SHFC Continues to Perform: Week 4 Highlights

Win, lose or draw, the Sleepy Hollow Football Club brings its A game every week. Our players consistently demonstrate passion for the game and sportsmanship on the field. It was a gorgeous weekend for soccer. Read on for this past week’s highlights.

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The girls Varsity Mustangs had their game postponed because visiting team had a player test positive for Covid.

The premier Junior Varsity Red Legends remain in control of their destiny after destroying Mahopac 13-0. Aiden Smith was unstoppable devastating the visitors offside trap with 4 goals. Frank Mendieta and Juan Rojas scored two each. Jai Weitzen, Ludwin Tenezaca, Piero Cabanillas, Christopher Merchan, and Andy Pulla each scored as well. Marco Contreras had the shutout at keeper. The Red Legends next travel to Rye.

SHFC Blaze parents knew it had to happen sooner or later. Blaze coaches John Sutherland and Annette O'Hanlon knew it would happen eventually as well. After going undefeated in the Fall 2020 WYSL Premier U-14 division, and posting a perfect record through the first 3 weeks of the Spring season with two clean sheets, even the players knew they would eventually lose a game, which they did Sunday to the Castleford Ravens, by a 3 - 0 score.

The Blaze's undefeated streak when playing 11 v 11 remained unbroken however, as only 10 Blaze players appeared for the match. The Ravens quickly capitalized on their player advantage as in the 6th minute of the match a breakaway led to a quick 1 - 0 Raven lead. With 95% of the play in the first half on the defensive side of the field, the beleaguered Blaze defense of Jay "V8" Marvin, Gabby the Minister of Defense" Disney, Zoey Murphy and Meghan O'Hanlon did a fantastic job to go into half time down only 2 - 0. All successful challenges and passes upfield were quickly returned by the extra Raven midfielder to Raven strikers to try and get another goal. The defense did their best, and the last line of defense, goalie Emily Aridas had a dozen saves in the half. It was is the 35th minute of the match when an opposing parent gave Juliana Marvin her new nickname, as he was amazed at how quickly the girl in uniform #8 could turn on her engine to chase a Ravens player from behind and steal the ball. She has a V-8 engine that one, the amazed parent exclaimed.

Reinforced by Ava Mendez, who was watching play after finishing her own game with the Red Comets, the Blaze played a much more balanced game in the second half. Midfielders Lizzie Molina, Ava Mendez, and Jhoselyn Pugo were able to feed passes from their defense to forwards Sammi Marvin, Cassie Junge, and Gemma Fante. In the 67th minute of the match, Blaze goalie Emily Aridas had a save of the SHFC year to-date when she beat an opposing Ravens striker in a 1 v 1 challenge with a leaping, full-extension diving save, deflecting the shot out of bounds.

Showing great determination to get back into the match, the Blaze were able to get several scoring chances. The closest was in the 70th minute when off a corner kick by Gamma Fante, several Blaze forwards including Cassie Jung and Lizzie Molina were able to take quick close-in shots, but the Ravens' defense was able to turn away the shots. Pressing, with all Blaze players forward, a breakaway in the final seconds of the match by the Ravens made the final score 3 - 0. The loss on their home field was the first home loss by the Blaze since 2019.

Hopefully back at full strength next week, the Blaze will have a morning match on Mother's Day at 9 am in Chappaqua against the Chappaqua Cheetah's.

Fusion (Boys 2008) hosted the Rivertowns United Wolfpack, taking on this team for the first time for a hot game on SHHS turf. Fusion would control much of possession through the match. Alessandro Soto fed the ball to Sebastian Londono for Fusion's first goal, which looped high into the net. A few minutes later, Josh Ortiz muscled the ball past several defenders to Luca Dominguez for the score. Edwin Dutan scored just before the half with a long shot from more than 20 yards out. Additional first half attempts from Kieran Degen, Luke Tonaj, Ian Papadopoulos, Soto, Ortiz and Londono were saved by the goalie or bounced off the crossbar.

In the second half, Eoghan Glynn sent the ball to Tonaj for Fusion's fourth and final goal. Notable airborne attempts from Jayden Perez, Glynn, Raul Socualaya, Dylan Largo and Degen made the game look more like volleyball than soccer for a while. Fusion's defense was critical to the victory and, as usual, Aiden Lee and Luca Simbana held steady, providing many opportunities for Fusion's offense. Bruno Flores and Shyam Manjanath contributed positively on both offense and defense.

Goalie duties were shared by Pierce Davis and Jonathan Figueroa, who each saved several. The Wolfpack scored toward game's end when their player scored off a very fast breakaway.

While Fusion was happy for the win, coaches Ken Mackiewicz, Michael Glynn and Michael Degen, as well as the crowd, grew frustrated watching the team's inability to convert from its many attempts. Still, Fusion dominated possession and showed superior ball control on a very hot pitch. Fusion is 3-1 and will travel to the Pelham Strikers on Sunday.

The Red Fury is coached by Katie McMahon and faced off against the North Salem Tigercats this past weekend and decisively won 7 - 0. This game highlighted great teamwork amongst the players, strategy, and ball possession. The Tigercats never presented a challenge to the Red Fury who maintained ball possession throughout the game.

In the first half, Rose Ritz opened the scoring after a sublime pass from Rachel Richardson who won the ball from the Tigercats in a challenge. Rose applied constant attacking pressure on the Tigercats throughout the game. The attacking line of Julia Maad, Rachel Richardson, and Maiyumi Marcus-Kanesaka had numerous opportunities to shoot on goal. Julia on the left wing had excellent crosses into the center and to her teammates. Lauren Monachelli and Sofia Cruz proved to be dynamic pair as they connected on several attacks which culminated in the first half of a brace for Sofia,

At the beginning of the second half, Rachel stole the ball from the Tigercats' defense and scored. This was followed by a cross by Meghan McMahon to Lauren who took a shot on goal. The goalie was able to block the shot but could not control it and Lauren poked it away from the goalie to score. Mia Gurreri playing defense, managed to win the ball and took a shot from the 30-yard line and her ball found the back of the net. Towards the end of the game, Meghan stole the ball from the defenders and scored. This was followed by Sofia who also stole the ball from the defenders and poked it in and thus securing a brace.

The Red Fury's defenders consisting of Sawara Ketkar, Natalie Coffman, Katherine Masters, and Mia and Meadow Gurreri did an excellent job winning the ball away from the Tigercats and feeding it to midfielders Breanne Rodriguez and Rachel. Meghan and Maiyumi played goalie.

The 2010 Girls Red Bandits maintained their spot at the top of their league standings with another high-scoring victory at 6-1 over New Rochelle this weekend. The Bandits have scored 19 goals in three games, and continue to show confidence and superb teamwork on the field.

Mackenzie Linhart came out strong with a huge goal from nearly midfield to take the Bandits up by 1 early in the game. The offense was relentless, with Sabrina Graham flexing muscle up front with 3 assists, and Ada Chalfy and Katie Yalmokas scoring goals number 2 and 3. Elizabeth Impastato was a force at the goal in the first half, with 5 saves and some huge kicks. Ada Chalfy hammered another goal in from the left side to bring the Bandits up to 4-1 at the half.

The team showed versatility in the second half, with Marianna Patsch, Katie Yalmokas and Mila Gallagher taking the driver’s seat up front. Marianna Patsch scored goal number 5, and got a few more looks at goal after that. The defense, led by Marley DeFilippis and Lily Glynn, was nearly impenetrable, and with Sabrina Graham at goal, denied the opposition any goals in the half. Ada Chalfy put away goal number 6, and Mila Gallagher frustrated the opposing defense with her speed, footwork and tenacity. All of the team showed tremendous grit, perseverance and sportsmanship, and are looking forward to next week.

The Shadows faced off against Scarsdale B2010 on Sunday at Pocantico Field and wasted no time out of the gate having suffered a loss last week to Riverdale 5-1. Leo Zohar was in goal for the Shadows and was much more aggressive and effective this week with great decision making and overall communication with the team. Denis Suqui had impressive passes throughout the game and Nico Barbosa showed off great teamwork strategies with calm and poise. Elion Ashiru had several shots on Scarsdale’s goal and sailed one in at the 11-minute mark. Shadows boys played hard and hustled and were aggressive with the ball. Scarsdale was fast and had fresh legs, with five subs, while Shadows had zero subs. Branden Wang is our human wall as he lets almost no balls through defense. Luka Surguladze had an amazing dribbling series going through 4 Scarsdale players. Joaquin Rodriguez had his magic left foot sail a beautiful goal over Scarsdale's keeper at the 22-minute mark bringing the score 2-0. Scarsdale immediately answered back with a goal to bring it to 2-1.

The second half of the game featured Andrew Lucchetti as impressive in defense as always and really made his way all over the field to stop whatever he could. Duncan Barron showed incredible hustle and got in front of any ball that came his way in striker position. The boy’s fatigue was showing and Scarsdale was able to score a goal at the 45 minute mark. However, the Shadows held strong and worked together to remain aggressive and hold the score to finish at 2-2. The Shadows face off against Eastchester in Tuckahoe this Sunday.

Chaos (Girls 2011) travelled to Rye Brook for an excellent well-matched game. While Chaos ultimately lost 1-0 due to a late Rye Brook goal, Chaos played well and showed a great cohesive team effort. The team will travel to John Jay FC on Sunday.

The Jr. Legends pulled out an exciting 2-1 home victory over the Yonkers Dynamite on Sunday. A well contested and tight contest saw the Legends erase a one goal deficit in the first half for their first win of the season. Goals from Miguel Sevilla Pérez and Elliot Scherich highlighted a great team victory!

The All Reds (Boys U10) had a lopsided win against John Jay 6-1 at WI grass field. Goal scorers included Dennis Van Lent, Emanual Clavijo, Ryan McMahon, and Jackson Nielson. Special shout out to Oliver Sillitoe and Max Miller who were on loan from the (also victorious) Jr Legends team. With the rainouts so far this season, this was only the mighty All Reds' second game of the season. The boys in red were a little slow to start but obviously found their groove later in the game and were easily able to dispatch this new divisional foe. Kudos to coaches Ben Nielson and Nathan Scherich for showing respect to the very tardy referee and his many quite suspect calls.

The Red Devils knew they had their work cut out for them when FC Somers City scored on the first play of the game. They stepped up to the challenge, matching Somers in intensity and grit. Sunday's match saw some of the best offensive plays yet from the Red Devils, with several dashes up the sidelines, break-through's near the net, and crosses to get the ball in scoring position. The work paid off, with three goals for the Red Devils. All of the goals were the result of great teamwork and passing to the middle, scored by David Alban, Marco Robilotto, and Rodrigo Figueroa. Max Muinos, Sebastian Espinoza, and Henry Kromelis also had great attempts at the net. Ultimately, the three goals weren't enough to top FC Somers. The team continues to improve in communication and gaining offensive confidence, and looks forward to hitting the pitch again next week.