TOPSoccer

While the weather threatened all morning, it didn't dampen the spirits of the hearty who braved the elements for an enjoyable day of soccer. The games were slightly modified to accommodate the depleted rosters. The players paired up against the coaches (and some brave parents) for today's matches.

The junior contest was a high-powered scoring game. Emily Bosco, Danny Barber, Nick Pusateri, Harrison Stein, and Tristan Yang each scored at least once in a 12-5 blowout. The nets were peppered with multiple shots, most of which found the back of the net.

The seniors had an even bigger win as they scored at will in a 9-1 trouncing of the coaches and parents. Robert Valli was the star on defense as he stopped the attack with great tackles time and again. Stefani Egre, Adam Strominger and Nick DiSalvio combined for a formidable offense. They handled the ball nicely with super passes, which led to sure scores around a stunned goalie. Justin Lim has a couple of outstanding end-to-end runs, finishing with a deft touch for easy goals. Quentin Quintal provided an excellent spark with his two-way play.

Only one more practice on September 29th (no practice next week) until our TOPSoccer Tournament at the Denton Avenue School field on October 13th. Hope to see all of you there.

-Richard Bletsch

Girls Division

Cabbage Patch Division

U-7

LADYBUGS V/S LIGHTENINGS - What a great game on a beautiful Sunday afternoon!

Both teams played well. Lauren Wasserman with her strong defense kicks was followed through by Jordan Wachsman, Orna Kidanian and Daphne Siozios. Jasmine

Kamdar took offensive lead with Nicolena Vega and Paulina Popadonion showing good dribbling skills. Irene Tsahas played excellent offense and defense . Gabriella Caicedo and Randi Sarf protected the goal never letting the ball pass them.

GO LADY BUGS!

Kitty Kats vs. Goal Kickers - The Kitty Kats started off the game with great offensive moves by Cayla Mikowski, Kaitlyn Louie, Alex Toms and Lauren Vowinkel. Caroline Nuttall ran the ball down the field and scored a goal. Jillian Cooper, Joanna Mauceri, Nicole Seper, Georgia Thoms, and Stephanie Zovich blocked the breakaway balls with lots of power. The girls split time between offense and defense showing terrific teamwork. Tiffany Moreno and Julia Feldman were excellent in goal with unbelievable saves. The girls played extremely well. Great job girls!

Bonnet Division

U-8

Game Summary -

Munchkins 6 - Cubs 6

12 goals and multiple other chances left everyone biting their nails today as Munchkins squared off against the never-say-die Cubs. The Munchkins built a 5-2 lead before the Cubs came back with 4 unanswered goals to take a 6-5 lead before the Munchkins rallied in the final seconds to make it 6-6. The Munchkin offense was led by Sophia Leeds who recorded 4 goals and Kaitlyn Krems who recorded 2 goals and 2 assists. Sophie Michaels had a very strong game on the attack as well and had several nice scoring chances. Kira Crehan had a super game - playing stellar D in the first half and some dynamic midfield in the second half where she recorded 2 assists also. Ashley Lasko played some left forward today and had 2 real nice chances to score but just missed. Bethany Amrbosio played very nice defense in the first half and also had some good chances to score. On D, Theodora Papadoniou, Olivia Baez, and Mackenzie Griffin did a super job of taking the ball wide and clearing. In goal, Kasey Borduas did a very nice job, as did Bethany and Sophie. Deirde and Hailey - we missed you. Great passing today, girls, good hard shots and some super clearing kicks. Nice offensive explosion and quite a game by both teams!!

Panthers - Once again, the Panthers took the playing field with a great deal of zeal and enthusiasm. Camryn Weinbaum and Ally Petricca had some exciting saves in goal, while Bonnie Charles, Jackie Courtesis and Shayna Zeitlin moved the ball into the Fire Cats side of the field for the entire game. Ciara Lennon and Hannah Weinbaum kept the ball away from our goal by hustling to the ball and by playing outstanding defense. Once again, Alannah O'Shea and Zoe Araujo dribbled the ball around the defenders and scored goals, displaying awesome dribbling skills. Camryn Finkel had an exciting goal of her own, taking the ball on a breakaway and nailing a score from over twenty feet out. Both teams worked really hard and are to be applauded for their efforts.

Cubs vs. Munchkins - Oh what a difference a day makes as the Cubs and Munchkin played an exciting game today on a beautiful cool day. Both teams pared up fairly even strength against one another. The Cubs started off slow in the first half but got into the swing of things before the half with a relentless attack from Samantha Katsanos and Katie Meegan. This dynamic duo continued in the second half with some great passing and some strong breakaways to give the Cubs six goals. The Cubs defense was looking very solid with Marissa Cronin in goal the first half and did an excellent job just allowing three goals and the second half was powered up by Siobhan McMullen who was all over the doing and excellent job also allowing three goals. Defense was strong and tight lead by Camryn Dluginski, Jaime Mooney, Emily Price, and Alice Tartaro. Olivia Lugo showed some good foot work and some good passing to get the ball down field. Emily Budhram showed she will be a little spark on the team giving tremendous effort with some fast feet and playing some good defense. The Cubs missed the help of Hannah Varghese and Elise Gonzalez.

Girls Travel Division

U-10

New Hyde Park Lady Lynx 1-Garden City 4 - The Lady Lynx faced a touch and determined Garden City team in only their second travel game of the season. Once again, we had another beautiful day for soccer. Although the wind was a bit stiff, the pitch was in perfect condition. Throughout most of the first half the game was evenly matched, as Maeve, Allison and Ashley applied excellent offensive pressure with crisp and timely passing. Daniella, Ashling, Jackie and Taylor helped on the offensive end with their ability to take the ball and push it up the sides. The middle of the field was well contested by Eva and the defense of Keri, Julia L and Julia T was tough and aggressive. Bianca tended the nets and played great. Although the Lady Lynx found themselves down 1-0 at the break, they were determined to come back. Daniella defended the goals in the beginning of the 2nd half and played great. Ashling continued her pushes up the side with her excellent throw ins and along with Jackie and Eva's timely passing, the Lady Lynx got on the board with an excellent finish by Allison. Ashley replaced Daniella in the nets and played great.

The Lady Lynx continued to play aggressively throughout the second half. Taylor, Julia T and Bianca continued to anchor a tough defense while Julia L and Keri pushed the ball toward the opposing goal. Maeve, Eva and the rest of the offense had several scoring opportunities toward the end of the game and showed great heart all the way to the end of the match.

Although the Lady Lynx found themselves on the short end of a 4-1 loss, they showed excellent teamwork and energy throughout the entire contest and should be proud of their effort!

U11

New Hyde Park Lady Tigers 3 vs. East Meadow Hurricanes 3

It was a fast starting game with East Meadow Hurricanes coming out strong scoring their first goal within the first two minutes. Both Erin and Gillian had quick runs to the goal just to have their attempts blocked by a very strong goalie. It was Erin's fast footwork that faked the goalie to score the first goal for the team. The Hurricanes kept our goalie, Lisa, busy with balls flying high and all around. It's the powerful high ones that got away to break the tie. Julie, Sabrina, Laila, and Martha played strong defense to keep the ball away from the Hurricanes. Both teams had a penalty kick before the end of the first half but the attempts were blocked by the excellent goal tending by both teams.

Erin came out quickly in the beginning of the second half to tie the game at 2 each when she kicked the ball across the goal. It was Betsy and Jasmine that kept the pressure on the Hurricanes by passing the ball and kicking high off the goal post. Julie kept the ball in play and passed it back to Martha who then made a beautiful pass across to Betsy to score the 3rd goal to lead the game. The Hurricanes continued their efforts and scored the tying point near the end of the game. It was a well fought game by both teams.

U-12

NHP Lady Bengals 4 Oyster Bay Pirates 0 - The Bengals took charge of the soccer field on this rainy Saturday morning with beautiful passing and shooting! Each girl came to play and it reflected in the score. Our defenders cleared the ball time after time and sent the ball up to the midfielders who in turn fed the ball to the forward line. This tremendous teamwork created opportunities for Alexa, who had another hat trick and Kathy who scored the last goal for the Bengals. Congratulations girls!

Boys Division

Continental Division:

September 8, 2007

U7

Celtics

It was a hot day and Celtics added more heat to the field with some impressive play. The boys spent half our session with the trainer who did great teaching the boys about ball control. Those skills were put to good use during a tough game against a worthy opponent. AJ was great at goal with too many saves to count. Nicholas D, Nick T, John T & Connor S were always pressing forward on offense. Jake G, Frankie S, William B, & Tommy F worked great to hold back the pressing Yankee offense. Great job boys and remember to find the open space.

September 8, 2007

International Division:

U8

Tornados vs. Panthers

On a hot opening day, the Tornados and the Panthers played an exciting soccer game. The potent Tornado offense was led by Nicholas Femia, Andrew Imperatore, Jake Guercia, Peter Siozios and Matthew Notine. Their teamwork and crisp passing resulted in many scoring opportunities. The Tornado defense of Brendan Kiernan, Christopher Kerrane, Michael Murnane and Brian Deery played a solid defensive game preventing many scoring chances by a tough Panther squad. Tornado goalie, Brian Schoenberg, was outstanding denying numerous shots on goal when the Panthers broke through the Tornados strong defensive front. It was a great start to the season for both teams.

Travel Division:

U10

NHP Tigers Vs Massapequa Fighting Warriors 1-1

The Tigers were all business for their first game of the season, coming together and playing well as a team. Michael Orlik scored our only goal in the first 2 minutes of the game off an assist from Jeremy El Kashash. The offense of Michael O., Peter Restivo, Jacob Leeds, Nicholas Nikas, and John Hanna kept up the pressure all game. With their teamwork and crisp passing, all the boys had several scoring chances. The defense of Brendan Quinn, Kevin Keenan, Jeremy El Kashash, Ryan O'Donnell, and Michael Carotta was tight. Brendan had a whale of a game stopping countless attacks by the Massapequa team. Speedy Kevin was spot on clearing the ball from our end, and Jeremy's booming kicks kept the opponent away from our goal. Goalie Alex Ptacek stopped eight hard shots on goal only allowing one to get by, once again demonstrating his agility and leadership on the field. All the coaches and parents are very proud of the team, keep up the good work boys.

U10 Tigers vs. Merrick Dragons - Win 1-0

On a crisp Saturday afternoon a solid team effort by the Tigers led them to their first victory of the season. The first half saw an offensive charge led by Peter Restivo who had 7 hard shots on goal for the day, Michael Orlik, and Nick Nikas each of whom had several shots and scoring chances. They all did a great job of keeping up the pressure on the tough Merrick goalies. Defensive dynamo Kevin Keenan led the rock solid defense, consistently attacking the ball and giving our offense a chance to score. Brendan Quinn and Jeremy El Kashash on D were quick to the ball and clearing our end with their booming kicks. Our second half was just as tight as the first. Our only goal was scored by midfielder John Hanna, off an assist from Jacob Leeds. John and Jacob also had 3 shots on goal each, nearly missing other scoring chances. Our always unyielding goalie Alex Ptacek got a bit of a rest today as our defense only allowed one shot on goal. Michael Carotta at forward did a nice job of charging the ball and Ryan O'Donnell on D played tough, attacking and clearing the ball from our end. This game was a complete team victory.

September 15, 2007

International Division - U9/U10

Fire vs. Red Bulls

Tough day for team Fire against the Red Bulls. Christian Carrick opened the scoring on a nice feed from Nick Favale. The Red Bulls got the next two then Christian scored again on a beautiful pass from Jason Priest. Midfielders Jonathan Ang, Frankie Maropakis, Nathan Edwards, Joshua Rayan and Joshua Roststein really gave it their all. As usual Justin Carnero and Nick were awesome on defense but the Red Bulls just dominated in the second half. Good job in goal by Kosto Katsoulis and Tom Kamberis. Go Fire!

The sun was shining and soccer was at a premium. The Red Bulls started strong with the relentless Gregory Donovan in goal and the attacking force of Matty Lorandini and Fernando Robayo. Matty was unstoppable with his quick moves down the field netting him a hat trick. Fernando was not leaving without scoring and his determination paid off. Solid midfield support from Nelson Wu, Sachin Jacob, Jeremy Lau and John-Paul Rodgers kept the Red Bulls moving forward. Newcomers John and Brandon Berland are showing they can play with outstanding defensive work and each netting themselves a goal. Denying the Fire their goals for the second half was Mark Niewierowski and Matty Lorandini. Great job Red Bulls.

International Division - U8

Tornados vs. Lightning

This was one tough game; Lightning had a rough start letting 3 goals in the first half. James Castaldi, James Connolly and Gabriel Rodriguez tried there best to hold the Tornados back, while David Escorcia, Justin Pumillo, and Dylan Edwards worked hard on offense making a few nice passes and attempts on goal. Lightning just couldn't catch a break. The boys recharged their batteries and put up a great fight the second half. Justin Pumillo started off in goal. Jason Giamarino and Dylan Edwards played strong on defense hustling to block and intercept the ball letting 2 slip by allowing the Tornados to score twice. James Connolly ran hard on forward with two breakaways but just couldn't get past the Tornados powerhouse defense. David Escorcia came through for his team getting the hat trick and restoring hope for the Lightning. Justin Pumillo and James Castaldi tried to even the score with some attempts that just fell short of the goal. Niko Gounaris took over in goal and with some exceptional saves he held the score at 5-3. Great teamwork boys!

Lions vs. Tigers

After being shutout for the first half and down 3-0 the Lions inhaled their oranges at the break and came out energized for the second half. Sean McClellan netted the first of his two goals less then a minute in. Nicholas Pellegrino scored three goals, Gabriel Moreno and Steven DeVerteuil had a goal apiece. Michael Marcy made some amazing saves in goal while Nicholas Arman lead the defense by shutting out the Tigers in the second half. The final score Lions 7 - Tigers 3.

Continental Division - U7

Yankees vs. Volcanos

What started as a cold and dreary morning, blossomed into a picture perfect day to play soccer. Strong goaltending by Brian O'Regan. Oluyemi Olawaiye, Dylan Figueroa & Matthew Melone kept the teams close all afternoon. The team's offensive force was supplied by Matthew O'Neill, Johnathan Fusaro & Matthew Morales. A tireless defense was anchored by Matthew Reda & Christian Morales. Another good showing by the Yankees.

Arsenal vs. Celtics

A rainy morning gave way to a glorious afternoon as the Arsenal took on the Celtics on Saturday. Fantastic play lead to amazing opportunities for both teams. Kevin Alvarado, Vincent Salgado, Victor Jeronimo and Alex Garabedian all generated offense with the magnificent playmaking by Sean O'Connor and Stephen Pappacena. Jason Biviano, Stephen Kurpiewski and Tyler Sanchez were all instrumental on team defense, making several excellent plays. A special and memorable team effort by all. Great job--Arsenal!

U9/U10

Crew vs. Galaxy

On a beautiful afternoon the Crew and Galaxy faced off for the first time this year. This game was action packed with no shortage of good play on either team. For the Galaxy the offensive pressure in the midfield was put on by Kishan and Milan Patel. Controlling the midfield play for the Crew was Kevin Peteroy, Jason Padilla, Tyler Baron and Peter Macedo. Defense had a tough job today and players needed to step up big. The Galaxy showed strong play by Matthew Doering, John McCormack and Matt Ambrosia. For the Crew Zachary Fazekas was a strong force to try and pass and Pranshu Babber made it just as difficult to get by. And if a player did, they did they had to still get by the great goaltending of the Crew's Liam Blicher and Sal Cipriano. Scoring was hard to do but team Galaxy punched through with goals by Yanni Rigos, Andrew Colgan, Joseph Dunn and Daniel Celic. Two of the Galaxy's goals were setup by great pass work from Nick Demaria and Nevin Nambiar. For the Crew Emile Hanna put great pressure on the Galaxy's defense with his speed and helped the Crew break through with goals by Alexander Bracco, Luke Laurino and three by Jose Marulanda with the game final being Crew 5 - Galaxy 4. Great play by both teams today.

Boys U12 Travel

Stray Cats vs. Jericho

Outstanding effort by all the Stray Cat players in a hard-fought 4-0 defeat to a strong Jericho team. Playing against one of the league's elite squads, the Cats battled toe-to-toe the entire game, playing with energy, heart, and enthusiasm. And they never gave up. Falling quickly into a 1-0 hole, the Cats fought valiantly, keeping the pressure on the entire game. Trailing in the second half, the Cats continued to play hard, physical soccer, passing end-to-end, and making strong defensive efforts throughout. Again, the Cats came up short, but this was certainly a game to build upon. The Stray Cats - Billy Stevens, Tyler Carrick, Stephan Eranovic, Andrew Blumenson, Chris Ferlazzo, Austin Ward, Chris Sacino, Travis Finkel, Cian Fitzgerald, Steven Cacchioli, Bryan O'Neill, Ciaran Stack, Gerard Farrell, Ryan Korzevinski, and Alex Spinoccia - should all be proud of their terrific efforts in today's game. Go Stray Cats!!