Looking Back at that Championship Season

There must have been magic packed in the bottles of Clairol No. 9 the night of Oct. 25 when, in preparation for the playoffs, the Roslyn boys' varsity soccer team decided to go blonde. The team dazzled Westbury the following week with a 2-1 win, and started the ball rolling. Then off to Jericho on a bitter cold Thursday afternoon, the Roslyn Bulldogs remained victorious after four overtimes in a thrilling shoot out surrounded by a crowd of Roslyn students and teachers cheering them on. A 4-0 Roslyn win over Seaford at Bethpage State Park led Roslyn into the Nassau County finals against last year's winner Wheatley. Roslyn's platinum player Chris Murray had the crowds stunned with his overtime goal against Wheatley making Roslyn the Nassau County Class B soccer champions. Then, on Nov. 10 Roslyn clinched the Long Island championship against Harborfields 2-1, in yet another overtime victory.

On Friday, Nov. 15 the team came dressed in brand new Champion sweats, and as the Roslyn High School band played on in the background, the proud forwards, midfielders, defenders and goalies boarded a coach bus off to Oneonta, NY to the Soccer Hall of Fame for the state championship title. That night the team was treated to a banquet dinner at SUNY Oneonta with the other New York State finalist teams. They awoke the following morning to a blanket of snow and temperatures in the 20s

As the Roslyn team arrived at the field to play the semi-final game against Canton, a crowd of family, friends and loyal fans were there to cheer them on. There were siblings from kindergarten to college, grandparents, cousins, teachers, neighbors and cheerleaders. Along with the team mascot, Coach Mejia's 4-month-old daughter who attended every season and play-off game, the fans equipped with cameras and banners in hand were bundled up and ready for another Roslyn victory. The crowd was not disappointed, and the Roslyn team carved their way through the snow and slush to a 2-1 win over Canton.

The culmination of a season, which started at the end of August, came three months later on Sunday afternoon, Nov. 17 against Owego Free Academy. An early goal by Owego put Roslyn on edge, but the team forged on through the freezing rain with a number of shots on goal, none proving successful. With three minutes left, Owego scored again leaving Roslyn no hope for their final victory. The game ended Owego 2, Roslyn 0.

The highlights of the Roslyn team were not in their locks of hair, but rather in their talent, determination, sportsmanship and spirit. Led by the excellent coaching of Juan Mejia, the team shared an experience of a lifetime. It was the first time in 22 years that Roslyn had made it to the state final championship level. If there is one thing that these boys have learned, it is that soccer players do have more fun!

Congratulations to the dream team of Roslyn, the Roslyn Boys' Varsity Soccer team of 2002!