Cougar Soccer Club enjoys great action in Week 2

By Mike Connolly

Correspondent

MAPLEWOOD/SOUTH ORANGE, NJ — The Cougar Soccer Club enjoyed fine action in Week 2 from the Sept. 25-26 weekend.

Girls U11 Premier 2, Arsenal 2

Kiran Terry scored a pair of goals for Cougar SC as it battled to a 2-2 tie with Arsenal on Sunday, Sept. 26, in Woodcliff Lake. Anya Brezenoff, Elizabeth Schwartz, Hallie Mann, Violet Hanson and Zoe Smith kept the U11 Premier team in the game with strong defense.

Cougar SC, 0-1-1 record, hosts Mayfield at DeHart Park on Sunday, Oct. 3.

Maroons 3, Boys U11 Pro 2

Miller Rann tallied a goal and assisted on Sammy Ohayon’s goal, but the Maroons, 1-2 record, scored on a late corner kick to escape with a 3-2 win at home Goalies Owen Wernath and Caden Schrader kept Cougar SC, 1-1 record, in the back-and-forth game. 

The Boys U11 Pro team returns to action Saturday, Oct 2, against Hotspur at DeHart Park.

Boys U11 Elite 7, Tenafly 0

The Cougar defense, led by Cecil Uhl, Noah Fryatt and Andon Levy, held strong in front of goalkeepers Bobby Murphy, Brody Angevine and Fryatt as the Boys U11 Elite team improved to 2-0 with a 7-0 shutout win against Tenafly, 0-2 record, on Saturday, Sept. 25, at DeHart Park.

A hat trick by Cooper Schwartz and a pair of goals from Angevine and Rafi Barkey helped Cougar SC cruise to the win.

The Boys U11 Elite defense faces its toughest test of the season against the high-flying Spartan offense next Saturday. Spartan, 3-0, is averaging 8 goals per game in conference play.

Boys U11 Premier 7, New Milford 1

Cougar SC picked up its first conference win of the season with a dominant 7-1 win against New Milford.

Girls U12 Premier 1, World Class FC 1

Wayne 3, Girls U12 Premier 2

Cougar SC tied with Word Class FC, 1-1, before falling to Wayne, 3-2. The Girls U12 Premier team, 0-1-2 record, next travels to face West Essex on Sunday, Oct. 3.

Boys U12 Pro 7, Paramus 1

Cougar SC took a little time to get going, but then the offense roared to life with seven unanswered goals in a 7-1 road win on Sept. 25 in Paramus. Cougar SC stayed perfect in conference play thanks to pairs of goals from Reece Eversley and Paul Chandeysson. Sebastian Kerdock, William Placke and Asa Freeman also scored.

The 2-0 Boys U12 Pro team hosts Teaneck next on Saturday, Oct. 2, at DeHart Park.

Woodridge 1, Girls U13 Premier 0

The Girls U13 Premier team dropped its first conference game on the season as it just couldn’t find the back of the net in a 1-0 loss on the road at Woodridge on Sept. 26.  

Sienna Parker, Sydney Kwan and Olivia Roskin created numerous scoring chances, thanks to strong wing play from Lola Karp-Foster and Shayna Campbell, but they just couldn’t quite get one past the Woodridge goalkeeper. Roskin had the best opportunity, but her 20-yard free kick sailed just a bit high and hit the crossbar in the second half.

Olivia MacWhannell and Charlotte Zimmerman had a strong defensive match for Cougar SC,  1-1 record, while Alenna Baudin and Kama Westhelle controlled the midfield. 

U13 Premier returns to action this weekend. It travels to Montclair on Saturday, Oct. 2, before hosting Harrison on Sunday, Oct. 3, at Orange Park.

Boys U13 Elite 6, Torpedoes 3

Rafi Romanowsky and the Cougar SC defense held a potent Torpedoes’ attack in check as the Boys U13 Elite team picked up its first conference win of the season, 6-3, on Sept. 25. Biel Santesmasses-Sacks, Mateo Garcia-Dudek and Liam Peterson each put in a goal, with Logan Sheehy’s three goals driving Cougar SC, 1-1 record, to hand the Torpedoes, 1-1 record, their first loss of the season.

Boys U13 Elite returns to action on Saturday, Oct. 2, when the team travels to Newark to face Ironbound.

Girls U14 Premier 2, Glen Rock 2 

The Girls U14 Premier team rallied from a two-goal deficit with less than 10 minutes remaining in the match to tie Glen Rock, 2-2, on Sept. 26 at Orange Park.

Center defensive midfielders Keira Jacobi and Finley Friedman controlled the action in the first half as Cougar SC and Glen Rock played to a 0-0 stalemate at halftime. Glen Rock, 0-1-2 record, found an offensive spark in the second half and jumped out to a 2-0 lead. It held that advantage until Syndey Davis finally cracked the Glen Rock defense with a goal to cut the lead to 2-1. Defender Isabel Sabnekar and midfielders Samantha Wynn and Anna Frye kept up the pressure, feeding the ball forward for scoring opportunities. Finally, Cougar SC drew a penalty in the box and Grace Nelson buried the penalty kick to knot the game at 2.

The Girls U14 Premier team, 1-0-1 record, next travels to New Milford on Sunday, Oct 3.

Elmwood Park 5, Boys U15 Elite 3

Jaxon Nunes, Ian Bigelow and Udochi Abengowe each tallied goals for Cougar SC in a 5-3 loss to Elmwood Park. Oliver Dean made his season debut in goal for U15 Elite, 0-2 record. 

Torpedoes 3, Girls U9 Premier 2

The Girls U9 Premier team lost its conference opener, 3-2, to the Torpedoes on Sept. 26 in Wyckoff.

Girls U9 Pro 1, Dumont 1

Emerson Gelb scored the lone goal for Cougar SC as it tied Dumont, 1-1, on Sept. 26 at Borden Park. The Girls U9 Pro team improved to 1-0-1 and next travels to River Edge to face Riverdell on Sunday, Oct. 3.

Ajax 3, Boys U9 Pro 2

Ajax topped the Boys U9 Pro team, 3-2, in Midland Park.

Boys U9 Premier 0, Nutley 0

Neither squad could find the back of the net in a defensive struggle as Cougar SC and Nutley tied, 0-0, on Sept. 25 at Borden Park.

Hotspur 3, Boys U9 Elite 1

Jack Schwartz’s second-half goal kept Cougar SC in a tight game with Hotspur, but it wasn’t quite enough as Hotspur held on at home to win, 3-1, on Sept. 25. Schwartz also turned in a strong half in goal, giving up just one first-half score.

U9 Elite, 0-2-1 record, next hosts Kearny Thistle at home on Saturday, Oct. 2.

Boys U10 Premier 3, Hoboken 1

JJ Sterling’s defensive debut worked out well for Cougar SC as they stayed perfect in conference play with a 3-1 win against Hoboken on Sept. 25 at Borden Park.

Sterling, playing his first game in the back-end, helped stifle Hoboken’s comeback attempt in the second half. Thanks to goals by John Cinotti, Zach Salierno and Lucas Alvarado, Cougar SC went into halftime with a 3-0 lead. The Cougar defense gave up just one goal in the second half to improve to 2-0. Mason Kobrin led a strong counterattack in the second half but Cougar SC couldn’t quite extend the lead due to strong saves by Hoboken’s goalkeeper. Hoboken is 0-1-2.

The Boys U10 Premier team travels to Thistle on Saturday, Oct. 2.

Boys U10 Pro 4, Verona 4

The Boys U10 Pro team battled back from a two-goal deficit in the second half to pick up a hard-fought 4-4 tie at Verona on Sept. 25.

Cougar SC built a 2-0 lead on goals from Matai Zorel and Owen Sulin before Verona, 1-1-1 record, roared back with four straight goals to take a 4-2 lead. Alex Burrell got Cougar SC back within striking distance with a goal. Defender Hudson Miele evened up the game with a blast from outside the penalty box to tie up the game. 

The U10 Pro team, 2-0-1 record, returns to action on Saturday, Oct. 2, when they host Glen Rock at Borden Park.  

The Cougar Soccer Club serves more than 550 children from Maplewood and South Orange from ages 3 and up. Home games for the 20 travel teams are held at Borden Park, DeHart Park and Orange Park. The Academy program teaches fundamentals to the youngest club members.

  Cougar Soccer Club of Maplewood and South Orange