Announcements

There are still openings for the New Hyde Park Wildcats Golf Outing, which supports our TOPSoccer Program for children with special needs. $160 per player at nearby North Shore Towers in Floral Park, includes food, golf and prizes, besides coming out for a good cause. It's scheduled for July 7th, so put it on your calendar and make your reservations. Please contact Rich Bletsch at 516-328-3043.

TOPSoccer

The TOPSoccer crew showed what they are made of as the largest turnout of the season came on the heel of the gloomiest of forecasts. The seniors had an unusual game with a shutout. The blue team fought hard with Sam Ho, Justin Lim, Nick Marangoudakis, Michael Raihl, Andrew Raihl and Adam Rashkind battling all day long. However, the red team had a few players who were able to find the goal with Constantine Lascarides leading the way with 2 goals. Adam Strominger, Andrew Abberton and Patrick Williams all scored one apiece. The intermediate match was a lot closer with a 7-7 tie. Nicholas Mininson, Nick Pusateri, Charlie Hinz and Jessica Daly found the net for the blue team. The red team had goals by Andrea Cellucci, Harrison Stein (the big scorer of the day) and Mike Pellegrino. In the junior contest The Happy Hamsters had goals by Daniel Barber, Quentin Quintall and Mary Glass. The Cheery Cows came back to tie with goals by Christina Kerwin, Sebastian Pinto, Patrick Kerwin and Tristan Yang. Super preparation for next week's tournament at The Soccer Park at Plainview.

The following week wraps up our season with the much-anticipated parents vs. the players. The parents seem pretty confident as they've been lounging around during the practices instead of honing their skills. That has been the attitude for the past several years and it has not been a good barometer as the players have soundly defeated the parents for as long as anyone can remember. We shall see. Not much time remains.

Rich Bletsch

Director

Cabbage Patch Division

U-7

Kitty Kats vs. Wonder Kittens - The Kitty Kats last game of the season was the most exciting ever. The girls have come together and play like a team. Randi Sarf and Julia Feldman made some amazing saves in the goalie position. Girls played both sides of the field. Madeline Slaski, Jordan Wasserman and Caitlin Biggs took the ball down the sidelines and stole some potential breakaway goals. Stephanie Zovich protected the net and sent the ball up to the offensive players time and time again. While in offense, Caroline Nuttall, Jasmine Kamdar, and Alina Kacher scored goals. Everyone played excellent midfield and defense with lots of energy breaking up scoring changes. Thank you parents for your wonderful girls. Until next year! Wishing everyone a safe and fun summer.

The Cheetah Girls vs. The Firecrackers - What a beautiful way to end a great season for the Cheetah Girls. It was an even played match between The Cheetah Girls & The Firecrackers. The Cheetah Girls started off very strong in the first minutes of the game with a Hat trick by the Left Wing, Irene Tsahas. Her second Hat Trick of the season. Great Work Irene! Daniela O'Modie was on target today with a great wide run thru the firecrackers defensive crossing a great pass to Irene in the front of the gaol to net her fourth goal of the game. Great team work girls! The Firecrackers came back with strong shots our goalie Kasey Kennedy who made terrific blocks both with her hands & feet, throwing the ball out quickly to her offenders led by Daphne Siozios & Nida Mirza to net goals for their team. A Big Thanks to Stephanie Chacko for helping out the Firecrackers in the first half of play. Your a great sport Stephanie! For the second half of play for The Cheetah Girls there were position changes. Alexandra Gootman was in goal who made terrific saves for her team. Faking out the Firecrackers, moving side to side to throw the ball forward to her offensive line led by Silvana Seidita and Stephanie Chacko who made tough runs down the field taking shots on goal. Keep Up The Great Work! The girls played a strong game throughtout the entire time giving their all and making intelligent decisions to clear the ball out at crucial points. A Big Thanks to Kasey Kennedy for helping out the Firecrackers in the second half of play. Your a great sport Kasey! Both teams played a very smart game of soccer. Thanks to all the parents, trainers and referees for your time. We had a great season once again! Missing: Lauren Vowinkel.

6/1/08 Wild Things vs. Strikers - The much anticipated showdown of these two teams and managers, who coached together last season, did not disappoint. The evenly matched teams exhibited the skills of ball control, passing and defense. The quality of play and each team's determination led to a very exciting match. The Wild Things were led by the solid goalie play of Mikayla Reis and Kaitlyn Louie. The stout defense was anchored by Irene Krische and Arianna Kaloudis. The offense attack, led by Pauline Valentine, Jillian Cooper and Danica Sinson, was able to put continuous pressure on the Strikers defense and have numerous scoring chances. We missed you Lauren Hessler. Congratulations to both teams on their hard fought match and thrilling end to the season. A friendly rivalry was born.

Bonnet Division

The Panthers and Lightning squared off in the U8 Bonnet Division Championship game this Sunday. All parents and team members agreed that this was an incredible game, which literally went down to the wire. The first half was a defensive struggle, with both teams moving the ball up and down the field. Panther goalie Shayna Zeitlin kept the Lightning out of the Panther goal for the first half. The Lightning threatened to score late in the first half, but Ally Petricca sent a potential goal down the left sideline, where Deirdre Lynch dribbled the ball into Lightning territory. Kira Crehan, then shot from far out, but the Lightning defense turned the ball away from their goal. With seconds remaining in the first half of play, the Lightning (off of a corner kick) drilled the ball near the Panther goal, but Ciara Lennon and Hannah Dienstag denied a potential scoring opportunity, thus ending the first half in a scoreless tie. The Panthers took the ball to open the second half and the Lightning quickly took the ball down field, but were turned away by the heads up goal keeping talents of Camryn Weinbaum and the defensive hustle of Mackenzie Griffin. With time winding down and the Lightning threatening to score once again, Ciara McGreevy, who covered the entire field of play on defense, fed the ball to Natalie Giardano, who took the ball down field, passing to Kelsey Nathan, who scored the first and only goal of the game, giving the Panthers a 1 -0 lead, which they would keep until the final whistle. Both teams played not only an incredible game but a great season. Special thanks to all of the Panthers for making the season so enjoyable (Bonnie Charles, we really missed you today!!) Congratulations to all of the players for a job well done!!

Lightning Game Summary

Championship Game

Lightning 0 - Panthers 1

Lightning:

Tough end to a very successful season, but we have an awful lot to feel proud of. The Lightning came together as a group this season and really gave it their all every game. Today's game was a nail biter, as we fought thru the jungle grass on the west side of the field only to tumble into a desert-like-conditions on the west side of the field - so much for the grounds-keeping. Anyway, both teams had their chances and both teams fought hard all game long. The game remained scoreless until the Panthers snuck one home about 2/3 of the way thru the second half for the 1-0 lead. Despite a furious assault on the Panther goal, the Lightning could not put one away for the equalizer as time ran out. It was a shame that either team lost this game. Congrats to the Panthers, and congrats to the Lightning for a fantastic season. Congrats to the Cubs and the Firecats for their efforts this season as well. I want to thank all the parents and players who put in their time and effort to make this a successful season. The Group Practices were a hit and all the coaches and players are very proud of how far all the girls on all the teams progressed.

Lightning Strikes:

* Isabel Ugolini - Great toughness all season on D and super runs up field, and superb transition passing. Great future, kiddo!

* Dylan Sanders - you got your first soccer goal ever this season and you ran hard all season long. Lots of nice passing out there and some super toughness.

* Sophia Leeds - Rock solid at forward and on D - great clears, great skill, great effort. Led the team in assists. Super Season - keep it up!

* Jessica Goldstein - Very nice D all season long and some great runs on goal. Super clearing kicks. Hope to see you next season

* Sophie Michaels - Great lefty spin-shot and super goals this season. Second on the team in scoring and a true gamer. Great season.

* Jordyn Siegel - After a quiet start to the season, Jordyn really came on strong and was quite an attacker out there, scoring several goals and really making nice runs on goal. Great future, kiddo!

* Casey Sanders - Nice moves, nice shot, nice goals this season - nice running and good toughness. Really like what I saw!

* Marisa Menist - Very nice moves on the field to change direction, nice goal, great passing, great hustle. Keep it up - very nice season!

* Kristin Granieri - Great Goal tending - very few goals allowed. Great improvement on D and your kicks are getting harder and harder. Very nice development this season, kiddo

* Mollie Zimmerman - New to soccer, Mollie took to the goalie position and played it very well - and then she really started to come on in the field the last couple of games this season. Love to see that development.

* Bethany Ambrosio - Really took to the Center D position this year and was rock solid out there all season long with nice clearing kicks and nifty moves. You are coming along very nicely!

* Kasey Borduas - Another solid season from Kasey - mostly on D but she got into the attack too. Good clearing kicks and nice moves out there.

* Kaitlyn Krems - Led the team in scoring and 2d in assists, she had another very solid year - running hard and making some nifty moves. Super Season!

Boys Division

International Division: 5/31/08 Boys U9/U10 DC United vs. Fire

What an ending to a great season in the Boys U9/U10 Division. The mighty DC United team came out ready to play against an outstanding Fire team on Saturday to decide who be crowned Champion of this tough division. The Fire came out very strong scoring first in a game that would be decided in overtime. The mighty United team tied the game up on a perfectly played ball by Justin Carnero who headed in the ball. Team United was led in goal by Kyle Bangug who again displayed his cat like reflexes as he stopped numerous attempts by a very strong Fire offense. Jose Marulanda, John Kilcullen and Daniel Lee led the offense all day fielding numerous attacks that just could not end with a score. The United defense was awesome as usual led by Bryan Wu, Nevin Nambiar and Michael Lynch. Solid team play was put in by Tom Kamberis, Kyle Donohue and Guatam Nayyar. We are all very proud of the team work and effort that these boys put in all season. They showed all those who came out every week how the game of soccer should be played. Coach Danny and Coach Naveen would like to thank all of the parents for giving us the chance to work with this fabulous group of boys. They started the season as teammates and ended it as the best of friends. Great season boys. GO UNITED!!!!

Boys U-9 Wildcats Championship

What an exciting Championship match today between the mighty Fire and a very skilled DC United squad. The match saw end to end action with each team having scoring chances. Eric Fidler opened the scoring for Fire off some nice midfield work by Tristan Robinson and Jeremy Lau. Carlos Alvarado and Frankie Maropakis were like a brick wall on defense and the score at halftime was 1-0. Anthony Depompeis, Jonathan Ang and Sadek Syed came out in the second half and really worked hard. Scoring opportunities were there for each team and with about ten minutes left in the match DC United knotted the game at 1-1. Team Fire did not give up and their keeper Gregory Donovan was superb making amazing saves as the game clock wound down. As would be expected the match went into overtime. This is where team Fire really stepped it up a notch. Jack Nuttall hustling all the way took the ball to the corner and crossed it to Christian Carrick who made a move and buried the game winner in the net. Both teams should be very proud of themselves, they are all winners. I would personally like to thank my entire Fire team for all your support and allowing me to coach you. It has been a pleasure and I wish you all the best in travel. Go Fire!

Coach Jim