The Mineola Mischief made their travel team debut in the Rockin' Soccer Tournament at Speno Park in East Meadow sponsored by Stop 'N Shop and the Town of Hempstead. The squad, coached by New York Institute of Technology Soccer Alumnus Liam Wachter, played three games in a unique but enjoyable soccer format on the 14th of July. The three game tournament was played on inflatable barrier fields with no goalies and no out of bounds unless the ball was kicked above the ten foot high mesh walls. The team members also competed in skills competitions for shooting, dribbling and passing

The first game of the competition was a high scoring tempest with the Mischief getting off to a solid start against the New Hyde Park Blues. TJ Winters, Brendan Maloney and Danny McAree converted quick chances en route to a 5-3 halftime spread. This was a balanced team effort as James Pastoressa, Danny Stagnari and Scotty Mogavero added to the tally in the second half with six of eight players making the scoresheet. Mike Castellana and Frankie Texiera traded posts as defensive stoppers. The game was well in hand before New Hyde Park rallied late for a 10-10 tie. McAree was the scoring hero with three goals and Winters and Maloney deposited a pair each in the opposing net.

Game two was a comeuppance for the Mischief. They faced off versus the East Meadow Falcon Juniors who may have been the New York/New Jersey MetroStars. The Falcons were a passing machine despite the mini-fields used for this tourney. Their backpassing and multiple touches before shots led to an 8-2 midway advantage. Stagnari and Winters notched early points before Pastoressa connected late. The East Meadow defense was extraordinary and the game quickly became a lesson in futility for the young Mineolans.

The final game pitted the Mischief opposite Hicksville. Defensive lapses caused problems for Mineola and the offense was silent before halftime. The boys had difficulty clearing balls past midfield enabling Hicksville's deadly shooters to connect on long balls and ricochets. In the second half, the Mischief recovered competitively by shifting player positions in an excellent move by Coach Wachter. Frankie Texiera moved to forward and paid immediate dividends with his only goal of the day. McAree and Maloney added to their daily totals as well. Excepting the 0-8 shortfall at halftime, the boys played well to only allow four goals to their three in the latter session.

Coach Wachter challenged his young team to step up from this experience. The boys have been together but a month as a team and are coming together rapidly. Danny McAree with four goals on the day and TJ Winters and Brendan Maloney with three apiece led the scoring parade. James Pastoressa and Danny Stagnari netted two each with Scott Mogavero and Frank Texiera rounding out the box score. Mike Castellana may have been shut out but his defense was well needed and left little chance to score. The team is looking to schedule future competions, tournaments and scrimmages against the senior Mineola travel team en route to improve their fundamentals and be ready for the start of the fall regular season.