TOPSoccer

Even though the weather was a little shaky this morning, the teams were rock-solid and ready to play in the first-ever Rockville Centre TOPSoccer Tournament. The juniors demonstrated terrific teamwork as they represented themselves well. The offense was distributed among Harrison Stein, Constantine Lascarides and Jacob Csillag, who each scored goals. Emily Bosco, Nicholas David and Tristan Yang shared the goal-keeping duties very admirably. Along with Sebastian Pinto, Emily, Nicholas and Tristan covered the field with great tackles and quality passes. The seniors had a super day also. The offense was sparked by 2 goals by Debbie Chin, another 2 by Stefani Egre and an outstanding end-to-end run by Patrick Williams for a fifth goal. Sebastian Garcia, Billy Russo and Matt Saraiva provided stellar goal-keeping. Midfielders, Alex Warner and Nicholas Marangoudakis, jump-started many attacks with their great passing. Andrew Abberton and Adam Strominger had excellent all-around play as they anchored a stingy defense. Their aggressive charges often intercepted many loose balls and led to many attacking opportunities. Off for the Memorial weekend then it's on to P/OB for their tournament in 2 weeks. Parents, keep practicing for the final weekend showdown.

-Richard Bletsch

Girls Division

Cabbage Patch Division

U-6 Girls

Kitty Kats vs. Lightening - On a very warm afternoon, the Kitty Kats took to the field with 6 girls in attendance. Offense, defense and goal keeping were rotated. Kaitlyn Louie, Cayla Mikowski, Daphne Siozios, Andrea Waldron, and Stephanie Zovich made many good attempts on goal with many near misses until Caroline Nuttall took advantage of a small opening and scored a goal. Everyone put their best foot forward in defending the net. Likewise, they were superb in passing the ball and impressive with their overall ball control. Congratulations to both teams.

5/20/07 - Lightings vs. Goal Kickers

The expectations of this game did not disappoint. This game was a close battle that featured good goaltending, solid defense and good passing by both teams. For the Goal Kickers the defense was anchored by Channing Woo and Irene Krische in goal with Aria Nair and Michelle Milana on defense. The offense attack was led by the potent strikers Marina Pappas, Giselle Correia, Ariana Kaloudis and Kasey Kennedy, who were able to put many shots on goal. Both teams exhibited fine team play and good sportsmanship.

5/13/07 - Kitty Kats vs. Goal Kickers

The Goal Kickers started out slow in the first half, but finished much stronger with solid teamwork in the second half. The combination on offense of Giselle Correia, Ariana Kaloudis, Marina Pappas and Channing Woo developed many scoring chances with deftly passing. The defense was lead by Irene Krische, Stephanie Chacko, Aria Nair and Isabella Fazzolari in goal. End to end action with many scoring chances was the story of the day. Both teams showed good spirit during this well played game

U-7

GAME SUMMARY:

G-Bears versus Bratz, Sunday May 20

On another gorgeous Sunday afternoon, the G-Bears and Bratz squared off in what was expected to be a hard-fought and well-played game. The girls did not disappoint as both sides played a fantastic and exciting fast-paced game of soccer, giving plenty for the parents to cheer. The Bratz are always a very tough opponent and today was no different as they put up a rock solid wall of defense, super goal-tending and a hard charging attack. The G-Bears would have to work hard for their chances and it would take some really nice outlet killer passes to spring the offense and some great plays on D to keep the pressure away from net. On the attack, Katie Meegan and Katie Krems formed a dynamite Katie-tandem, racing down the field with quickness and skill. Katie M just missed on some close chances at the beginning of the game before switching back to D for the latter part of the game - where she did a super job of clearing the ball. Kaitie Krems, used her quickness and toughness to net a couple goals and then just missed on a rocket shot off the cross-bar. Super game, Kaitie! Alyssa Macher, Kathleen Toscano, Kristin Granieri and Hannah Varghese played midfield and really mixed it up out there to break up attacks and run with the ball. Bethany Ambrosio trapped the ball very well today and made some great outlet passes to spring the offense. Sophia Leeds took her turn on the attack, worked real hard to find the back of the net twice, just missing on some other chances, before taking her turn on D, where she did a super job breaking up attacks. Erica Lorenzana and Jackie Diffley both played a little defense and offense - and both had good chances to score and did a super job clearing the ball wide on D. In goal, Edna Dudek, Krisin Granieri, Eric Lorenza all took their turn and all did a super job making several sparkling saves. Fantastic playing by Mackenzie Griffin who had a whale of a game today - chasing down girls on breakaways and getting a foot on the ball to save the day.....and she played a super game at midfield, keeping the ball in the other zone and making some super throw-ins. Super D by both teams, super shots by both teams, super goal tending by both teams - all these girls have a lot to be proud of for the way they are playing and coming along in their development - thanks in large part to the excellent developmental training they have received from the club this season. Keep up the excellent work! The Bratz came to the field to train hard and have fun using all the things that they have been practicing this season. It was great to watch the fantastic passing, solid defensive play and smart goal keeping. The Bratz were powered by Emma Aquino, Olivia Baez, Kira Crehan, Marissa Cronin, Marcela Curcio, Camryn Dluginski, Camryn Finkel, Deirdre Lynch, Emma Quinn and Sarah Reigrod. We missed you on the field Victoria. As always I am proud of all my soccer Bratz.

Bonnet Division

5-20

Kickin' Kittens' road to the Finals - On the road to the Bonnet Division U9 finals, the Kittens have been challenged every step of the way and as a team the girls have responded beautifully. In their last three regular season games the Kittens faced the Thundercats twice and clinched first place with a win over the always dangerous Angels. In the first match up with the Thundercats, the Kittens tied two to two in an exciting nail bitter. The Kittens took an early lead with goal by Jackie Casataldi from a lovely assist by Eva Chan. The T-cats responded to tie the score. The Kittens took the lead again in the second half with great individual play by Eva Chan. Once again The T-cats tied the score and pressured our solid defense. All the girls played very well. Gabrielle Berger showed a great deal of potential hustling on defense and initiating drives up field. Iris Fan showed her usual toughness battling for every ball in her zone. Skyler Woo preserved the tie with a formidable save late in the game. The Kittens looked good in this game but they played even better in the next two games. In the second encounter with the Thundercats, our kicking felines were rock solid. Our defense was fierce and did not allow a goal. Bianca Gadze and Isabel Ryan make up an impenetrable defensive duo. Along with the energy and spirit of Catherine Saketos and Skyler Woo, the Kittens were able to turn away every Thundercat threat. The lone goal of the game illustrated the Kittens team work and crisp passing. After intercepting a pass on the back field Isabel Ryan found a streaking Eva Chan on the left wing. Eva dribbled past a defender and passed to Sarahelena Barrios who quickly assisted Jackie Castaldi who with two touches on the ball made enough room to blast the ball and almost ripping it through the net. In the final game of the season the Kittens faced the devilishly talented Angels. With an overpowering attack the Kittens were able to secure first place. With goals by Jackie Castaldi, Isabel Ryan and Eva Chan and their quick and relentless defense, the Kittens were able to hold off the furious Angel attack. The win put our girls in the semifinals against our old nemesis the Thundercats. As usual the game versus the T-Cats went down to the wire. The Kittens opened the score with great goal by Eva Chan who out ran the the T-Cats defense and with surgical precision pounded the ball in the corner of the goal. The Thundercats, in perhaps their most inspired performance of the season, fought back to tie the score. The Kittens took the lead with another Jackie Castaldi goal from an Eva Chan feed. The game ended with the Kittens holding off a furious attack from the Thundercats. The Kittens' success along the tough road to the finals is a credit to all the girls who played their hearts out. Our favorite feline soccer players relied on every one of their teammates to do their part in helping the team play well. On our last game Samantha Zebitsch helped out despite being in pain, and Iris Fan played her best game of the season and made some terrific defensive stops. Gabrielle Berger, Sage Rosenthal and Amanda Zeitlin brought athleticism, desire and always gave 100% effort. Sarahelena Barrios along with her versatility on the field is showing leadership as she inspired her teams with a pre-game chat. Ashley Vicente and Skyler Woo have become the most consistent and effective goaltenders and are an essential part of our impenetrable defense. Catherine "Kitty" Saketos has raised her game and is a tough player anywhere on the field. Jackie Castaldi, Eva Chan, Bianca Gadze and Isabel Ryan have demonstrated how their hard work pays off and they all are becoming dominant players. Congratulations to all the teams this season. The games have all been exciting and well played with most ending with only one goal difference. Throughout the division the girls have all become better soccer players and they all should be happy with their progress, keep up the good work. See you at the championship game and remember keep on kickin' Kittens.

Travel U10

New Hyde Park Lady Tigers 1 vs. Massapequa Extreme 1

May 19, 2007

It was a tough, physical and hard fought game that ended in a tie. The key of the game today was the defense. Erin Rivera, Laila Chadli and Bridgette Stacom were active in turning back the Extreme. Erin was awesome, sweeping all over the field covering both the left and right sides of the field. Erin's quickness and poise makes it look easy. Laila was like a "wall of defense," nothing got past her. Laila also got the scoring going by having a great block, stealing the ball, racing up the field and made a perfect pass to Betsy Tanenbaum who drilled the ball into the net to give the Lady Tigers an early lead. Lisa Pellegrino continued her strong goal tending and survived a very close penalty shot awarded to the Extreme, which hit the post. In addition to Betsy, the offensive presence of Sabrina Posadas, Julie Kennedy, Keeley McGrath, Jennifer Louie, Jasmine Bustos and Gianna Ferrante kept the pressure on the Extreme all day. Jasmine demonstrated excellent footwork and control and just missed scoring. Sabrina was active all day fighting for every loose ball. In the second half, Betsy had a couple of scoring opportunities that just missed on the side of the goal and another that just went wide of the top corner of the net. The Extreme scored from a corner kick, with the ball loose in front of the goal an Extreme player was able to tap it into the goal to tie the game. The game went back and forth, with each team fighting hard but unable to break the tie. We definitely missed Martha Keller's presence today.

U-11

Lady Leopards 2 Baldwin 3 - New Hyde Park came out a bit slowly which unfortunately allowed Baldwin to score twice before the Lady Leopards revved up their engines, and took over the field. Striker Danielle Michaels, assisted by Antonella Cotilletta, at midfield, scored the team's first goal. Soon afterwards, Madison Cascio took advantage of a fine corner kick by Taylor Ross, to score the second goal. The Lady Leopards kept Baldwin from scoring again until well into the second half, when, due to an injury, New Hyde Park was down one player on the field. Seeing the only window of opportunity they were going to get, Baldwin struck for their third goal. The Lady Leopards were eager to get it back, but the opposing goalie, realizing that New Hyde Park would not allow Baldwin any more goals, was determined to maintain the lead by keeping the Leopards at bay. Still, had there been a few more minutes in the game, New Hyde Park would have worn the goalie down just as they had the rest of Baldwin's defense. By the end of the game, Baldwin was dragging while New Hyde Park still had the fire in their feet! Because of the lack of subs, the team positioning was one striker, four midfielders, and three defenders. Striker Danielle had several strong shots, but was limited to the one goal by a resolute goalie. In addition to Antonella and Madison who covered the midfield at the two sides were Alana Cohen and Caroline Weinberg in the center keeping the middle strong. The midfielders did a great job moving the ball into position and charging the net. The defenders were Taylor and Eve Rigas on the sides, and Rebecca Lewis in the center. When the ball crossed the midfield line, they took possession, and forcefully booted it back where their teammates were ready to receive the passes and go. Goalie Celeste Lyons had some nice smothering saves whenever the ball rolled toward the net. The Lady Leopards' persistence, stamina, and wonderful play caught the attention of the ref, who congratulated their coaches on having a great team. The girls rose to the challenge of playing short-handed and offered up an exciting, dynamic game. Way to play, Lady Leopards!

Boys Division

May 19

Boys U6

Raiders vs. Cosmos - The weather was chilly with a light drizzle but that didn't stop the Raders from putting some heat on the field. After playing goal in the first half Thomas F needed to work up a sweat in the second half. He had a number of great breakaways, good footwork today Tom. Matthew, and Connor were fantastic playing forward, they too had some nice runs up the field and showed teamwork by passing the ball to the open man. William N and Thomas D showed a lot of hustle as they were put in multiple positions during the game. Daniel's powerful foot was put into action on a penalty kick or two and he did a fantastic job of pushing the ball downfield. Remember boys, no bunching up on the field - find the open space. Above all remember good sportsmanship, clean play, and have fun. Get better William B, we missed you.

Boys U8

Fire vs. Crew - Super semi-final match today by the Fire against a very tough Crew squad. Christian Carrick opened the scoring off a beautiful cross from Brian Saramago who worked his magic to get the ball up field. The next goal was produced by the hardworking, relentless defense of Ricky Marchelos, Anthony Indovino and Justin Carnero. Ricky made a nice stop and sent the ball up to Jack Nutall , who pushed it to Brian, who then fed it to Christian who slammed it home for his second goal of the match. Nicholas Reda, Tyler Baron and John McCormick were awesome at forward putting many shots on goal. Jonathan Ang was once again superb in goal. Great job boys, you should all be very proud of yourselves. Go Fire!

Boys U11 Travel

Jaguars vs. Bellmore - The NHP Jaguars versed the Bellmore Bandits. Daniel Flori was strong in goal with 7 saves. Brian Ambadjes and Liam Bradley made some clutch defensive saves today. Midfielders Chris Pun, Sean Ryan and Chris Sacino took control and pushed the ball up with determination. The Jaguar offense, which included Anthony DiMarco, Steven Lin, Brendan Deery, Michael Zornberg and Peter Keenan , made numerous drives to the net. Bellmore landed one in just minutes before the half. It was quickly answered by a blast from Chris Sacino over the goalie's head tying the score 1-1.In the second half both teams gave it their all. Chris Sacino, Liam Bradley and Michael Zornberg all took multiple shots on goal. Anthony DiMarco, Sean Ryan and Brendan Deery were also credited with one shot on goal apiece. As the battle waged on, Bellmore scored and came out on top with the 2-1 victory over the Jaguars. Great all around effort boys.