The Island Trees Girls Varsity Soccer team continues to surprise many of their opponents in Conference 2. With a record of 5-2-2 (overall record of 9-3-2) the Lady Dawgs are currently in second place with three games remaining. Their only two conference losses were to powerhouse Syosset, who came down from Conference 1. Quite an accomplishment for a team that moved up to a tougher conference and graduated several key players from last year. Here is a recap of the last five games:

Oct. 2 - A night game against Plainedge - a 2-1 victory as Island Trees dominated a good portion of the game and created many scoring opportunities. Many fans showed up to support the girls and were treated to an exciting game. Scorers were Kate Moore and Val Ahrens. Assists on both goals were scored on corner kicks from Michelle Topel.

Oct. 4 - Island Trees 2 Herricks 1 - Goal scorers were Kristen Walsh and Val Ahrens with assists going to Lauren O'Shea, Val Ahrens and Meghan Sguigna.

Oct. 6 - Island Trees 3 Valley Stream Central 1 - The Newsday Game. Another game in which the Lady Dawgs controlled the tempo and outplayed their opponent. After the exciting victory, several of the girls were interviewed and a very nice article was written up the next day (anyone interested in seeing it can contact coaches Goldberg or Schneider). Goal scorers were Meg Sguigna, Kate Moore and Val Ahrens with assists going to Meghan Sguigna, Jess Ostrowski, Kate Moore and Michelle Topel. In addition, Gina Brewer did an excellent job going back into the game as a defender which enabled the coaches to give some of the defensive players a well needed rest.

Oct. 8 - A well played match by both sides. A game in which Island Trees missed some good opportunities to score. Once again the defense of Kristen Burgos, Sarah Burleson, Megan Carlson and Kate Beale were superb.

Oct. 13 - Island Trees 1 Cold Spring Harbor 0. Although they dominated the game, the offense had a problem scoring, but given the opportunity, they prevailed by using their most potent weapon - the ever so dangerous corner kick. Michelle Topel stepped up to the plate once again and delivered the ball to the goal area and Gina Brewer sped over, jumped up and headed it in.

After tying their first game against cross-town rival Division 0-0, and a tough loss to Plainedge 27-7, the JV Dawgs finally played their first home game. The Dawgs received the opening kickoff and put together a nice opening drive that was halted by a turnover. The Dawgs turned the ball over three times on the day, something that the coaches knew would come back to haunt them. Bethpage capitalized on the miscues, scoring each time. Freshman quarterback Frank Baglivo, filling in for an injured Matt Gelormino, ran the "O" like a battle tested general. He was 6 for 10 for 95 yards and a touchdown. Frank hit Ralphie Garcia on a square out that covered 51 yards. Runningbacks Ronnie Modik, Arton Lekaj and James Murphy totaled a little over 100 yards rushing on the day. Ronnie Modik scored from 12 yards out off tackle behind the blocks of tackle Bill Caldarera and guard Kris Buhagiar. Defensively, linebacker Keith Roman had 16 solo tackles on the day. Equally impressive was middle linebacker Kris Buhagiar with nine solo tackles. Corner back Dan DeDonno broke up a pass on a fourth down try and defensive end Dan Hart had an interception. Although the Dawgs lost 31-14, there were a lot of positives that came out of the game. The football team traveled to North Shore and lost a tough battle to the Vikings. The Bulldogs had touchdown runs of 47 yards by Anthony Wrightington which was helped by a key block from Bryan Verbitsky and a 7-yard run by Anthony Pascalli.

The girls eighth grade soccer team lost a heartbreaker to Wisdom Lane 3-2. Goals were scored by Nichole Coradini and Jillian Foster who scored from 30 yards out. The defense, led by Sam Cranmer and Meghan Carey, kept the game close.

The boys seventh grade soccer team defeated Bethpage 3-2. The team scored two goals in the fourth quarter to remain undefeated. Tyler Bauer scored two goals and Jaime Sierra added the third. The defense once again played outstanding and goalie Tom Enders was great in net.

Congratulations to the girls seventh grade soccer team on their 2-2 tie against Hicksville. The Lady Dogs came from behind to tie the score midway through the fourth period. The Bulldogs' first goal was scored by Jessica Beissel, who received a well-placed pass from striker Jenna Gallante. The second goal was a true team effort. Jen Cruz crossed the ball from deep in the right corner to center midfielder, Shannon Gallagher, who passed the ball to Danielle Alesi, who easily put the ball in the net. Good offensive pressure was displayed by Joanne Falce. Rachel Montwill, Jessica Pierre-Tijero and Alana Caffrey. Playing strong defensively, Dana Colleluori, Sylvana Rivera and Sam Wierzbicki made some key plays throughout the game.