Just when you thought that the passing of March, with its cold temperatures, gusty winds, and even snow was behind us, April, May and June had their own weather surprises for us. The snows of March gave way to below average temperatures in April and May and rain, rain, and more rain, in June. Despite the unusual weather, the play of the Mineola Shooting Stars showed no adverse effects. As their final record would indicate, their sights were set on finishing in first place. Here's how they did it:

With their two games in the win column in games against Garden City Park and Syosset, the Shooting Stars set their sights on the Valley Stream Jogo Bonito. As they have done so many times before, Mineola opened the scoring as Katie Steen scored the first of her first two goals of the game. In short order Gabby Lamberta, Christine Medlock and Liz Sanderleaf would score as Mineola moved out to a 5-0 lead at the half. With the game a blowout, Coach Peralta opened the second half with his forwards out of the game, the defense in midfield and forward positions, midfielders back on defense and played second line players extensively to hold down the score. Even with these changes, Mineola tallied two more times in the second half on goals by Amanda Klein and Jess Antonison as Mineola blew out Valley Stream 7-0.

With their record at 3 wins and 0 losses, the Shooting Stars took time out to travel to Lindenhurst to play the Green Thunder in the Waldbaum Cup. With Christine Medlock leading the way offensively and the defensive unit led by Jess Antonison and Alyssa Glenn, and goalie Nicole Peralta, Mineola cruised to a 2-0 win. Lindenhurst had their hands full as Christine scored two goals for Mineola and offensively, could not penetrate Mineola's defense to get off a serious shot on goal. With this win, The Shooting Stars moved to the quarter round of the Waldbaum Cup.

Getting back to the LIJSL schedule, and looking for win number four, the Shooting Stars traveled to Plainedge to square off against the Survivors. On a gray, overcast and foggy day, Mineola once again opened the scoring on a goal by Christine Medlock. Clearly dominating on both sides of the ball, Mineola would hit the back of the net twice in the second half on goals by Gabby Lamberta and Stacy Estrada and the defense would "pitch" its third shutout in as many games as Mineola breezed to a 3-0 win.

With their record now at 4-0, the Shooting Stars moved back to tournament play to face Manorville's Meteorites in the quarter final round of the Waldbaum Cup. With the start of the baseball season at hand, the Shooting Stars, along with all of Mineola travel teams, were relegated to the back field behind the pool for the balance of the season. Clearly in an abused state, the field was missing one half of its grass surface and was littered with rocks and ruts. How unfortunate that this was the field Mineola's coaches had to present to the visiting team.

In what could only be described as embarrassing field conditions, and in what can only be described as a knock down - drag out battle, Manorville opened the scoring early to take a 1-0 lead on a loose rebound in front of Mineola's goal. From the outset, Manorville clearly intended to play a physical game. Any Mineola player touching or moving to the ball was quickly met with a push or a shove, clearly intended as a means of intimidation rather than smart soccer. The referee, apparently intent on allowing the physical play, called very little in the way of interference or pushing calls. Mineola, clearly taken out of its game in the first 20 minutes of the game, collectively saw what they were up against and implemented their own brand of physical soccer, intending on keeping themselves in the game. With the score remaining 1-0 at the half, Mineola clearly needed a break and a goal to lift them in the second half. With the second half coming to a close they got both. On a corner kick by Jess Antonison, and headed in by Katie Steen, Mineola tied the score 1-1 as the second half came to an end. Under tournament rules for tied games, the teams play two five minute periods. If no team should score, the teams go to a shoot-out format. With the overtime periods played just as evenly as the regulation halves, the teams moved to the shoot-out. With emotions raw, Mineola saw their hopes sail high, wide, or right at Manorville's goalie. Manorville, to their credit, scored two goals of their own and took the game 3-1.

With no break in the schedule, the Shooting Stars took the field the very next day against the New Hyde Park Lady Lynx. Lifted by a first half goal by Katie Steen, the Shooting Stars settled for what would be their only blemish on their season record, a 1-1 tie. Clearly drained by the loss to Manorville, the Shooting Stars managed to hold their own and get out of the game with a point towards the standings.

With the game against Bayside cancelled due to the extreme weather that weekend, the Shooting Stars moved on to play the Rockville Centre Lightning Bolts. As they have done so many times before, Mineola opened the scoring as Christine Medlock scored the first of goal of the game. In short order Katie Steen, Aileen Hogarty and Liz Sanderleaf (twice) would score as Mineola moved out to a 5-0 lead at the half. With the game a blowout, Coach Peralta opened the second half with his forwards out the game, the defense in midfield and forward positions, midfielders back on defense and played second line players extensively to hold down the score. Even with these changes, Mineola tallied one more time in the second half on a goal by Lauren Massa, her first of the season, as Mineola blew out Rockville Centre 6-0.

With their record at 5 wins, 0 losses and 1 tie, the Shooting Stars moved on to play the Bethpage Bobcats. Following their patented formula, Mineola tallied the first goal of the game on a goal by Aileen Hogarty. Like clockwork, Mineola scored three more times in the first half on a second goal by Aileen, and two goals by Katie Steen, to take a 4-0 lead at the half. Once again, Mineola shifted players in order not to run up the score and imposed a "no shot from inside the box" rule. Even with these restrictions, Mineola tallied twice in the second half on goals by Amanda Klein and Alyssa Glenn as Mineola secured its fifth win and fourth defensive shutout, 6-0.

Looking for their seventh win, the Shooting Stars moved on to face the Valley Stream Xtreme. With the game previously postponed due to rain, the Xtreme could not field a full team for the make-up game and forfeited by a score of 1-0.

With an opportunity to finish the season undefeated, the Shooting Stars next faced the Bayside Flyers. Once again, Mineola opened the scoring on a goal by Christine Medlock. In short order, Christine would follow up her goal with another goal, followed by Aileen Hogarty and Lindsay Tucker to take a 4-0 lead at the half. Despite their "no shot from inside the box" rule, Mineola would score once more in the second half on a goal by Christine Medlock, her third goal of the game. With the defeat of Bayside, Mineola finished their season undefeated with an 8 win, 0 loss, 1 tie record and a first place finish in Division 5W.

For those who love team statistics, here goes...... The Shooting Stars' eight wins were the most ever by the team since their creation in the spring of 1998. The team's combined record for the Fall '02 - Spring '03 seasons was 15 wins, 1 loss and 2 ties. This season's offensive machine was led by Katie Steen with 8 goals, followed in short order by Aileen Hogarty and Christine Medlock with 6 goals and Liz Sanderleaf with 3 goals. Defensively, the tandem of Jess Antonison, Alyssa Glenn and goalie Nicole Peralta, allowed only 3 goals this season; an average of .33 goals per game and "pitched" 7 shutouts in nine games. Offensively, Mineola scored a total of 33 goals, an average of 3.66 goals per game. Congratulations to all the girls, their coaches, and fans for a most successful season.

This season's Mineola Shooting Stars' team consists of: Jess Antonison, Stacy Estrada, Alyssa Glenn, Aileen Hogarty, Amanda Klein, Gabrielle Lamberta, Lauren Massa, Christine Medlock, Nicole Peralta, Tina Peralta, Deidre Reedy, Liz Sanderleaf, Katie Steen, and Lindsay Tucker.