By JUDITH STILES
Volume 73, Number 24 | October 15 – 21, 2003
SPORTS
Local kids kick it up a notch at Island tourney
At just about the same time every sports fan in the Northeast was riveted to the Yankees-Red Sox battle, our young soccer players from the Big Apple were also meeting their chief rivals in a showdown at a tournament in North Hempstead, Long Island.
Traditionally Long Island teams have had a reputation for being stronger than city teams, with their enormous player pool, rigorous soccer academies and countless gorgeous grass fields. These L.I. teams have also been known to be “apple pickers,” scooping up top talent from the city’s Cosmopolitan League to play for clubs on the Island. However, in the past few years the girls from the Cosmo League have chosen to stay in the boroughs and compete against the teams in Long Island, rather than join them.
At the North Hempstead Cup last year, our city girls played against top Division One teams and brought home a first place trophy. They were an U-13 team (under 13 years old) comprised of even younger players, with half the team 11-and-12-year-olds.
“In Long Island there is a vast player pool to draw from,” says Katherine Greene, parent of midfielder Sandy Greene. “This is significant because the teams are older, bigger and have been playing together for years.”
Well aware of their age and size disadvantage, this year the C.J.S.L. Girls Select Team chose to “play up” in an older age bracket to test their mettle. With the addition of only two guest 15-year-old girls, Chelsea Malone and Minnie Bennett, the very young, U-14 team chose to compete against U-15 teams from the Island. And this turned out to be the least of their worries.
A few days before the tourney began, coxsackievirus and multiple injuries ripped through the team, reducing its size from 18 to 12. Nevertheless, with only one substitute player on hand for four 70-minute games, they honored the city with a second-place trophy.
In the four games, M.V.P. went to Sandy Greene, Laura Palumbo and twice to the unstoppable Elisa Mulzac from the Bronx. Holding the midfield strong were Katie Giberson, Ashley O’Sullivan, Lorena Russi and Alison Lehrer. Ava Ginsberg and Sydney Chun played an impeccable defense while everyone was thrilled to see Amanda Ferraroto back in action after shattering her thumb last spring. She managed to score a key goal against the Division One Lady Tigers. When star player Anna Torregiano injured her knee in the second game, Coach Patrick O’Sullivan still managed to lead the team to winning their last two games.
This North Hempstead Tournament boasted over 300 teams participating, so not everyone was watching the Yankees and the Red Sox! The Under-11 boys team from Downtown United also challenged themselves by playing up in the top tier of the Under-12 Division, and with the leadership of Coach Mio Markovic they brought home a third-place trophy.
M.V.P. went to Macki Mansfield, Nathan Miller and twice to Andres Fernandez. Mathew Cooke and Danny Scholz played extremely well in defense, cutting down the opponents scoring opportunities over and over again. Spencer Brown treated the fans to a bicycle kick (kicking the ball backwards over his own head) while Connor Ronan-Faust made some great plays heading the ball.
Rocket goals were scored by lefty Arik Pablo Raviv, and E’lon Sayles scored on a beautiful header. Adam Miller once again impressed everyone with his magnificent speed while Mathew Raven, Colin O’Conner and Campbell Chatterjea faked out the opposition with their fancy footwork. Goalie Johnny O’Hara saved the day in stopping a difficult penalty kick and George Hirsch split his time with great play on the field and in goal.
This hot little team was the subject of endless chatter on Long Island Internet message boards when they caused a huge upset in defeating the number-two team in the first round of the State Cup this month. From Montauk to Queens, everyone was shocked that the little guys from the big city could defeat the mighty U-11 boys from East Meadow. Now our city boys are the talk of the town and the Island!
This hot little team was the subject of endless chatter on Long Island Internet message boards when they caused a huge upset in defeating the number-two team in the first round of the State Cup this month. From Montauk to Queens, everyone was shocked that the little guys from the big city could defeat the mighty U-11 boys from East Meadow. Now our city boys are the talk of the town and the Island!
Bottom row, left to right: Ashley O’Sullivan, Katie Giberson, Sandy Greene and Laura Palumbo. Top row, from left, Coach Patrick O’Sulllivan, Chelsea Malone, Alison Lehrer, Amanda Ferraroto, Elisa Mulzac, Ava Ginsberg, Sydney Chun and Minnie Bennett (absent — Anna Torregiano and Lorena Russi).
From left, Andres Fernandez, Connor Ronan-Faust and Matthew Cooke.
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