ariana Ross.

Just two weeks removed from its strong performance at Junior East Nationals and seven weeks from its team victory at Junior Region 1 Championships, the Whirlwind Dive Team returned home from the 2013 YMCA Nationals Championship with another overall team victory.

Under Joe Somma and his coaching staff, it was the fourth consecutive year that Whirlwind has claimed the top spot. As in years past, the annual competition was held at the International Hall of Fame Pool in Fort Lauderdale. Ninety-one divers from five states – representing six different YMCA programs – competed against a backdrop of sun and palm trees for bragging rights and the chance to pre-qualify for this summer’s USA Diving Junior National Championships to be held in Minnesota in August.

Whirlwind sent 22 divers to compete and 15 of them medaled by reaching the finals in at least one event: Allie Courtney (Wilton), Andrew Bologna (Greenwich), Annabelle Pollack (Greenwich), Anne Farley (New Canaan), Cameron Rhind (New Canaan), Genevieve Angerame (Orange), Jake Bowtell (Darien), Kevin Bradley (Norwalk), Kirsten Parkinson (Stamford), Kylie Towbin (New Canaan), Owen Stevens (Darien), Rachel Burston (Stamford), Sean Burston (Stamford), Timmy Luz (Darien) and Tom Kalinowski (New Canaan).

Courtney, Rhind, Bowtell (silver and bronze), Bradley, Parkinson, Burston (gold and silver) and Kalinowski were double-medalists. Bologna, Andgerame (two bronze), Towbin (bronze), Stevens (three silver), Burston (gold and two bronze) and Luz (silver and bronze) all won three medals.

The Burston siblings, Sean and Rachel each earned one of the coveted automatic berths to Junior Nationals this summer with their gold medal performances.

Whirlwind was able to achieve the first place finish thanks to the determination and effort of all of its divers.

The other members of Whirlwind’s YMCA National Team who contributed to the team victory are Claire Ross (New Canaan), Sophia Rapp (Weston), Caleigh Kupersmith (Greenwich), Ariana Ross (New Canaan), Kyla Pech (Darien), Kyle O’Donnell (Darien), and Tanner Blank (Westport).

Topping off this great team performance was the celebration of Allie Coleman, Whirlwind’s Associate Diving Director. Coleman was honored with the prestigious Robert “Moose” Moss award given to the coach, athlete, or administrator who embodies the values of the YMCA and best encourages the development and growth of the sport of diving.