The following game recaps were submitted by the Hopewell Valley Soccer Association coaches and edited for clarity. The games were held Saturday, Oct. 7 and Sunday, Oct. 8.
HVSA Avalanche U15
The Hopewell Valley Avalanche took home first place in their division of the Hamilton SC Columbus Day Tournament, winning three of their games and taking one draw.
The Avalanche opened up the tournament on Saturday with a 6-2 victory over the Hamilton Raiders. Striker Nick Tagliareni came away with four of the goals, and Alex Tagliareni and Scotty Hunt each had one. Avalanche’s strong midfield of Will Hanks, Armaan Singh and Ben Thompson kept the pressure on, while defenders Alex Javick, Cameron Confer and Christopher Sawicki continued to hold the line.
Their second game against the equally matched RVSC Redbulls ended in a 1-1 tie, with the only goal coming from Alex Tagliareni. Good ball movement was demonstrated by midfielders Jared Greenzang, Andrew Neal and Kyle Doherty, while offensive players Will Hanks and Scotty Hunt continued to be scoring threats.
After getting out to a slow start and giving up a goal in their first game Sunday against Voorhees SA Surge, the Avalanche responded with two goals, one each from Alex and Nick Tagliareni. The Avalanche came out with a 2-1 win.
The final victory for Avalanche was a rematch against Hamilton. Avalanche took an early lead with a goal by Alex Tagliareni. They then rallied in the second half with two straight goals from Christopher Sawicki and Nick Tagliareni. After a charge by Hamilton with a goal, Avalanche’s Gabe McDonnell secured the team’s victory with a 4-1 win. The Avalanche goalkeeping tandem of Michael Moonan and Austin Roell was stellar throughout the entire tournament.
Division Two Boys
Burdwood’s Landscape and Patio Design lost to Kuppek Landscaping on Saturday, 5-1. Vincent Matticoli scored the goal, assisted by Eli Angarone and Dylan Hersh. On Sunday, Burdwood’s Landscape and Patio Design lost to Stellitano, 3-2. Eli Angarone netted an early first quarter goal for Burdwood’s. Christopher Mackin drove in another goal for Burdwood’s after connecting with Eli Angarone’s throw-in pass. Gavin Gola, Adhithya Siva and Dylan Somma fought hard on defense to keep Stellitano at bay. Tyler Ananian and Stephen Bilobran made some solid plays in goal. Ryan Fornal and Dylan Hersh played a strong game on offense and defense making many drives up the field giving Burdwood’s many scoring opportunities.
On Saturday, Capital Health fell 8-1 to J&V Trophies. Chris Miliaresis scored the Capitals’ lone goal on an opening run in the second quarter. John Grgurich and Donald Chen provided consistent support in midfield and on defense throughout the game. On Sunday, the Capitals fell 3-0 to HVSA after single goals in each of the last three quarters. James Gervasoni and Chris Miliaresis both turned in strong defensive performances, with Jeremy English and Erik Petrin each making excellent saves in goal.
Modell’s lost 2-1 on Saturday against Carnegie Cat Clinic. Joshua Rheinhardt scored the goal in the second quarter Modell’s player of the game goes to Roman Scaturro, who really picked up his game in providing solid defense for Modell’s and helping move the ball down field. Modell’s won 4-3 on Sunday against Kuppek Landscaping. Brady DeCore and Joseph Troiano started off the first quarter with two quick goals while Brett Sirolly, Roman Scaturro Allen Ye and Anthony Rinaldi ran defense. Patrick Schouten scored the third goal in the quarter and Josh Rheinhardt was able to score the fourth quarter goal to keep Modell’s in the lead for the win. Modell’s player of the game is Logan Turnbull, who had many crucial plays in stopping drives to goal by Kuppek, but also stepped it up in goal with a few game winning saves.
The HVSA Wolves tied Stellitano on Saturday, 2-2. The teams were scoreless through halftime until the Wolves opened up a lead in the third quarter with a goal from Bryson Himmelheber, assisted by Aarush Bhol. The Wolves doubled their lead when Aarush Bhol scored, assisted by Luke Hemmer. Nathan Edgington came up with some big saves late in the game to keep the score at 2-2. On Sunday, the Wolves defeated Capital Health, 3-0. Aarush Bhol had two goals while Kevin Mac recorded his first goal of the season to seal the victory. Assisting on the goals were Bryson Himmelheber, Nigel Rodrigues and Justin Edgington. The defense was anchored by Colin Leone who is becoming a strong sweeper. Luke Hemmer and Nathan Edgington made several saves in goal to preserve the shutout.
J&V Trophies played Capital Health on Saturday and won 8-1. Luke Rodefeld scored four goals and Conor O’Boyle the other four. Preston Horvath played tough defense, and Mateo Franco-Valverde played as striker for the first time in the season. J&V Trophies played Wilson Apple Funeral Home on Sunday, losing 5-2. Adam Rusell and Gavin Seibold played furiously as strikers. Luke Rodefeld, midfielder, scored both goals for J&V Trophies.
On Saturday, Team Stelitano tied the HVSA Wolves, 2-2. Goalkeepers Peter Merk and Lukas Yiacas made numerous saves to ensure a tough game. A fast break by Charlie Clark almost resulted in a winning goal. Seamus Manning and a HVSA goal from a corner kick scored both goals for Team Stelitano. On Sunday, Team Stelitano defeated Team Burwoords Landscapes 3-2. Lukas Yiacas made enormous contributions in goal and on the field. Lukas Yiacas and Zack Lubas scored the goals.
Division Two Girls
Stark and Stark Team Bob had their best weekend yet with two wins. Saturday they beat Francos on a goal by Caroline Sirolly, which came off of an assist by Sydney Young. Rebekka Siegelheim threw up a shutout. Sunday saw Team Bob beat Nectars 2-0 with goals from Angelyn Zhao and Sydne Youngy. Rebekka Seigelheim and Reagan Silvestri combined for the shutout.
Front row: Kyle Dougherty, Gabe McDonnell, Alex Tagliareni, Scotty Hunt, Nick Tagliareni, Will Hanks, Armaan Singh. Back row: coach Frank McDonnell, Christopher Sawicki, coach Jon Hunt, Austin Roell, Cameron Confer, Andrew Neal, Michael Moonan, Ben Thompson, coach Greg DePalma, Jared Greenzang, Alex Javick, Ryan DePalma.,
