November 3 weekend in SHFC's 2019 soccer season

The fall 2019 season in the Westchester Youth Soccer League is drawing to a close for many teams. Some have their final game this upcoming Sunday November 10; otherwise, all remaining teams conclude fall play on Sunday November 17. One team in particular, the Varsity girls Mustangs, has just begun a 3 week mini-season now that their fall High School seasons have concluded. This team, comprised of players across five different local high schools, is the longest-running SHFC team. As many of our eldest players don the SHFC uniform for their final fall, we would like to acknowledge their hard work, as well as the commitment of their families and volunteer coaches.

Here are recaps of all SHFC games this past weekend:

Boys 2011 All Reds hosted the New Rochelle Strong at Pocantico Hills School field. The score is not available. They travel to the Pelham Avengers on November 10.

Girls 2011 Chaos hosted the New Rochelle Raptors. The score is not available. They play their final fall game at 12:15on at Pocantico Hills School Field against the Rye Spirit. Chaos are coached by Kevin Richardson and John Sutherland.

2010 Girls Bandits played a terrific game on Sunday versus the Mahopac Storm resulting in a 1-1 tie. The game opened with Eli Impastato in Goal, Marianna Patsch, Melodie Molina and Lily Glynn providing a strong wall of defense, and Mackenzie Linhart, Ada Chalfy and Mila Gallagher on the offensive end of the field. The first half was a display of great passing and lots of shots on goal by the Bandits. In all, there were 7 shots on goal by the Bandits, 2 saves by Impastato in the first half and Mahopac snuck in a goal towards the end of the first half.

The second half was a nail biter - the girls all played excellent games. The offensive line held strong with three aggressive players Gallagher, Patsch and Molina. Noa Levine and Chalfy later joined the offense and eventually secured a goal toward the end of the second half! Linhart, Impastato, Natalia Hargraeves and Marley DeFilippis provided great protection for Lily Glynn in goal, who had 3 saves.

The Bandits have two games this coming weekend. On Saturday, they face John Jay at 3 pm at our home field at the Pocantico Hills School. On Sunday, they play away at Yorktown at 12 pm.

2010 Boys Shadows continue their undefeated streak when they faced Manhattan Dynamo this past Sunday and defeated them 6-3 The boys came out strong and ready to dominate as Elion Ashiru lands an easy goal during the first few minutes of play. Jackson Pena had several shots on goal and displayed solid follow through. Brandon Wang protected his goal in defense and Joaquin Rodriguez was able to set up several shots on goal. Pena had a nice pass to Jayden Morocho who made a quick turnaround to Denis Suqui who was able to land the second goal of the game. Bobby Gonzalez assisted in defense.

Halftime came and Shadows didn’t slow down. The Dynamo had a slow second half start that featured 2 self goals. Leo Zohar was featured in goal the entire game and probably saw the most action with plenty of shots blocked and letting only 3 goals get past him. Another goal by Ashiru and Hagai Frechter finished the game 6-3 for the Shadows. In their final game of the season this Sunday they will face off against the Eastchester Warriors and will hope to finish the season undefeated.

2009 Girls Red Fury won 3-1 on the road against the JPSC Red. The Red Fury are 3-4 on the fall season so far and are coached by Katie McMahon and Jim McGovern. The play their final fall season game at 1:30pm at Hackley School field against the Castleford Stingrays.

2009 Boys United won 4-1 on the road against the Bedford Avalanche. United are coached by John Patino and are currently 7-0 atop their division. At 12noon on November 10, they will host the Harrison Rapids at the Hackley School field.

2009 Boys Red Lions tied 3-3 with the LMFC White United at home. On November 10, they travel to Randalls Island to take on the Manhattan Boca. The Red Lions have a 3-1-3 record in division 1 of their age group and are coached by Brad Scheller.

2008 Girls Red Comets had a slow start against the Mamaroneck/Larchmont Blue Pumas and found themselves behind 3-0 after the first half. The Comets came back strong in the second half with better ball control and passing along the left and right wings especially between Leila Dillow and Yvonne Leonardo and Erin Arnegger and Greta Wuerffel who all put up a good hustle. Amani Carty and Mia Martinez held their ground in the middle with their strong kicks and defensive blocks. Leila Dillow, Giovanna Fanelli and Cassie Junge attempted shots on goal, but the Puma goalie stopped the ball from passing her. But then came striker Ava Mendez with her quick feet and swift moves. Ava put the Comets on the score board with a great shot into the goal that got spectators roaring on the sidelines. A few minutes later, Amani Carty came right down the middle and put another one past the Puma goalie to get the Comets within one point.

Although Antonia Fanelli (goalie in second half) had a couple of good saves, she couldn't stop two more goals from the Pumas. One was a rocket that soared above her head and the other snuck in through a side hole in the goal's net.

The Comets showed persistence and didn't give up throughout the game and we are all very proud of them. Final score was 5-2 Pumas. The Comets will meet the Harrison Dynamo for their last game of the season.

2008 Boys Fusion

The undefeated Fusion faced the Wolfgang Hubbies in the Bronx, a team they had tied earlier in the year at home. Luke Tonaj opened the scoring early in the game with a beautiful touch fed from Sebastian Londono that was cleanly placed in the corner of the net. Wolfgang quickly answered back after a Fusion defensive lapse left a man open at the 6yard line knotting the score at 1. A few minutes later, Edwin Dutan was able to feed Luke again in the box who nimbly dribbled through two defenders before scoring with a strong shot that pulled Fusion ahead 2-1 just before half time.

Once again however, Wolfgang was able to answer back early in the second half to pull even at 2. Then for a tense final 20 minutes, Fusion’s defense held strong and fought off numerous aggressive Wolfgang attacks. Brilliant back line play by Bruno Flores, Raul Socualaya, Olin Keogh and Jaiden Brito bent but didn’t break and alternating keepers Marcus Spartaro and Pierce Davis contributed to the shutout for remainder of the game. Consistent offensive pressure applied by forwards Sean Mackiewicz, Dylan Pasato, and Shyam Manjanath had a Wolfgang keeper on his heels all game and their break finally came when Kieran Degen played a thru ball into space that had a speedy Sebastian outracing the defender for a game winning finish past Wolfgang’s diving keeper to close the game 3-2.

This win keeps Fusion undefeated and alive for their division championship with a final week showdown against current division leader Eastchester Typhoon. But before that final week showdown, Fusion will travel on November 10 to the John Jay Purple and must win in order to keep division hopes alive.

2008 Boys River Sharks won 6-1 at home against the Yorktown Clash on November 10 they host the Munay Red at 3pm at Hackley School field. The River Sharks, currently with a 4-2-1 record, are coached by Ed Greenberg, Gerardo Soto and Michael Glynn.

2007 Girls Blaze had a nice 6 - 0 win Sunday against the Yorktown Tsunami Premier Team at Sleepy Hollow High School, a field many of the girls will one day know as their home field when they play for the high school team.

With both Blaze coaches John Sutherland and Jim Wurster as well as Sleepy Hollow Girls Modified coach, "Coach D" looking on, Kayla McGuigan intercepted a pass near midfield three minutes into the game and dribbled past several Tsunami defenders and scored an unassisted goal. Coach D, who recently coached many of the Blaze players to a perfect undefeated, untied season in their Middle School Section with 7 clean sheets, must have been happy seeing the Blaze get off to a quick lead. The lead became larger two minutes later when Kayla McGuigan's high corner kick was headed into the Tsunami net by Blaze forward Lizzie Molina. The lead stretched to 3 - 0 six minutes later when Sami "Beast Mode" Marvin intercepted throw-in by the Tsunami and passed the ball to Lizzie Molina. Lizzie dribbled down the sideline and hen made a perfect centering pass to Kimmie Molina, who made a nice high kick over the Tsunami goalie. Most of the remaining first half was played on the Tsunami side of the field as midfielders Lilly Wurster and Samantha Mendieta along with defenders Zoey Murphy, Gabby "The Minister of Defense" Disney and Juliana Marvin constantly challenged and turned away Tsunami drives up the field. Just before half time, Blaze midfielder Jhoselyn Pugo used her quickness to win a loose ball and passed to Kayla McGuigan. Kayla used her strong dribbling ability and power to go around four different defenders and power a kick past the leaping Tsunami goalie, making the Blaze lead 4 - 0 at the half.

Five minutes into the second half, defender Penny McVey made a nice pass to streaking Blaze forward Gemma Fante. Gemma used her dribbling ability and quickness to go around a defender and her open shot from 20 feet away found the corner of the net, putting the Blaze ahead 5 - 0. Ten minutes later, the Blaze's practice on corner kicks paid off again when Kayla McGuigan's high arching corner kick from the far left side of the field was corralled and kicked into the corner of the net by Penny McVey, on a planned play. Daisy Star came off the bench and helped thwart to Tsunami attacked with successful challenges of the dribbler. The score remained 6 - 0 the rest of the way, with the Tsunami's best chance of a goal spoiled when Blaze goalie Emily Aridas came out of the box on a Yorktown breakaway to challenge and knock the ball away. Although a rare goalie penalty was called on the play, the resulting free kick was handled by the goalie, one of 5 saves on the day by Emily.

Next week the Blaze will look to continue their winning streak in Chappaqua, against the first-place Cheetahs. The Blaze defeated the Cheetahs in September, and will certainly need their full roster, including the Blaze who missed Sunday's game - Ellie Fox, Meghan O'Hanlon and Carina Armster, to secure another victory.

2007 Boys Dynamo had a pre-scheduled bye week on November 3. They close out their season on November 10 on the road against the Castleford Titans.

2007 Boys Dutchmen prevailed 4-0 against the division-leading Rivertowns United Lightning Bolts. On November 10, they will host the Chappaqua Cosmos at 11am at Washington Irving school field. The Dutchmen are in second place of their division with a 3-1-3 record.

2006 Girls Storm won 2-0 at home against the Shrub Oak Thunder. On November 10, they travel to Randalls Island to take on the Manhattan Rockets. With a 3-3-1 record in Division 1 of their age group, the Storm are coached by Kevin Richardson, Tom Andruss, and Deepak Kapoor.

2006 Boys Firebolts, coached by Matt Weidner, fell 2-1 on the road against the division-leading Lansdowne Yonkers Cougars. On November 10, they travel to the FC Transylvania Barca White. The Firebolts are 2-4-1 in Division 2 of their age group.

2006 Boys Warriors fell 3-0 on the road against the Alba Sharks. On November 10, they travel to the New Rochelle Arrows. The Warriors have a 4-3 record in their division.

2005 Girls Cyclones faced the Portchester Wild Cats at home. The game was well matched from the start. However, the Wild Cats would be first score at minute 30. The score at the half was 1-0. The Wild Cats kick and run game began to knock the Cyclones off their game plan. The Cyclones defense did an amazing job of stopping goals from being scored but it was a matter of time before one of those shots on goal found the net. The Cyclones held the Wild Cats off but they would score their second goal at 50 minutes. At 60 minutes, Shea B. carried the ball up the right flank dribbled to the middle where she was given space. She took a shot at the 35-yard line well behind the 18 and put in the only goal of the game for the Cyclones. It was an amazing shot that caught the Wild Cats keeper off guard! The Cyclones were energized and began to attack but they simply ran out of time. The final was 2-1 Wildcats. Lauren K. deserves recognition for her goalkeeping. She was in the zone as she had nine, saves six of which involved coming out of the goal and taking the ball away from the Wild Cats.

2005 Boys Red Legends took firm control of first place in the premier division with back-to-back games against second place Rivertowns United Saturday and Sunday. During game one Sleepy Hollow found themselves down 0-1 and rallied to take a 3-1 lead. Goals were scored by Aiden Smith, Christopher Panjon, and Piero Cabanillas. Unfortunately the boys let the lead slip and Rivertowns managed to tie the game with only minutes left. All Rivertowns’ scores were off of direct foul kicks in scoring range. Rivertowns was able to beat the Red Legends’ wall and get deflections all three times. In match number two Sleepy Hollow took control early and dominated the game throughout. Aiden Smith got the early lead from right wing showing speed and a clever finish of the far post. The Red Legends asserted themselves and had many more scoring opportunities that just missed. They played the final 20 minutes with a man down after a red card and even so.....Dylan Orellana managed to add a score. The final was 2-0 putting the Red Legends in command of the division. If the red Legends win one or tie both of their next two games they will bring home the first premier division title to Sleepy Hollow.

JV Boys Los Gauchos fell 3-1 on the road against the Rye Brook Warriors. On November 10, they host the Port Chester Jaguars at 9am at Washington Irving turf field. Los Gauchos have a 3-4 record in the Premier League of their Junior Varsity division.

Varsity Girls Mustangs

The 26 Varsity Girls Mustangs have been busy representing 5 different area high schools this fall. With the school seasons winding down club soccer begins with a 3 game November mini-season. Coaches John Sutherland, Matt Evans, and Mike Weitzen had the girls play a tune-up scrimmage Saturday against the 2006 boys team which allowed the Mustangs to integrate nine new players from the former Striker squad. The boys played well handing the Mustangs a 2-3 defeat but getting them prepared for their Sunday opener against the division 1 Riverdale Phoenix in the Bronx. The Mustangs started strong and made quick work of the over-matched Phoenix with an easy 6-0 win. Juliana Largess led scorers with two goals. Sophia Khosrowshahi, Isabella Chambers, Melanie Urgiles, and Kathleen Sicha each added a goal. The Mustangs are in sole possession of first place of division 1 and play a different cross-division 2 Riverdale team next Sunday.

Photo included of Varsity Girls Mustangs and 2006 combined boys Warriors/Firebolts squad.

For more information about SHFC, please visit http://www.sleepyhollowfc.com