It seemed like Uniondale International had a plan coming into their contest against the Division leading Magic. Play for a tie using the home field advantage to negate Mineola's edge in speed and passing. Two null - null contests in weeks six and seven, the last one on their home field, should have tipped off the Mineola coaches to a pattern. However, The Magic's coaches had other distractions the morning of the game. The neighborhood around Roosevelt High School looked great in comparison to the field that more closely resembled a postage stamp than a soccer pitch. The weekend's nor'easter had submerged an entire corner of the field next to one of the goals. The snapping corner flags looked like small craft warnings. After a discussion between the coaches and the referee it was decided to play in spite of the appearance of white caps and recent departure of the waterfowl from the corner. This late in the season scheduling a make-up game is difficult. Every game counts for The Magic in a tight race to stay on top of the Division. The referee reasoned that both teams had shown up and the girls wanted to play. Having only 11 players, the Uniondale coach requested abbreviated sessions of 25 minutes instead of the normal 35. Against the backdrop of the leaden skies, bone chilling wind and poor field conditions some compromise appeared reasonable and sportsmanlike. The Magic's coaches agreed to 30-minute halves.

Uniondale won the toss and elected to defend the goal with the moat and the wind at their backs. As soon as the opening whistle blew, it was obvious that Mineola's advantages in speed and skill were being negated by Uniondale's strategy. The Magic was playing on an extremely small field where it was difficult to develop any rhythm. Passing was erratic in a congested midfield and Uniondale's defense was packed in tight around the goal. The front they had to defend was narrowed further by the water hazard. Katie Carter, Kim Stillwell, Nicole De Stefano and Julia Yan were the swim team's medley relay that gamely tried to stay afloat in the saturated corner. Keeper Flynn was never seriously challenged probably handling the ball only 3-4 times the entire half. While the International's record was not good, a closer look revealed that they had averaged a stingy 1.7 goals scored against in their first seven games. Uniondale's biggest and best players were clearly on defense and included a competent goalie that was handling the ball a lot. The only really noteworthy events in a first half that looked more like a mud wrestling match than a soccer game were the number of handballs in the box that went uncalled by the referee. The usually reticent Magic coaches were obliged to point these missed calls out to the official, seemingly to no avail.

After splashing in the shallows for the first stanza, the second half saw The Magic attacks on drier footing. The game was not pretty to watch with 21 players packed into half of a small field. Even as The Magic were dominating the play, midfielders Kim Stillwell, Julia Yan, Leah Seyburn, Maggie Garcia and Nicole DeStefano were getting banged around by swarms of Uniondale defenders converging on the ball. The forwards, Ali Kain, Maggie Garcia, Marisa Jetter and Katie Carter were being punished in the corner clinches of the narrow field. The Magic's defense of Kelly LaRose, Jen Port, Chris McEnery and Maggie Hoban was turning in another flawless performance. All four defenders were actively involved in the offense adding their speed and punch to the Uniondale keeper's woes. Keeper Flynn was busy trying to stay warm, not touching the ball more than twice in the entire half.

On the other end, the Uniondale keeper was besieged. She was unable to clear her punts or goal kicks against the stiff breeze in her face. Even though she made several pretty saves, it was painfully obvious that she was trying to delay the game and help achieve the Uniondale strategy of playing for the draw. Fortunately, the referee realized who had requested the shorter periods and saw what they were doing with the indulgence. He warned the goalie twice after watching her casually stroll behind her net to retrieve errant Magic shots. When her delaying tactics continued in spite of the warnings, he went for his pocket and showed her a yellow card. The substitute goalie had no sooner pulled on her jersey than there was another Uniondale handball in the box. The difference was that this time the referee whistled the penalty. Katie Carter lined up at the penalty spot and buried it. With her penalty shot made, Katie had her streak of consecutive games in which she has scored extended to 7 matches.

Finally, the deadlock was broken. The International's scheme unraveled because they were never going to score on The Magic. Like many 1-0 games the score did not begin to tell the story. The Magic has one more test against Island Trees but the girls played tough under trying circumstances. Note: To the Cold Spring Harbor football team - the only thing nasty about Roosevelt High School was the soccer pitch. The football field was perfectly manicured.