The Tornadoes played two games last weekend, Nov. 5 and 6. On Saturday they beat Garden City 3-1 in Garden City and on Sunday, they beat Merrick 5-2.

In the Garden City game, Katie O'Brien didn't think twice to take a shot from a very difficult angle from the left side to the goal. Melissa Albanese followed a few minutes later with a goal of her own from the far right side of the field. Kristina Kim scored the third goal after beating her opponent from the center of the field.

On Sunday, in Merrick the Tornadoes took the lead very quickly in at the start of the game, by halftime it was 5-0 with goals from Allison Bliven, Kristie Kelly, Erin Allen, Kristina Kim, Katie O'Brien and Melissa Albanese.

With very comfortable leads in both games, the instructions at halftime was to concentrate on sharp short passing, with one or two touches and making sure that the ball moves forward with little effort. The Tornadoes, following the coach's instruction, displayed confidence and good sportsmanship toward their opponents.

The Tornadoes are in first place of their division. Next week, they will host Island Trees at East Woods.

The Eclipse played a hard fought 0-0 tie on a cold and dreary morning. The standout at goalkeeper was Madeline Greene who kept the game within reach of victory with key saves throughout the day. Cindy Maldonado had a strong defensive game at the sweeper position and was instrumental in keeping goals out of our net. Our offensive star for the day was Emily Siringo who had a few opportunities to score after breaking away from the defense. All 15 players contributed as has been the case throughout this exciting season.

The Rockets (U11 boys), split a double-header this weekend falling to Bethpage but dismantling Lynbrook 5-2.

The boys started the first half slowly (9 a.m. start!) which wasn't unusual as we seem to turn it on in the second as a rule.

True to form, they unleashed an offensive assault like none other and coupled their attack with aggressive defense.

The scoring was strategically shared by Luka Martinovic (1); Kevin Rubio (1); Ryan Sommi (1); and Quinn McQuade (2).

Jordan Contreras, Alec Chiappone, Chris Hoffman and A.J. Core all assisted in the scoring.

Our always stalwart defense led by our keeper Ari lewis, and a cast of defenders, Liam Gagliano, Ryan Gouse, Kyle Cartwright, Tyler Ozkan, and Matthew DelRosso held the opponents to a mere 2 goals. Incidentally, we sorely missed Will Duke (midfielder) due to illness that morning.

The Rockets host Franklin Square Saturday at East Woods and conclude the fall season the following Saturday with a trip to Wantagh.

This past weekend, Oyster Bay's U-12 boys showed what sportsmanship is all about.

The U-12 Raptors played the U-12 Mustangs in a Long Island Junior Soccer League division contest between friends. The teams are a mix of boys who have known each other for years, from their schools and from other teams where they've played side by side.

The Mustangs and Raptors were evenly matched and scoreless, with strong defense on both sides until late in the first half, Willie Treiber headed one in for the Raptors. Peri Ipiotis went the distance in goal for the Raptors, making excellent saves against tremendous pressure applied by Mustangs attackers including Ricardo Contreras, Henry Canales, Shane Reilly, Richie Barakat and Jake Horton. Raptor defenders Yorman Velasquez, Niklas Helmik and Rich Podpirka were flawless on the back line. They were supported by stopper Thomas Sweeney who got into the middle of every Mustang attack.

The Raptors' defensive unit allowed the Raptors' strikers to focus on their offense. Jonathan Ramirez registered a goal and Willie Trieber scored his second hat trick of the season. The Raptor forwards were supported by the sparkling play of midfielders Alex Carchietta, Joey Giunta and Jesse Marksohn.

Mustangs stopper Nick Gurzynski was powerful, again controlling the back of a developing defense that included Greg Nielsen, Jonathan Vega, sweeper Lucas Santora and a very able, new Mustang, goalie Phillip Mihlstin. Steven Tortora, Jazz Themelis, Scott Jones, Thomas O'Grady, Joey Bramble and James Pryor were always on the move, rounding out the middle for the Mustangs.

The boys played a tough, competitive with the Raptors finished on top 4-0. It was the Raptors second shutout in six games. The Mustangs and Raptors played like true gentlemen, making their coaches, their parents, the huge crowd of onlookers and themselves very proud.

The Oyster Bay Titans took a short ride to Hicksville to take on the Hornets who had beaten the Titans is a close game 3-2 last season, but the Titans finished ahead of them in league standings on Oct. 31.

The Hornet's sent the Titans packing with un-answered goals in both the first and second halves and scoring a 2-0 victory. The Titans had problems getting it out of their own end and it seemed they were on defense for most of the game. Frustration gave into skill regression as our Titans were just kicking the ball away and not staying with their basics. The loss brings the Titans to a respectable 3-3-1 for 10 points with two games remaining. They trail 1st place Albertson 6-0-0 for 18 pts, Farmingdale 5-0-1 for 16 pts. and Hicksville 4-1-1 for 14 pts. The Titans can end the season on a strong note with a home match vs. Freeport 1-4-1 for 4 pts. and then end the season in Oceanside who is 2-2-0 for 6 pts. Go Titans!