Riddle: Lose or tie, I haven't done; but this team's record is second to none? Answer: Long Island United.

For the second straight year, a nucleus of former Hicksville soccer standouts have taken home the Cockeysville Cup in a tournament just outside Baltimore. Headed by '88 Hix alum Pat Seiden, Long Island United boasts a 10-0 record from July '98 to '99.

"I was just surfing about the web when I came across this tournament," Pat recalls. "I thought this was great for us. A six-on-six outdoor, half-field game with full nets - it was perfect."

The "we" Pat speaks of includes a group of friends who have played together since they can remember their first slide tackle. Besides Pat, this year's Hicksville Comet contingent included: Mike Brigandi; John Fitzgerald; Rich Human; Dan Longo; Michael Longo; Vincent Longo; Geoff Martin; Greg Martin; Neil McKenna and Glen Rose. But as the name implies, Long Island United is an inclusive squad. For this year's repeat they added two free agents. In Matt Tickle and Andrew Dolce, LI United added more than seasoned scorers, but two members of the band Instigate.

"The word on the street," said one enthused fan, "is that they can't hold a note, but they sure can dance."

You might not say that Long Island United are teen heart-throbs, but according to Pat, they did develop a following. "I signed my first autograph," he said. "We had other teams, parents, and local soccer fans come to each one of our games. It's a great tournament, run by great people."

United weren't exactly geared up to sign autographs as they readied themselves for the tourney. They couldn't seem to fill a most vital position: keeper. "Everyone we contacted couldn't commit." Pat said. "Michael Longo gave up his position on the field to play keeper and was outstanding. He probably played better then any keeper we could have gotten."

Another surprise was latecomer, Rich Human, he flew in on Sunday to join the team. Rich stepped off the plane and into the finals with United as he netted the winner in a tight 3-2 semi-final victory. The semi-final win was over the team United had beaten in last year's final and had trained all year for another shot.

"It was a tough game and a great winner by Richie," recalled Pat. "The goal right before that Danny Longo curled in a corner kick on a heads up play to give us our second goal. This tournament is really his showcase, but the whole team played well. Our defense let up the least amount of goals of any team in the tournament and our offense netted the most. What can I say, it was a win-win weekend." For Pat it has been a win-win month as he married his longtime girlfriend, Julie Piazza, on the July fourth weekend. So after planning a wedding and honeymoon, Pat had to also find time to organize the tournament plans: hotels, registration, rosters, and yes tee-off times. But he comes off modest saying, "I had a lot of help and it was all worth it."

As another United player and founding member of Instigate, Dan Longo, said of the tournament: "It was great, we all got to be kids again for a weekend."

To see a team picture of Long Island United after winning the final, log onto the tournament website at: www.soccerteam.com.