Profiles
| Paul Melitsanopoulos (C) | Senior goal keeper and team captain. Named to the All-FCIAC First Team and The Hour's All-Area Team. Three year varsity member with great passion for the game. Made the tough saves look routine. Emotional leader playing with intensity every game. Received the Play of the Year Award for his shut out and spectacular saves during the Danbury game. | Gino Mercuri | Hard nosed senior defender. Two-year varsity member. Shows great soccer sense and one of the hardest working players on the team. Strong leader, kept the team together with his play and passion for the game. Quite underrated in terms of league defenders - will be hard to replace next year. Received team's Coach's Award. | Joe Funicello | Junior finishing his third year on varsity. Played beside Gino in central defense. His tremendous defending ability and leadership kept the team together during the tough games. Arguably one of the best one-on-one defenders in the state with pinpoint slide tackling and superb heading skills. Named All-Fciac First Team and The Hour's All-Area. Next year's tri-captain. Received team's MVP award. | Steve Cenatiempo | Junior forward/center midfielder. Three year varsity member. Unbelievably skilled with the ball; his intense passion for the game cannot be matched. He received All-FCIAC First Team honors and named to The Hour's All-Area Team. Finished with 10 goals and 11 assists. Great team leader - next year's team will feed off of his play and intensity as he is also one of the tri-captains. | Dan Freshman | Junior spending his second year on varsity. Great player and student. Always thinks of the team before himself. His skills have improved every year and he will be a big part of next year’s team. Good offensive vision. Named one of next year’s tri- captains. | Tommy Mattera | Junior transfer from Green Farms Acedamy - first year NHS Varsity member. Played both forward and midfield. Named to the All-FCIAC First Team and The Hour's All-Area Team. Incredible ball-control skills; always trying to compete at his best. Arguably one of the fastest players in the FCIAC. Finished the season with 12 goals and 6 assists (team's leading scorer). | Pat Scully | Junior forward/midfielder spending his 1st year on the Varsity level after playing football sophomore year. He plays with a deadly left and right foot, which helped him score his 11 goals this season. Gave defenders a hard time because of his speed. | Jimmy O'Hara | Junior serving his second year on Varsity. A hard tackling defender. Due to injury he was side-lined his sophomore year, but came back this year and worked extremely hard to get back in shape. | Dave Dellinger | Junior, first year Varsity member. Aggressive but not reckless; used his speed and height to win balls in the stopper position. Unselfish player who improves his skill every day. Strong work ethic. Received team's Most Improved Player Award. | Matt Petrini | Junior playing his first year on Varsity. Versatile athlete - played many positions throughout the year. Never gives up and always wants to improve his skill. Created many chances in front of goal. | Kevin Zezima | Junior midfielder, second year on the varsity team. He is known as the work horse of the team. Great attitude, determined and strong-hearted. Liked by all his teammates. | John Beierlie | Junior midfielder, first year on Varsity. Unfortunate hip injury side-lined him for the season. Has a great positive attitude. | Billy Kalmanides | Junior defender, fist year on the varsity team. One of the fastest players on the team. His humor and personality made him a very important factor in the team's chemistry; great learner. | Kosta Arvanitakes | Junior midfielder, first year varsity member. Was not able to play this season due to injury. Has great skill. | Matt Mitchell | Hard-nosed sophomore defender spending his first year on Varsity. Played in many games and will be an important part in the future of the program. | Mike Surace | Sophomore back-up goalkeeper. Will be a very important part in next year's team. Great leaping ability - gained the confidence of his teammates already by his spectacular saves in the few games he played. | Jonathan Colangelo | Sophomore midfielder/defender, first year on varsity team. Unbelievable skills and great one-on-one defender - made a strong showing and came up big in many games. Strong impact player for the team. | Tim Petrides | Sophomore defender who played in a lot of games this season. First year Varsity member. Very tough. | Dan Pratt | 1st year Varsity member, sophomore. Great speed and attitude. | Anthony Fraioli | Sophomore forward, second year on Varsity team. Good individual skill with the ball. Stepped up his play from last year and scored 9 goals this season with a few assists. Good offensive mind and skill. | Michael Fraioli | Only freshman on the varsity squad. Played center midfield. Made a big impact with his strong desire to play and impressive skill and vision. |
Kurt Simonsen - A lifelong Norwalk resident, Coach Simonsen just completed his fifth year as the Varsity head coach, compiling a combined record of 57-26-7. Before taking over, he served as the program's Junior Varsity and Freshmen coach for four years. A 1990 graduate of McMahon High School, he went on to earn a Bachelors Degree in English from the University of Connecticut at Storrs and a Masters Degree in Secondary Education from the University of Bridgeport. During the school day Coach Simonsen works as an English Teacher at Norwalk High. In the off season, he serves as the assistant coach for the varsity baseball team and coaches in the Norwalk Soccer Indoor Program at Brien McMahon. He resides in Norwalk with his wife and two daughters.
George Kasparis - A 1994 graduate of Norwalk High School, Coach Kasparis just finished his fifth year as the varsity's assistant coach. He earned his Bachelors Degree in History from the University of Connecticut at Storrs and a Masters Degree in Secondary Education from the University of Bridgeport. While holding a state certification in history education, Coach K teaches History at Norwalk High. Outside of soccer he is the freshman baseball coach. He resides in Norwalk.
Joe Surace - Coach Surace has just completed his fourth season on the Norwalk staff, guiding both the freshman and junior varsity teams. While also holding a referee certification, Coach Surace spends much of his time actively coaching in Norwalk Junior Soccer with his travel teams. Resides in Norwalk with his wife and three soccer playing sons.
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