On Thursday, Sept. 25, the Bulldogs fought a good battle against the Jericho Jayhawks. For the first home game for the Dawgs, the game proved to be a well-fought skirmish. The battle began with great spirit and desire on the side of the Dawgs. After receiving the ball, the Dawgs only needed a couple of plays to score the first TD, thanks to Anthony DiDomencico. The Dawgs managed to do well for the rest of the first quarter and scored one more TD, making it 14-0. The second quarter began with a tough fight. The Dawgs managed to hold off Jericho for a while, but Jericho managed to score a single TD before halftime. This left the pre-halftime score 14-6. During halftime, the Dawgs prepared for another 24 minutes of battling against the Jayhawks. When halftime was over, the Dawgs prepared to leave the field with a victory. The third quarter started with great plays and a tough skirmish. Throughout the quarter the Dawgs kept up a hard game and held back Jericho. By the end of the quarter, the score remained the same. By the middle of the fourth quarter, the Dawgs felt they had to earn one more TD before the end. Soon, the need was satisfied, leaving the final score 20-6, IT. The game had many great plays and tackles. Leading in tackles, sacs and assists were Kevin McGovern, Vinny Ciaravino, Justin O'Donnell, Anthony DiDomenico and Joseph Ciserano. Earning a fumble recovery was Ciaravino who played a great game.

The JV Football team rebounded from their Week 1 loss with a 27-0 victory over Syosset. The Dawgs won the toss and that's when the Joe Ciaravino highlight show began. He took a handoff from QB Mike Shearer and blew past the Brave defense for a 61-yard TD run. This was the first of three visits Ciaravino made to the end zone on the day, all before halftime. The second TD he scored was a 62-yard run behind the blocking of FB Jonathan Pierro and PB Mike Smith. Ciaravino's final run for the half was a 55-yard run that was also off tackle. WR Matt Valinoti made not one, but three downfield blocks on the play. Ciaravino finished the day with four carries for 190 yards and three TDs. The final TD was scored by QB Matt Gelormino when during a muffed play, Gelormino turned a fumble into an 18-yard TD run. RB Brendan Spiess also had a busy day running the ball for the Dawgs. He ran the ball 18 times for 124 yards. PB Ray Megliola made his backfield debut adding to the 351 yards rushing the Dawgs posted on the day. Defensively, the Dawgs held the Braves to fewer than 100 yards of total offense and only five first downs. Some of the stars on "D" for the day were LB's Scott Smith and Ever Reyes Perez, who both recorded double-digit solo tackles. CB Spiess had an interception and DE Chris Caragher had a QB sack. The "D" also stopped the Braves inside the 10-yard line on a great goal line stand.

Boys Varsity Soccer Bulldogs prove they belong among the elite. The 2003 Boys' Varsity Soccer Team started the season uncertain if they had a team that could compete for a league and county championship. At the beginning of the season the Bulldogs defeated last year's undefeated league champions Bethpage, 2-1, with goals from Mike Topel and T.J. Fabis. The Bulldogs followed up this win with big wins against top-ranked Hicksville and East Meadow. Proving these games were not a fluke, the Bulldogs rolled on to defeat Glen Cove 3-1 with goals by Mike Branker, Mike Topel and Matt Burgos. This win avenged a playoff loss last year to Glen Cove. The team moved on next to face the number 1 ranked team in the "B" classification. The Bulldogs proved they belong, with a hard-fought 0-0 tie. The Bulldogs have six games remaining until the playoff. The team is poised and ready to make a run at a league title and county championship. Leading the team will be senior Mike Branker, junior Sean Walsh and junior goalkeeper Russell Davis.

The JV Boys' Soccer Team tied Wheatley 1-1. Down 1-0 late in the first half, Matt Brownstone scored off a through ball from John Oliveri to tie the score. The Bulldogs applied pressure, but could not put the winner in the back of the net. The defense of Matt Cohen, Dimitri Douskas, Dave Malkiel, Nick O'Brien and Mike Ciaravino did a great job.

The Girls' Varsity Soccer Team extended its winning streak to four games by defeating Nassau Semi-Finalist New Hyde Park, 1-0. The defense of Kate Schamberger, Kate Beale, Megan Carlson and Angela Barea were outstanding. Along with halfbacks Lauren O'Shea, Meghan Sguigna, Lindsay Hallas, Kate Moore, Kerri Spiess, Korin Jordan and Sarah Burleson, they beat the New Hyde Park team to almost every ball. Spiess, Alyssa Fleming and Gina Brewer provided the offensive pressure throughout the game. Brewer scored on a perfect shot to the left corner of the goal from 25 yards out. Jen Macaro recorded the shutout. Now it's on to play second-place Plainedge on Friday night and all the girls are pumped up and ready to keep their streak going. Both Coaches Goldberg and Schneider are proud of the girls as they stepped up with confidence to play at a higher level after a couple of close games.

The JV Girls' Soccer Team defeated Garden City by the score of 1-0. Scoring the lone goal for the Lady Bulldogs was Shannon Lehosky. Meg Doran, Tina Bove and Jessica Liguori pressured the Garden City defense for the whole game while the IT defense led by Meaghan Davis, Keri Dodge, Samantha Rooks, Brittany Guerrini, Bianca Pulido and Liz Badolato refused to give up any goals.

The Cross Country Team finished in first place against Great Neck and Jericho. Once again, each runner ran 3.1 miles in Bethpage Park. The team was led by Steve Battafarano, Donald Ludwig, Anthony Benvenuto, Rob Lettis and Fred Koromi.

Congratulations to the Boys Eighth-Grade Soccer Team on an awesome 3-0 shutout against Plainview. Goals were scored by Matt D'Albenzio with two and Tom Willoughby. Great plays were also made by Dan Weinman, Paul DelGiacco, Kieran Riegel, Dave Valencia, Alex Sherry and Dan Carlson. Also an amazing job in goal by B.J. Contorno.

The Boys' Seventh-Grade Soccer Team defeated Bethpage by the score of 3-2. The team was led by forwards Stephan Barca, Eric Fazio and Carlos Gonzalez. Midfielders Bradley Fliller and Sean Busch kept the team going with stellar midfield play. The defense was led by Chris Bourgade and Steven Reyes. The game was saved when goalie Matt Dugal stopped a breakaway with five minutes left in the game. Forward Fazio scored the game winner off a Stephan Barea rebound with less than seven minutes to go in the game.

The Girls' Red Soccer team defeated Wantagh by a score of 2-1. The girls rallied from an early 1-0 deficit. Goalies Stephanie Fabis and Ashley Alesi kept the game close with the help of the defense backed by solid play from Maria Famularo, Gina Ciaravino, Brianna Paolino, Kristin Vesely, Kristen Burgos, Michelle Badolato and the Haughney sisters on defense. The offense finally came awake when Lauren Lucas tied the game at one. The Lady Dawgs took the lead when Patricia Brewer scored on a beautiful feed from Kristen Walsh. The victory was an all-around team effort.

Congratulations to the Girls' Seventh-Grade Soccer Team on its 4-1 win over Wantagh. Kim Dazzo scored her first goal of the season off of a well-placed pass from Jesse Ciserano. Meghan Carey also scored one, while Christina Merrrill scored the final two Bulldog goals. The Lady Dawgs kept the pressure on for the entire game with Briana Meehan, Alison Groenthal, Nichole Coradini, Deanna Brown and Michelle Duffy using team work and communication to move the ball down the field. The Bulldog defense was aggressive and strong, gaining possession of the ball and controlling it throughout all four quarters. Angelina DeLardi had her best game to date, continuously dribbling through a sea of Wantagh players to push the ball forward. Meghan Biondolillo, Rebecca Burleson and Sam Cranmer all played smart defensive games, allowing only four shots on goal.