Lawrence Hamnett Soccer Travel Roundup (Nov. 10-11)

Editor's Note: The following Travel/Competitive Division game summaries were submitted by the Lawrence Hamnett Soccer Association.

Girls U-9 Leopards  

Under sloppy field conditions, the Lawrence Leopards U-9 Girls played an outstanding game and demonstrated how far they've come this past season. The Leopards dominated play throughout the game, showing greater confidence and skill on the ball, better organization and positioning, and superior ball movement compared to their opponent.

Excellent passing from Olivia Drake, Emily Franceschini, Isabella Garcia and Isabelle Flemm helped the Leopards maintain possession, producing numerous shots on goal. Brianna Audet, Sophia Denarski and Mackenzie Esposito each scored a goal, including a dramatic score in the closing minutes to seal the victory.

Fullbacks Emily Chess, Yahaira Lopez and Maggie Gronenthal made it extremely difficult for Lumberton to get near the goal – effectively controlling the game for the Leopards. The Leopard’s prevailed 3-2 in a game that did not seem as close as the score indicated. The Leopard’s season record now stands at 7 wins, 0 losses and 2 ties in league play. 

Boys U-9 Strikers

The U-9 Strikers dominated the game against the Kearny United Gunners taking a 4-0 victory. Ryan Milano fed Davin Jodoin for the lone goal of the first half while Aidan McChesney and Dylan Adamsky covered the goal.

With only a 1-0 lead heading into the second half, the Strikers were encouraged to work the field more and began dwindling down the Gunners’ defense. A quick goal came from Milano on a free kick and shortly thereafter, Jodoin set a flying cross tow striker Luke Longo who redirected it into the back of the net.

Midfielders Harrison Bohra and Ian Stuckey contained the ball in the offensive end and Will Schuler drew defensive pressure on himself which freed up Aidan McChesney to loft a beautiful pass up to Theo Sardain for the fourth goal. The Strikers’ defensive core of Andrew Lynch, Dylan Adamsky, Matt Sargent, Zach Berardi and Sam Bowes aided in keeping scoring chances by the Gunners down securing the shutout for the team.

Boys U-11 Blazers

The U-11 Lawrence Hamnett Blazers picked up a big win with an impressive 6-1 victory over the Hunterdon United Blast. The Blazers utilized creative combination play such as give-n-goes and overlaps, quick restarts and strong support from players off the ball to dominate possession from the opening whistle.

Connor Monaghan, Eduardo Estrada, Luke Okupski, Ryan Sargent and Jason Lobben all tallied Blazer goals. The Blazers technical proficiency was on full display as the strikers and midfielders led by Teddy Gutman, Jude Bidle, Vinnie Giangrasso and Abyhan Jaikishen penetrated and skillfully distributed the ball while the defense anchored by Robbie Lynch, Alex Hatfield, Luke Bidle and Thomas Monacchio blanketed their opponents, limiting them to only a handful of chances which were ably handled by Keepers Lobben and Hatfield.

Boys U-13 Charge

After a three game slide the U-13 Charge got back to their winning ways on Sunday with a 6-2 win over Livingston Locomotion. The team was led in goal by Sean McLaughlin, who delivered a solid performance to keep the team together, particularly in the first half. The boys dug themselves in to a hole by gifting Livingston two goals in the first 15 minutes of the half.

The boys, driven by the midfield engine of Joe Giuliano and Hakim Hachicha team battled back to enter the break level at two goals apiece. The two first half goals were scored on by Christian Fang on curving ball into the side netting and by Luke Annand with a well placed penalty outside the grasp of the opposing keeper. The defense was anchored by Logan Hillegas and Patrick Franceschini.

The boys continued the momentum after halftime by controlling the pace of play with creative midfield play and a combination of short passing an overlapping runs. Kyle Schuler and Ryan Monaghan as strikers continued to press the opposition’s defense causing all sorts of problems. This allowed Eric Broadway space in midfield resulting in four quick goals. The smart runs from Ethan Crutchley, Dylan Pawar, and Kieran Humphreys created space and options to keep the attack wide and from angles on the field.