The signs hanging around the building on Monday, Oct. 23, described the situation, "We Win, We're In." Win they did. The Mineola Mustangs Men's Varsity Soccer Team clinched a playoff spot with their victory over Conference Finals Bethpage. Last Monday the Mustangs defeated the Eagles of Bethpage by a score of 2-1. Jose Lopez opened the scoring for the Mustangs early in the first half with a 20-yard shot that beat the Bethpage goalkeeper. After the Eagles tied the game a 1-1 in the second half, senior captain Jason Carlos put the Mustangs ahead for good and into the playoffs when he scored with just over six minutes to play in the team's last regular season game. The Mustangs preserved the lead through stingy defense and strong mid-field play. Sophomore goalkeeper Greg Weiss also contributed in the win, making many key saves throughout the game.

Fourth year coach, Mr. Pereira, said "I am very pleased that the team achieved our pre-season goal of making the playoffs. This team is the most talented team I have ever coached during my career, and they deserve to be in the Class-B Playoffs for the second straight season."

Mineola was placed in the position to make the playoffs for the second consecutive season after a successful second half of the season. In their first game of the second section of the season, the Mustangs defeated previously unbeaten North Shore by the score of 4-2. Junior Jose Lopez scored a career high four goals in the game, as seniors Justin Clingo and Andre Mendes dominated the center of the field in Mineola's victory. In their next three games, the Mustangs outscored their opponents by a count of 10-0. Scoring goals for Mineola where John Sullivan, Paul Bispo, Drew Wachter, Justin Glingo and Jose Lopez. Strong defense by sophomore George Barros, juniors Joe Cerulli and James Escaleria, seniors Tom McPartland and Andre Mendes as well as captain Jonathan Debrich helped goalkeeper Greg Weiss record three consecutive shutout victories.

Despite two difficult defeats to Westbury and Oyster Bay, the Mustangs pulled together as a team to achieve their goal. The Mustangs are headed back to the single game elimination style playoffs, where they look to make some noise and achieve their ultimate goal, a county championship.

Once again, the Mineola High School Volleyball Team proved it's one of the strongest programs in Nassau County. The Lady Mustangs rolled through Conference IV - Division A - with a 14-2 record. Coach Karen Klein's Ladies finished off the regular season on a nice roll. Win number 12 came in four games over Garden City 6-15, 15-5, 15-5, 15-4. Vanessa Papadimitrois led the way with 16 kills. Lauren Callahan added 11 kills while Ashley O'Neill scored on 5 aces. The next victim was Plainedge. It was a tight 5-game match in which the Mustangs prevailed 15-4, 7-15, 10-15, 15-5. Papadimitrios again paced the way with 5 aces and 9 kills. Kristen Buglione came through with 5 aces. The regular season finale was a 5-game win over Manhasset. O'Neill hammered home 10 aces. Kristina Zunno scoped-up 10 digs while Callahan nailed 13 kills and Buglione had 8 assists. Another strong season earned the Lady Mustangs a spot in the Nassau County Class-B Playoffs.

Coach Frank Massaro guided his Girls Junior Varsity Soccer Team with another winning season. Despite opening the season with a team short on numbers and experience, Massaro's group won the Conference Title. The Mustangs clinched the league title in a 1-0 win over Bethpage. The contest was still scoreless with time running out. Goalkeeper Allie Murphy made a spectacular save late that prevented a possible loss. After that game-saving stop, the Lady Mustangs turned the ball upfield, and two nice passes from Joanna Canning and Theresa Dolan set-up Ashley McAree, who found the net and got Mineola the big win. One game that Massaro may look back at that gave his girls a chance to win the league title was an impressive 1-0 win over Seaford. McAree also scored that game's only tally off a nice pass from Caitlan Callahan. Murphy also turned in a shutout in the goal, the 7th this season for the Mustangs. Patty Munson, Denise Fitzpatrick, Joanna Canning and Margaret Phelan played strong defensively.

The Mustangs Boys Junior Varsity Soccer Team completed a season with 6 wins, 3 losses and 2 ties. The season finale was a 5-3 win over Bethpage. Philip Yan scored twice while JP Cifuentes, Kevin Azevedo and Leandro Fenster each scored a goal. Oscar Orosco and Ramon Valente turned-in strong defensive efforts while goalkeeper Chris Sallie preserved the win with several crucial saves late in the game. Earlier, the Mustangs notched a 4-2 win over Garden City. Peter Marson scored two goals while Fabio DeOliveira and Luis Rosa added goals. The Mineola defensive effort was led by Orozco and Mike Kandraciak in front of Chris Sallie, who got the win in goal.

The Mineola Junior Varsity Football Team continued its strong season with a 38-22 win over New Hyde Park. Steve Riccardi rushed for 134 yards and two touchdowns. Riccardi was able to scamper downfield because of the outstanding blocking provided by George Harrison, Chris Egner, Dan Mehra, Riccardo Cunha, Adam Minsky, Matt Jetter, Billy Mills and Dan Guido. The Mustang defense was led by James Holubowich, Rich and Dan Medlock.