Guilford U-12 Boys’ Soccer Squad Sees Success On and Off Field
The Soccer Club of Guilford’s U-12 boys’ green team had an exciting year by finishing with an overall record of 12-4-1, while recording a number of local and state-wide achievements. The team, comprised of local boys born in 2005, has tried to reinforce the importance of its ties to the community, as well as the pride involved with representing the town of Guilford.
This community focus was evident during the team’s appearance at Reese Stadium in New Haven, where Guilford joined the Yale men’s soccer squad before its game against the University of Connecticut, and later played against the Bridgeport Premier team during the halftime festivities.
While notching its 12 victories, the boys completed their season as the undefeated winners of the South Central Division, second-place finishers at the annual MIST tournament, and finalists in the Connecticut State Cup, where they lost a hard-fought championship game to Tolland on Oct. 5.
Guilford was coached by Shadi AbuGhazaleh, Greg DePetris, Dennis Garcia, and Joe Malatesta. The team’s players were Sami AbuGhazaleh, Joshua Chen, Kyle Chen, Braden DePetris, Sean Filley, Sergio Garcia-Perez, William Goetsch, Grady Holbird, Isak Hopfner, Riley Johnson, Jonathan Leite, Anthony Malatesta, Zachary Pawelek, Devin Putnam, William Rice, and Ethan Sullivan.