The Carle Place Athletic Booster Club sponsored the annual Kickoff Tournament at Carle Place High School on Friday, Sept. 8, and Saturday, Sept. 9.

In the first round, Carle Place and Westbury battled to a 2-2 tie. Senior, co-captain Jonathan Soranno and sophomore J.P. Metress provided the scoring for the Frogs. The Frogs advanced to the tournament finals against a talented Herricks HS team that had posted an impressive win over New Hyde Park and that went on to beat Carle Place 3-1. Once again, Jonathan Soranno provided the only goal for the Frogs. Both Jonathan Soranno and senior co-captain Mark Sterlacci were selected to the All-Tournament team.

After the finals and consolation games were completed on Saturday, all four teams were treated to a lunch provided by the Carle Place Athletic Booster Club. "Once again, the CPABC was there making the event just a little more special for all of the participants. On behalf of all four teams and their coaches, thank you to the CPABC for a wonderful tournament," noted a spokesperson for the young soccer players.

Since early September, the Frogs have continued to enjoy success during league competition by posting wins over Clarke (3-1), Lynbrook (6-1) and Plainedge (1-0). The teams only league loss thus far was against a very talented team from Great Neck North HS. The Frogs have demonstrated that this year's soccer team relies on good passing, unselfish play and a young but improved defensive effort. Sophomore goalie Steven Schabel, along with fellow sophomores Evan Shanahan (fullback), Matt Sterlacci (forward), J.P. Metress (midfielder), and freshman Dan Carlos (midfielder), provide Coach John Strassenreiter and Assistant Coach Andy Demakopoulos with five outstanding young players. All five starters have contributed to the team's overall success. These underclassmen joined some very talented juniors and seniors, to include Jim McGintee, Anthony Durante, Eric Nordmann, Nick Silva, L.J. Lopez, Nelson Silva, Vin Precipuo, Rob Santoro, Sergio Silva, Jonathan Williams, Rikesh Patel, Sezgin Gul, and Yuri Efimenko. The Frogs are now focused on their quest for a conference championship and a chance to meet the Seahawks, Baymen and/or Wildcats in post-season play.

The following are the results of the Annual Carle Place Athletic Booster Club's Kickoff Tournament 2000:

Winning Team: Herricks HS

Runner-up Team: Carle Place HS

All Tournament Team:

Herricks - Dan Verbanac - 11th grade

Carle Place - Mark Sterlacci - 12th grade

Carle Place - Jonathan Soranno - 12th grade

New Hyde Park - Brian Eilbott - 11th grade

Westbury - Grimaldi Garcia - 12th grade

Tournament Most Valuable Player

Herricks - Rob Philippou - 9th grade