TOPSoccer

TOPSoccer had the week off due to the rain on Saturday morning but I'm sure the parents were thinking about the Parents vs. Players game in 2 weeks. The parents appear confident but there's not much substance to go with that swagger. After all, in 17 years the players have emerged victorious every time and there hasn't been much from this group of adults to think this may be their season. The players have worked very hard and have shown much improvement in all aspects of the game. Only one more formal practice so this should be a very busy week. Don't forget to turn in your raffles and applications for the TOPSoccer dinner. Richard Bletsch

Girls Division

Travel

U-12

NHP Lady Bengals 0 Smithtown 2 - The Lady Bengals fought as hard as they could but were unable to pull out a win. In spite of the weather conditions being horrible ("a blustery day") the girls managed to keep up their spirits and played right until the final whistle. Keep up the good work girls!

Bonnet

U-8

1st Round of Playoffs:

Panthers vs. Fire Cats - The Fire Cats scored the game's first goal four minutes into the game on a fast breakaway. The Panthers then scored five unanswered goals, the first a breakaway down the right side by Camryn Finkel. Alannah O'Shea added a second goal, following a steal by Camryn Weinbaum, who passed the ball to Jackie Courtesis, who eventually fed the ball to O'Shea. The second half opened up with Shayna Zeitlin taking the ball down the right side, passing to Alannah O'Shea, who scored her second goal of the game. Shortly thereafter, Zoe Araujo cleared the ball on defense to Camryn Finkel, who scored her second goal of the game. The Fire Cats threatened to score several times in the second half, but thanks to some outstanding defense by Ally Petricca, Zoe Araujo,Abha Japi and some tremendous saves by Panther goalie, Bonnie Charles, the Panthers were able to keep the Fire Cats out of the goal. The Panthers final goal came late in the game, when Ciara Lennon fought off two Fire Cat defenders, passed the ball to Camryn Finkel, who took the ball down the middle for her third goal of the game. Both teams are to be commended for their hustle throughout the game.

Playoff Game Summary

Munchkins vs. Cubs - Munchkins win!

The playoff game was extremely tightly played in the first half, with both teams exchanging good chances chances to score. The girls looked a bit flat the first few minutes into the game, but about 10 minutes into the first half, the Munchkins broke thru off a super goal by Kira Crehan who drove up the left side and went far post to make it 1-0 early on. About 10 minutes later than that, Sophie Michaels used her skills to sneak in from the left side and she too went far post to make it 2-0 at the half. Olivia Baez was spectacular in goal, making a half dozen fantastic saves to hold down that high-powered Cub attack. If she was anything short of stellar, the game could have easily gone the other way. The Munchkin D did a super job of forcing attackers wide to take hard angle shots. In the second half, the Munchkin passing was outstanding, with Sophie M, Sophia Leeds, Kira C, Theodora P and Kaitlyn Krems putting on a clinic in stringing together killer passes. Kira C netted 3 goals in the second half, one of which in particular was outstanding - a rocket shot from far out that whistled into goal. Kira played the game of her life, netting 4 goals and then playing a great in goal the last 15 minutes of the game. Kaitlyn Krems was a mosquito all game long and netted 2 goals in the second half to seal the deal and put a capper on what was tremendous offensive team effort. The Defense today was simply out of this world. Kasey Borduas cleared the ball with tremendous authority, Mackenzie Griffin broke up attacks and took the ball wide just like we practiced, Deirdre Lynch pinched up at just the right time to keep the ball in the Cub zone and Theodora Papadonio not only held down attackers, but she got into the offense on the Munchkin end too. Spirited play by Ashley Lasko, Hailey Lynch and Bethany Ambrosio made Sunday's display a complete team effort. It took us a while, but the girls really put it all together today with the complete package of goals, passing, D, first to the ball, holding positions, and outstanding goal tending! I can't say how well the girls played today against an extremely good opponent. The Cubs are a great team and they gave us fits all season.

U-7

10/28/07

Kitty Kats vs. Lightnings - The Kitty Kats played a tough game and had several shots on goal. Joanna Mauceri, Caroline Nuttall, Cayla Mikowski, Kaitlyn Louie, Jillian Cooper, and Lauren Vowinkel had a very strong game on the attack. Once again, everyone put their best foot forward in defending the net and clearing the ball. The defense led by Stephanie Zovich, Georgia Thoms, Julia Feldman and Alex Thoms were very impressive in helping the goaltender. Excellent goal keeping by Kaitlyn Louie and Julia Feldman. We missed Tiffany Moreno. Congratulations to both teams.

Lady bugs v/s Goal Kickers - An exciting game for the Lady bugs on a cold October afternoon. Daniela O'Modie scored a goal in the first half of the game and got everyone on the team to perform way beyond the coaches expectations. Orna Kidanian played good defence and stopped the ball from going into goal. Jasmine Kamdar and Irene Tsahas played some aggressive offense and Randi Sarf and Jordan Wachsman were on a

rampage and stopped the ball from going into goal several times. Outstanding goaltending by Dafne Siozios. Thanks to all the parents for encouraging and cheering the girls. Even though the Lady Bugs were missing a lot of their team mates they played excellent. We missed Paulina Papadonion, Lauren Wasserman, Gabriella Caicedo and Nicolena Vega. Get well soon girls.10/28/07 - Goal Kickers vs. Lady Bugs - Strong play on both sides of the field led to an exciting match. Skillful passing and constant offensive pressure was applied by Natalie Klar, Giselle Correia, Marina Pappas and Andrea Waldron. Solid defensive play was exhibited by Aria Nair, Mikayla Reis and Samantha Bravo. Irene Krische and Kaitlyn Stoyer provided steady goaltending. Both teams continue to show improvement.

Boys Division

Travel

U-10

NHP Tigers 0 vs. Glen Cove Dragons 5 - On a day when the miserable weather was the biggest story, the Tigers faced a well seasoned Glen Cove Dragons team. The boys kept their footing throughout the game, which was a victory in itself. The first half saw crisp end to end action with good offenses chances and defensive standoffs by both sides. Alex Ptacek was up to the task in the slop as the half ended 0-0. The Tigers had a few good scoring chances with Michael Orlik just missing a shot wide and a pretty play by Peter Restivo passing to Jacob Leeds on the left wing just tipping the ball wide of the net. All the Tigers played well during the first half. Nick Nikas and Michael Carotta also kept the pressure on while some tenacious defense was provided by Ryan O'Donnell, Brendon Quinn, John Hanna and Jeremy El Kashash. As the team got water-logged, the tide turned against them in the second half. The Dragons got past our defense and were able to turn some plays into goals. Kevin Keenan, we missed you this week. Tigers â€" keep up the effort and your positioning for the whole game and the goals and wins will come.

International

U-8

Tornados 1 Lightning 0 (Playoffs) - As the rain lightly fell, two teams played their hearts out and the result was one exciting soccer game. Saturday pitted the Tornados versus the Lightning in round two of the playoffs. The Tornados, led by goal scorer Andrew Imperatore, edged the Lightning 1-0 and will advance to the championship round. The kids on both teams should be commended for the effort and the skill that they put forth on this rain soaked Saturday. The Tornado offense applied pressure throughout the game led by Nicholas Femia, Peter Siozios, Michael Murnane, Jake Guercia and Mathew Notine. Defensive stalwarts, Christopher Kerrane and Brendan Kiernan were able to throttle the hard charging Lightning team. Goalie, Brian Schoenberg, was magnificent in net and made some tough saves with the game on the line. It was a great afternoon for both teams.