Best of luck to all the intramural teams who will be starting their season this weekend. Remember to encourage your child, cheer for them and remind them that most of all sportsmanship counts.

Also, good luck to all the travel teams that will be playing their first round of State Cup games.

Please pick up your "Team Week" tickets from your respective commissioner - intramurals as well as travel.

Please be certain to carry with you your permits for each field. Be mindful of field location and time. Always clean up after you leave. Do not park in someone's driveway or unauthorized parking. Be a good neighbor.

This year the Nominating Committee will not have to convene, since all board members whose term expires will be staying on. Thank you Mike Guerao, Ted Adams and John Riccardi. Well done boys, the competition was tough and we came home undefeated winning five games, tying two and only allowing three goals thanks to our keeper Paul Roantree. The front line of Michael Santalesa, Jonathan DeFelice, Tony Peveraro and Ed Daly handled the ball with precision all afternoon and our fullbacks - Robby Martines and Matt Nathan, turned away the opposition time after time. James Roth played smart and hard the whole tournament. Michael Santalesa finished the afternoon with seven goals and three assists, Jonathan DeFelice three goals and eight assists, Tony Peveraro one goal and one assist and Ed Daly two goals and one assist. Coaches Neal and Pat thank the boys for a great tournament.

Congratulations to all our boys. This was the first time they all played together as a team and they came home undefeated. Congratulations to Jonathan DeFelice for winning best offensive player, to Sean Rogers for leading the team in scoring, to John Coster for his flawless play in goal, Kasey Homma and Robert Graziano for their never ending hustle and to Andrew Montoni, Gary Mancini and Vladamir Ivanoff, our solid wall on defense.

Sean Rogers finished with six goals, Jonathan DeFelice three goals, seven assists, Kasey one goal and two assists and Gary Mancini one assist.

It was a fabulous tournament for this New Hyde Park soccer team. They came out on fire the first game with six unanswered goals, and they never cooled down. Omar Ezat and Gary Mancini each fired in a goal a piece into the net. Kei Suke Homma, who earned MVP of the tournament, banged in a total of three goals for the day and Matthew Uy, who earned best offensive player of the tournament, shot seven goals in the net. Robby Martines' aggressive play at midfield helped set up many scoring opportunities. Strong defense wins games ¬ Joe Beltempo, Andrew Bott and Gary Mancini shut out all opposing teams from scoring any goals in the tournament. Andrew, Joe and Jimmy Clark also helped with the shut out with some spectacular saves in the net. Many thanks to Assistant Coach Frank for his help.

The International Division closed out the indoor tournament season with another strong showing. This week, NHP took home the championship trophy in both the morning and afternoon sessions at Island Trees.

Morning Session:

The boys started off strong with a 1-0 victory over Island Trees. The speedy Max Grant put the ball past the keeper while Danny Bravo notched the team's first of six shut-outs on the day.

The offense came alive in a 5-0 win in game two. Unselfish passing and fine positional play led to goals by Kei Suke Homma and Max Grant. Congratulations to Brian Bravo, who scored his first tournament goal on a fine leading pass from his brother, Danny.

The boys notched two more shut-outs in the next two games as a result of an aggressive defensive wall built with Gregory Fink and Makis Konstantatos. The few shots that made it through the wall were skillfully handled by goalkeeper Danny Bravo. Max Grant provided the scoring, including a nice goal on a header.

The boys made it five in a row with a 2-0 win against West Islip. Kei Suke Homma scored first off strong support from Michael Riccardi, Brian Bravo and Danny Bravo. Gregory Fink, who played smart soccer all day, blasted a high hard drive into the net to round out the victory.

Championship game - With Kei Suke Homma feeling under the weather, the boys started the final game against a strong team from Franklin Square, with no substitutes available. The opponents took an early 1-0 lead on a well-placed shot from mid-field. Still tailing with less than two minutes to play, Michael Riccardi moved up from his defensive position in an effort to boost the offense. Michael promptly responded with a left-footed blast past the keeper off a perfect crossing pass from the corner by Max Grant to tie the game. Still tied at 1-1 at the end of regulation time, the contest moved to sudden death overtime. The boys applied the pressure until Makis Konstantatos, who worked hard all day, put home the winning goal to give NHP the championship. The boys brought home a trophy for Eric Wendt, who was home sick.

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Eight U9 boys playing together as a team for the very first time traveled to Island Trees to participate and compete against some of Long Island's best. The kids relied on their own individual skills to cap an exciting indoor tournament season. The team lost its first two games to a divided Island Trees team with the same score of one - nil. Matthew Simms broke the ice and scored a blast through a crowd. Alan Joseph's low-ball shot added to the team's first victory of the day against Woodhaven, 2-0. Alan and Andrew Montoni shared the goalkeeping duties to notch the team's first shutout effort. Kris Kapela and Vladimire Ivanoff were strong defensively. Romulo Fajardo's non-stop hustle provided balance from the right attack. The fourth game was against a tough Garden City team who eventually played in the championship game. Down by one, Matthew Uy played the second touch from a kick-off, sliced his way through five GC players and capped it with a blast through a stunned goalkeeper. Mario Costa's winning goal from the left side gave the team a 2-1 victory. The fifth game was against a very disciplined and well-coached Hewlett-Lawrence team. Andrew provided the spark as he found the net cleanly on his first chance of the day. He would later relieve Alan from the keeper position and played a major role to the team's 1 - nil victory both offensively and defensively. Anchoring the mid and defensive areas was Matthew Simms. Helping him and sharing the fullback position was Kris and Vladimire. Amazingly, the team placed third for the day. Their valiant effort and strong determination allowed them to participate in the semi-final rounds. The team had a tall order ahead of them as they were pitted against an undefeated NHP team. The team lost the semi-final game with a score of 2-0. In spite of the defeat, it was rewarding to witness a bunch of 8 and 7-year-olds handle pressure, overcome obstacles, and maintain composure while exhibiting terrific sportsmanship. Special thanks to all the parents for their continued support. The team extends their wishes and gratitude to the Joseph family as they bid "adieu" to the Wildcats family. Keep up the hard work, guys, and remember, this sport is a total team effort that requires continuity from the keeper to the attackers.