Defender Kate Butcher ready to clear A wise soccer coach once said, “It doesn’t matter if you win a trophy or not. What matters is playing good soccer”. Good soccer is exactly what the Goalbusters, a GU-12 travel soccer team did Columbus Day Weekend in Windsor, Connecticut. They were placed in the upper division for their age group so they knew that the competition would be fierce. All of the teams they played were from the Connecticut area so they had no way in knowing what to expect from their opponents.

It took 180 minutes of playing soccer before any team scored on the Goalbusters. The Goalbuster defense, which includes goalie Erin Mullins, Kate Butcher, Lauren Engelke, Elizabeth Mahoney, Katie McCarthy, “T” Takach, Barbara Sullivan, Lauren Williams and Kara Zerille gave up only two goals the entire weekend. The mid-fielders Carly Cento, Krysta Cento, Cate Murphy, Mikaela Rix and Emily Winchurch proved to be a driving force in assisting in many of the goals scored. Their heads-up passing and pushing the ball up field aided in the scoring effort.

After an exciting win: Kneeling, Cate Murphy, Erin Mullins, Kate Butcher, Katie McCarthy, Carly Cento, Caroline Tarzian, Lauren Engelke, Kara Zerille The Goalbusters played the Wilton Lightning in the first game at 9:00 a.m. In just 15 minutes of play, Carly Cento, Kelly Reis, Maria Sokolovich and Caroline Tarzian scored making the score 4-0 at the half. In the second half of play, Erin Mullins, who played in the forward position, scored the fifth goal of the game. In an effort to show good sportsmanship, head coach Walt Winchurch together with assistant coaches Bill Mahoney and Pete Takach put Lauren Williams in goal in place of Erin. “The father of the substitute goalie” was very happy that the Goalbuster defense protected the goal area by not allowing the ball into their end. To make things more fun, the coaches mixed things up on the field by moving defense players to offense and vice versa. The second game on Saturday was against the Fairfield Heat. In this game, Cate Murphy scored at the 17 minute by bringing the ball up and taking a high shot that landed in the net making the score 1-0. At the 40 minute, Caroline Tarzian passed to Kelly Reis in the middle. Kelly took a high shot which also landed in the net with the final score of 2-0. On Sunday, the Goalbusters met up with the West Hartford Power for a 3:00 game. At the 25 minute, Kelly Reis scored the first goal after a very tenacious effort in front of the net. At the 52 minute, team work by the Goalbusters resulted in the second and final goal of this game. Caroline Tarzian received the ball from a pass from Emily Winchurch. Caroline took the ball up to the 18 yard line and passed it to Kelly Reis in the middle. Kelly took a shot on goal which landed short in the goal area. Krysta Cento was there to finish off the effort with scoring the second goal ending the game in a score of 2-0. The Naugatuck Nighthawks were the Goalbuster’s fourth opponent and a very good team who proved their ability on the field by taking the contest with a score of 1-0. This was the first goal scored against the Goalbusters. The fifth and final game of the tournament was on Monday, October 11 at 11:00 a.m. against the Wethersfield Gryphons. In this game, the Goalbusters worked hard and tenaciously after falling into an early deficit. With the score at 1-0 at the 45 minute, a hard working Mikaela Rix was knocked down by a Gryphon defender in their end. Kate Butcher took the penalty kick which landed onto the foot of a Gryphon defender. She kicked the ball back in Kate’s direction. Kate then passed the ball toward the middle of the goal area where a skirmish ensued. Barbara Sullivan stayed with the ball which eventually landed in the net for a tie of 1-1.

The Goalbusters at a Pumpkin Patch in Connecticut Great soccer is what the Goalbusters played. The coaches and parents were very happy with the level of play the Goalbusters exhibited for five games. In total, eight different players scored at least one goal. This team went to Connecticut without having anything to prove. They have been working very hard at their skills and teamwork and they are getting results. They have the talent, the athletic ability and the skills necessary to compete in the upper division in their age group, but as always, there is always room for improvements. All in all the girls had fun visiting an area pumpkin farm and being with each other and spending time with their friends from the Blizzards, another team in their age group who were also staying at the hotel. In the end there is one question that begs to be asked, “WHAT IS A GRYPHON”? GO GOALBUSTERS!!!!

Barbara Sullivan "cooking" Katie McCarthy and Krysta Cento

Enjoying a country hayride-Kelly Reis, Caroline Tarzian, Lauren Williams, Kate Butcher, Lauren Engelke, Carly Cento, Mikaela Rix, "T" Takach, Kara Zerille, Liz Mahoney, Erin Mullins Enjoying a swim:(in back) Emily Winchurch, Liz Mahoney, Caroline Tarzian, Mikaela Rix, Kelly Reis, Barbara Sullivan and Courtney Murphy