Over the past Memorial Day weekend a group of local boys who love to play soccer delivered an unforgettable weekend by successfully repeating as tournament champions in the top ranked BU11 national tournament, the FC Delco Players Cup. Making their achievement even more special was the twist that the tournament organizers put in place for this year - a new division comprised of either reigning state champions and finalists, or last year's premier division winners - the Hicksville Xtreme.

Throughout the three days of play the action was fast-paced and very exciting. Since this was the boys' first chance to play full-sided soccer on the same size field as their professional heroes some help was needed and was supplied by Zach Knight and Sean O'Rourke from a Valley Stream team.

The Xtreme was 13 strong heading into this event and the yearlong physical fitness they earned served them well. With temperatures soaring into the nineties and humidity not far behind, the rigors of the game showed the players, and their competition, just what the Xtreme is made of. The opening game was against a Pennsylvania State finalist, the Montgomery Maniacs. The Xtreme jumped out to an early 2-0 lead only to see the Maniacs bring things level shortly into the second half.

This was all the urging the Hicksville boys needed and they stepped up their game closing the match out 4-2. The next game that afternoon was played in stifling conditions and saw the Xtreme behind 1-0 for most of the match. The Xtreme couldn't seem to find the mark and with less than five minutes left stuck the equalizer in a bizarre play. The opponent's goalie, in an attempt to stamp out a scoring opportunity, stepped outside the box to collect the ball. Caught by the referee, the goalie began to argue the call with the referee who happened to be right on the spot. Realizing the opportunity, the Xtreme player placed the ball and sent a sizzling pass into the back of the net for the tying goal.

The opposition, stunned by what had happened, fell apart. With less than a minute to go, the Xtreme capitalized on a corner kick to go ahead and move forward with a win. The next match proved to be the least exciting with the Xtreme scoring in both halves to take an undefeated record out of pool play and into the single elimination round. The semi-final match was against the Pennsylvania State champion Lower Merion Cannibals, a team ranked in the top 10 nationally. Lower Merion also had the recent recognition of being the last team to beat the New York State Champion Dix Hills Thunder.

The Xtreme entered the single elimination match with a grim determination and it served them well. The match was a back-and-forth affair with both teams quickly moving the ball down the field in a series of attacks and counter attacks. The Xtreme was the first to net a goal taking a 1-0 lead into the half. Lower Merion came out in the second half like a fully rested group of boys and kept the game squarely into the Hicksville end. To their credit the Hicksville boys hung together, as true teams do, and with the help of some spectacular defensive plays on the field and in goal, withstood this initial Lower Merion barrage.

It was on one of the counter-attack opportunities that Hicksville netted its second goal that took some of the enthusiasm out of the opponents. In this emotional low the Hicksville guest players came to the front and were able to hook up together and net a goal which placed the game out of reach. The Xtreme had earned a spot in the final against the NJ State Champions, NJSA 04. The two teams had met earlier in the year and NJSA 04 had come away with the win 1-0.

It was payback time for the Hicksville bunch as it stormed into the final match like a pack of crazed animals and were relentless in the pressure and attacks. NJSA could get nothing started and resorted to playing physical. In one of these exchanges the referee saw a foul and awarded Hicksville a free kick from just outside the box. This was all they needed as the Xtreme was able send it home for the first goal of the match. Stunned by the score the NJSA team tried to regroup but the Hicksville team rose to the occasion shutting the team down by once again playing solid defense in all spots, aided by top-notch goal keeping.

The second half proved more of the same and late in the match, Hicksville scored on a corner kick to put the game out of reach. The Xtreme had achieved its payback and along the way became tournament champions. It wasn't until after the match the team realized what it had done - the Xtreme had shut out the Pennsylvania and New Jersey State Champions en route to the win. The recognition slowly set in as the boys savored their accomplishment and took this feeling of invincibility back to New York where they will need to face the New York champion Dix Hills Thunder in two critical matches in which the winner of each will decide who will be named the Long Island champion (Waldbaums Cup) and the Nassau champions.

Hopefully the boys can carry the momentum from this win into these matches. The proud parents and coaches wish them well - the magic they created this weekend will be tough for Dix Hills to overcome.