TOPSoccer

The junior ranks continue to swell with new players. As the skills begin to improve, the scoring has been skyrocketing. Constantine Lascarides, Nicholas Affronti, Nicholas David, Tristin Yang, Julius Sum and Sebastian Pinto all connected with goals. Excellent defense by Emily Bosco. The seniors were missing some players but that did not stop them from playing a very good warm-up game, as we prepare for next week's Rockville Centre Tournament. The scoring was spread quite evenly. Billy Russo, Stefani Egre, Matt Saraiva and Debbie Chin each had one goal, while Andrew Abberton scored twice. Alex Warner had some key passes to set up the potent attack. We have a few tournaments in the upcoming weeks. After RVC next week, we head to P/OB after taking a break for the Memorial Day weekend. Before you know it, it will be time for the parents to step on the field and strut their stuff. With so many new players, this year's parents' team is an unknown commodity. Will this be the season for the first parents' victory? Time will tell.

Richard Bletsch

Boys Division

May 5

Boys U11 Travel

Jaguars vs. Wantagh/Seaford - The Jaguars put forth a great offensive effort. Chris Pun, Brendan Deery, Liam Bradley and Chris Sacino kept the game exciting with multiple shots on goal. Anthony DiMarco, Michael Zornberg, and Steven Lin also made some strong offensive plays. Midfielders Chris Pun and Peter Keenan moved the ball well to their teammates. Brian Ambadjes, Anthony Caccioli and Andrew Curcio demonstrated some awesome defense. Daniel Flori was outstanding with eight saves. In the end, the Blue Fury landed one in and came out on top with a 1 - 0 win. Great effort boys!

May 5,6

U-11

Stray Cats - On Saturday the New Hyde Park Stray Cats continued their fine play with a convincing 6-0 victory over the Oceanside Tidal Wave in league play, bringing their record to a perfect 4-0. On Sunday they advanced to the finals of the Waldbaum's Cup with a spirited 4-1 victory over the Brentwood Hurricanes. Chris Ferlazzo and Gerard Farrell started the weekend off with two goals apiece. Alex Spinoccia and Bryan O'Neill finished off the scoring against Oceanside. On Sunday the scoring was provided by Billy Stevens (2 goals), Bryan O'Neill and Ciaran Stack. Andrew Blumenson was solid in net with the lone goal against coming on a penalty kick. Matthew Huhn and Austin Ward were relentless in pushing the ball forward and dishing it off to their teammates. As always seems to be the case this year, the defense was spectacular. Steven Cacchioli, Tyler Carrick, Stephen Eranovic, Cian Fitzgerald and Ryan Korzevinsky make for a cohesive unit on the defensive end. Keep up the good work and good luck in the finals at the Waldbaum's Cup.

May 12

Boys U11 Travel

Stray Cats vs. Little Neck - The Straycats had an early morning game against a talented squad from Little Neck. Unfortunately when the Straycat players finally woke up at they found themselves down 3-0 a few minutes into the second half. From that point on the boys began a furious comeback to salvage a tie and remain undefeated this season. The first goal was scored by Bryan O'Neill who simply outran the Little Neck defense to put one in. The second goal was a perfectly placed kick from outside the box by Ciaran Stack, which just eluded the reach of the Little Neck goalie. The tying goal was chested in by Ryan Korzevinsky off a Gerard Farrell corner kick. The corner kick was the result of a beautiful run by Tyler Carrick. Austin Ward and Billy Stevens along with forwards Chris Ferlazzo, Alex Spinoccia and Matthew Huhn were relentless in the second half creating opportunities for the comeback. Steven Cacchioli, Cian Fitzgerald and Stephen Eranovic anchored the defense along with goalie Andrew Blumenson who stopped everything within his reach. Congratulations to the Little Neck Dog Pound and the NHP Straycats on a well played soccer match.

May 5

U6

Raiders vs Cosmos - A beautiful day for soccer and the Raiders showed up ready to play. There was plenty of fantastic instruction from the trainers. The boys learned kicking on goal with power and drills to improve their agility. After the training it was a tough game with the Cosmos, who came ready to play too. We had great footwork from Daniel and William N. They were backed up by excellent play from William B and Connor. Nicholas M, on loan from the Cosmos, showed great sportsmanship and ability with a few breakaway runs. Connor and William N also did double duty at goalie with some saves that were just awesome. Keep it up boys

Girls Division

Cabbage Patch

U-6

Kitty Kats vs. Goal Kickers - With three players short, the Kitty Kats played their hearts out. Offense and defense were rotated to prevent exhaustion. Julia Feldman, Caroline Nuttall and Stephanie Zovich were blasting the ball down the field. In offense, Caroline Nuttall outran all defenders and scored a goal with an assist from Julia Feldman. Lauren Vowinkel had several breakaways showing her speed on the field. Gabriella Caicedo's long legged sprints helped turn the ball around on many occasions. Daphne Siozios was aggressive at attacking the ball. Excellent goal keeping by Kaitlyn Louie and Lauren Vowinkel. They positioned themselves well to anticipate the shots. You are playing very well and improving each game. Congratulations to both teams.

GU7 Grizzly Bears Versus Cubs

On a beautiful Mother's Day afternoon, it was a battle of the Bears and the Grizzlies and the Cubbies squared off in what was expected to be high scoring affair. 'Score a goal for mom' was the motto of the day for both sides and in a perfect world, each player on each team would have chalked one up for mom on Sunday. This was not quite the case, but there was plenty of offense by both teams to put a smile on several mom's in attendance. The Cubbies, as always, were a very tough opponent, and it took a lot of teamwork for the G-Bears to get their chances today. The ''Katies'' got the offense going today for the G-Bears, as Katie Meegan had a whale of game, showed off her great speed down the left side and popped in a very hard shot early on and had several more chances as the game went on. On the right side, Katie Krems had quite an afternoon too, relentlessly attacking today and netting 2 goals [one tap in goal, one rocket-shot ] and then just missed on several more shots, including a wicked laser-shot off the post. Jackie Diffley had a super game too - charging in from the left side and putting home a very hard shot into the top pocket of the back net. Bethany Ambrosio put a smile on her mom's face today by scoring the first goal of her short career , sneaking a hard fought shot past a diving goalie. Alyssa Macher had very nice game- really raced up the left side well with the ball land just missed on 2 great chances in front of goal - super effort! The G-Bear D was put back on our heals by the high-flying Cubbie attack, but Mackenzie Griffin, Edna Dudek and Erica Lorenzana stepped up big several times to break up charges and clear the ball up to our speedy forwards. Erica L had a great game and took her turn on offense too and just missed on 2 chances from the left. In goal, Edna Dudek had several saves - including a spectacular one off a Samantha K's free kick from 15 yards out, Kristin Granieri took her turn well, and Kathleen Toscano did a fantastic job making several really tough stops. Sophia Leeds, we missed you and hope your finger feels better. Great effort by both teams!, great goals by both teams!, great D by both teams! Thanks to all the Moms for showing their support on their very special day!

Bonnet Division

U-8

April 28

Cheetah Girls played a tough opponent today. Jules Wesler and Nicole Farishian pushed the ball up nicely at offense. Samantha Merino and Natalie Kariotis played some tough defense. We came out strong in the second with a breakaway goal from Isabella Schaetzie and a shot in the goal from Mariella Facibene. Kimberly Keblish played a solid goalie.

May 6

Cheetah Girls played their best game this season. Caitlin Cosme and Kimberly Keblish were awesome on defense turning away their star players time and time again. Down 1-0 in the first half. Hannah Arkin tied the game with a shot to the corner of the goal. Mariella Facibene gave us the lead in the second half with a blast to the side of the goalie. Isabella Schaetzie breakaway goal gave us some breathing room. Natalie Kariotis finally broke free with a goal dribbling through two players and shooting the ball to side of the goalie. Samantha Merino and Nicole Farishian played solid midfield and offense always pressuring the other team. Great win!

Travel U10

New Hyde Park Lady Tigers 4 vs. Wantagh Seaford Revolution 0

May 12

It was an early mother's day present from the Lady Tigers as they demonstrated their poise, control and teamwork. It was Betsy Tanenbaum with a high corner kick that started the scoring. Erin Rivera playing defense, brought the ball all the way up to score the second goal from midfield. Throughout the game Martha Keller, Sabrina Posadas, Julie Kennedy, Keeley McGrath and Jennifer Louie all played hard to keep the offensive pressure on. Along with Bridgette Stacom, Laila Chadli and Erin on defense, the Lady Tigers controlled the ball for much of the game. The girls continue to develop and improve their game by passing the ball back to set up, spreading out the offensive, understanding off-sides, and getting into good field position. The game was filled with so many headers. Bridgette had several headers that were perfect clearing passes. The scoring continued with Martha taking control of the ball and passing it to Jasmine Bustos who rushed up the field and shot the ball that deflected off the goalie. However, Gianna Ferrante was in the perfect position for the rebound and scored the third goal. During the second half Lisa Pellegrino took off her goalie gloves to play some offense. Betsy, Jennifer and Laila all shared the goal tending duties. Many of the Lady Tigers rotated and played outside of their normal position but still continued their strong play. Erin who played a great all-around game, charged up the field and kicked the ball that was blocked, but she retrieved her own rebound to score the fourth and final goal of the day. The Lady Tiger's shutout was preserved on the last play of the game when Laila quickly smothered the ball right in front of the goal line. Great game!

Lady Leopards 3 Lynbrook 5

Lynbrook scored first in the game, an unlucky break for the Lady Leopards. But, the goal was quickly answered by Celeste Lyons, who moved the ball up from midfield, saw an opportunity right by the net, and shot the ball in. Lynbrook scored a second time. But New Hyde Park got it back on a penalty kick taken by Danielle Michaels, who placed the ball right where the goalie had no chance to grab it. Then it was Lynbrook's turn, and they were ahead. Once again, Danielle scored for the Lady Leopards. Then, Lynbrook scored a fourth time. At this point, the soccer karma that had seemed evenly distributed between the two teams abandoned the Lady Leopards and concentrated on the other side of the field. Caroline Weinberg had a shot on goal that looked like money in the bank, but at the final instant, was snatched by the goalie. Other shots hit the post, or went wide as the girls tried to gain the upper hand. A questionable off-sides call cost a goal. Meanwhile, defenders were dealing with Lynbrook breakaways. Although there were some nice plays throughout the second half, they weren't enough to turn the game around. Taking turns at striker in addition to Danielle were Kaitlin Shea, Dylan Livers, and Hannah Zeitlin. Playing primarily at midfield in addition to Celeste and Caroline were Alana Cohen, and Taylor Ross. Rounding out the defense were Eve Rigas, and Rebecca Lewis. Antonella Cotilletta was our goalie. Next week is another opportunity, girls.