SHFC Week 4 (April 28)

Sleepy Hollow Football Club’s teams are in week four of the Westchester Youth Soccer League’s 10 week spring season. One complication of spring play is the often unpredictable weather. Games sometimes require rescheduling due to weather and field conditions. While teams often play in rain, if a field is very muddy, the games scheduled on it may be rescheduled by the field owner so as to allow the field time to dry and not worsen for subsequent weeks. Some SHFC teams have had their schedules changed this week for this reason, but our capable 300+ players, their families and volunteer coaches do their best to juggle a busy season in all conditions.

Here are each SHFC team’s results for this past week:

2010 Girls Bandits played a strong game against the New Rochelle Purple Rebels last Sunday. The final result of the game was a 1-3 loss against the Rebels. The Bandits are 3-1 overall for the season. The game featured the defensive line start to finish. In the first half, Natalia Hargrave played a very strong game on defense clearing the ball and winning the ball from the opposing team. Sabrina Graham in goal had a few nice saves in the first half. Marley DeFilippis also played an aggressive defense and stuck with the ball and her mark. All in all, the team worked hard at passing and communication and kept the score at 0-1 by half time.

The second half featured Hargave in goal. Ada Chalfy jumped on the scene second half with an amazing breakaway and confident, unassisted goal, bringing the score to 1-1. The Bandits persisted with a tie game with Mackenzie Linhart as sweeper with many great clears, Melodie Molina keeping up the energy and finding her teammates and doing a great job bringing the ball to the offensive line. Noa Levine displayed knowledge of the field by marking her players and being open for passes. Katie Yalmokas prevented some potential goals in the second half. The girls played hard and stayed off the Rebels until the end of the game when the Rebels scored two goals in the closing part of the second half.

All in all great effort by the team. The Bandits will begin the travel portion of their season next week by traveling to Eastchester to play the Eastchester pride on Sunday, May 5 at 3:45 pm.

2010 Boys Shadows The rain held out last Sunday just long enough for the Shadows to complete their 7-5 victory over the White Plains 2010 White team. In their toughest match of the season so far, it was an exciting and hard fought win for the boys. Joaquin Rodriguez had a strong first half as goalie where he saw a lot of action and had some great saves. Denis Suqui had some beautiful assists to Elion Ashiru who was able to blast the ball into White Plains goal, with both Suqui and Ashiru having several goals each. At halftime we were up 5-2. Leo Zohar played goalkeeper the second half for the Shadows and also saw a lot of action with a diving save. Andrew Lucchetti moved the ball beautifully for an awesome goal. White Plains fought hard until the end with some skilled shots that got past Zohar, but in the end the Shadows teamwork, passing and strategy was able to hold the team strong for a 7-5 finish. This Sunday the boys will face off again against Manhattan Inter team at Pocantico Field.

2009 Girls Red Fury coached by Katie McMahon and Jim McGovern, recorded their first win of the spring season in the drizzling, raw rain in Mamaroneck on Sunday versus the LMFC White Rockets. Rachel Richardson started off the scoring with a strong kick that outsmarted the goalie about halfway through the first half. Less than 5 minutes later, Charlotte Spiridakis gave the Fury a 2-0 lead with her first goal as a Red Fury, converting on a pass from Miss Richardson. Strong play by defenders Sofia Cruz, Kate Masters, and Grace McGovern as well as goalie Rose Ritz preserved the lead going into half time.

The White Rockets came out strong in the second half. About ten minutes into the half, the White Rockets scored a fluky goal, bringing the game to a 2-1 score. Less than five minutes later, the Red Fury responded with Meghan McMahon swiftly dribbling the ball down the field and then scoring on a great shot. The defense, led by goalie Erin Arnegger, preserved the 3-1 lead for the balance of the game.

The Red Fury take on the Briarcliff Banishees in Pocantico Hills next Sunday at 5PM.

In photos: Red Fury team huddle; Sofia Cruz #9 on the offensive prowl.

2009 Boys United played a close match against an undefeated Rivertowns United. The final score was 4-2 Rivertowns but the game was back and forth and was tied until the last 5 minutes. United played with only 1 sub and the boys played their hearts out. Goals were tallied by Caeser Blanco and Julian Patino. Goaltending and defense were outstanding and continue to grow and get better every week. Offense is also making big strides weekly. Next up is New Rochelle at 11am at home.

2009 Boys Red Lions took on the Manhattan Derby at home. The score is unavailable. On May 5, the Red Lions will travel to the Riverdale Green Vipers.

2008 Girls Red Comets, coached by Joe Block and Sven Armster, did not play on April 28 due to field conditions. They host the North Salem Fighting Tigers at 12noon on May 5 at Hackley School field.

2008 Boys Fusion played a close game this week against Scarsdale United. It was scoreless at the half. There were many shots on goal by Sean Mackiewicz, Ian Papadopoulos, Edwin Dutan, Jaiden Brito and Jezrael Panama. Scarsdale’s defense was aggressive and effective. With a few minutes left to play, Scarsdale scored making it 1-0 despite defenses by Dylan Largo, Dylan Pasato, Justin Paute, Raul Socualaya and Aiden Lee. Pierce Davis also held up the defense as goalkeeper. Fusion felt they were on the losing end of some questionable calls, and wanted to see penalty kicks imposed for aggressive play in the box, but without avail. These two teams play again in two weeks.

On May 5, Fusion will host Ossining’s Munay at 5pm at Hackley School field.

2008 Boys River Sharks, coached by Ed Greenberg, Gerardo Soto and Michael Glynn, did not play on April 28 due to field conditions. They travel to Randalls Island to take on the Manhattan United on May 5.

2007 Girls Blaze
Despite having players flying back into New York from out of state and overseas vacations, Coach John Sutherland's Blaze started strongly when just two minutes into the game, Gemma Fante passed to Julissa Cassiano in front of the opposing goal and Julissa's quick kick gave the Blaze a quick 1 - 0 lead. The Blaze kept up the pressure for the next several minutes, and a passing clinic was demonstrated as Sami Marvin passed to Penny McVey, who side kicked to Gemma Fante who passed back to Penny who faked a shot and passed the ball to Gemma Fante who ended the clinic with a strike past the opposing goalie. Minutes later, Julissa scored her second goal of the day when she challenged a player, won the ball and outraced the Earthquake player to turn the corner down the sideline and put a strong shot past a diving Earthquakes goalie. The score would have been 4 - 0 before the half, but a shot on goal by Juliana Marvin that took a bounce over the Earthquakes goalie's gloves and went over the line was not seen by the referee before the goalie pulled the ball back. Keep it up Juliana; the ref will see the next one!

Ahead 3 - 0 at the half, the Blaze added a fourth goal just moments into the second half when Gemma Fante's pass to a wide open center forward Kayla McGuigan who showed good form putting the goal past two onrushing defenders and the goalie. The Eathquakes showed there was no quit in them however, and several passes and a quick strike from inside the goalie box gave them their first goal of the game, the first goal allowed by the Blaze all season. On the next series, Gemma Fante intercepted an Eathquakes pass and shuttled the ball to Penny McVey. Penny earned her second assist of the game when she passed it to Kayla McGuigan and Kayla's strike put the Blaze ahead 5 - 1. Again showing no quit, the Earthquakes rallied and put pressure on the Blaze's defense. A very nice pass from an onrushing forward to their center and a quick shot on goal past the diving Blaze goalie made the score 5 - 2 Blaze. Minutes later, when a corner kick by the Eathquakes went off a Blaze player into the goal, cutting the Blaze lead to 5 - 3, Blaze goalie Emily Aridas, who had a dozen saves on the day, reassured the player that everything was fine and told her teammate not to worry and her good plays and goals more than offset any bad play. Not all saves are made with goalie gloves.

Strong defense by Gabby Disney and Meghan O'Hanlon kept the Earthquakes scoring opportunities to a minimum the rest of the way. With less than a minute to go, the Blaze put the game away when Zoey Murphy's strong throw in over the heads of several Earthquakes defenders found Jullissa Cassiano, who passed to forward Lizzie Molina who had a very nice strike into the opposing net.

After the postgame handshakes, several parents of Blaze players overheard the girls trying to answer one of the philosophical questions of our time, "Which weighs more, a pound of bricks or a pound of feathers?" Hopefully the team will find the answer before their game next weekend against the Chappaqua Cheetah's. Perhaps next week Blaze Team Manager Annette O'Hanlon can pose a postgame question of the day, "Which goes faster, a car going 60- mph on the thruway, or a Cheetah running 60 mph in the African Safari?"

2007 Boys Dynamo did not play on April 28 due to field conditions. They travel to the Scarsdale Lille on May 5.

2007 Boys Dutchmen did not play on April 28 due to field conditions. They host the FC Somers Galaxy at Hackley School field at 1:30pm on May 5.

2006 Girls Storm were awarded the victory by forfeit by the LMFC Yellow Wildcats. On May 5, they travel to the Rivertowns United Union in Ardsley.

2006 Boys Firebolts, coached by Ricardo Gonzalez, fell 5-1 at on the road against the Port Chester Mustangs. On May 5, they will travel to the Valhalla Vikings.

2006 Boys Warriors won 3-0 on the road against the New Rochelle Arrows. On May 5, they will travel to the Bronx to take on the Alba Sharks.

2005 Girls Cyclones Ready for a rematch, the Cyclones went head to head against Rye Brook Crush. The game was well matched, making the game exciting to watch. Early in the first half, the Cyclones took the lead with an incredible chain of events. Belle M. took the opportunity to resettle the team and played the ball back to Ywomie M., who found Thalia T. open in the center of the field. An incredible exchange, including a takeover between Thalia T. and Angie S., ultimately got the ball to Colleen C. She then quickly shot on goal, putting the ball in the back of the net, the Cyclones were in the lead, 1-0. Our midfielders, Diana C., Shea B., and Caroline D., did a great job feeding our offense, keeping the ball in Crush’s defensive end during the first half, enabling us to remain in the lead for the half. Early in the second half, Rye Brook Crush crossed the ball and a player took a shot, unfortunately out of reach of Lauren K. Both teams kept the level of play up and our defensive team (Ywomie M., Belle M., Amy T., Natalie R., Shea B., Emily R.) continually shut down the Crush’s attempts to score. Late in the second half, an amazing passing combination between Ywomie M., Caitlyn O., and Angie S., set Thalia T. to see the keeper out, and hit a beautiful ball over her head, into the net. The Cyclones kept their lead, even with three corner kicks with minutes left in the game. The game ended with Lauren K. catching the ball above her head to secure the win. Final score- 2-1.

2005 Boys Legends fell 2-0 on the road against the Castleford Tornadoes. On May 5, they host Munay at Washington Irving field at 2:45pm.

2005 Boys Red Devils travelled to the Manahattan Mustangs, losing 3-1. The Red Devils, coached by Francisco Mendieta, Mark Taylor, and Cedric Smith, travel to the Rye Messies on May 5.

JV Girls Strikers traveled Friday evening to play division leaders Shrub Oak Empire and we played in a heavy down pour, cold conditions and playing under the lights. Conditions were very challenging. We were down 4 players with got help from two players from our 14UG Cyclones team. Thanks to their help, we had exactly 11 players.

The first half had end to end chances but no team scored. The second half found the home team with an advantage with four substitutes they were able to bring on fresh legs every 10 minutes. The first goal was a long high ball from far out that was near to impossible to track in the pouring rain, found the back of the net under the crossbar. The Empire found their rhythm and scored 2 more quick goals. The Strikers stayed determined and was able to score a consolation goal. Strikers lost 1-3.

Sunday was our first Home game playing Gotham Girls Potrero. The team played with 11 players, with one player on the injury list, and another with a prior commitment. The Strikers got surprised with two quick goals by the visitors. The Strikers' lead Goalkeeper and Co-Captain suffered from a dislocated finger in the first half and continued to finish the half. She was happy to cheer on her fellow Co-Captain in scoring a goal to bring it back to one goal difference before halftime. With our backup goalkeeper out, the Strikers gave up gave up 2 more unanswered goals to lose 4-1.

Strikers are back home next week at 12:00 PM.

JV Boys Los Gauchos fell 1-0 on the road against the Chappaqua Quakers. They will travel to the Pelham United on May 5.

2002 Varsity Girls Mustangs find themselves in last place of division one after allowing visiting Rivertowns to score 4 goals...all off mental mistakes. The Mustangs controlled the first half but could not convert a penalty kick and found themselves tied 1-1 at the half. Without any substitutes to allow rest, the mustangs lost a step in the second half and mental mistakes allowed 3 more scores by the visiting Comets. The Mustangs converted a penalty kick late to finish with the 2-4 loss. Maya Weitzen was defensive player of the game with several stops and excellent possessions. Haley Wilenzick was midfielder of the game.... showing tremendous effort and stamina while winning battles and starting promising attacks. Abigail Oppenheim was over-all player of the game with creative and aggressive offense that led to an assist as well as earning a penalty kick. Sabrina Byrne scored off of Abi’s assist and Arianna Vizcaino finished scoring by converting her own earned penalty kick. The Mustangs hope to climb out of the cellar next week with a rematch against Don Bosco. The first game was played in poor conditions without players to substitute and the team is hoping the home field-Washington Irving turf will result in a better outcome.

2002 Varsity Boys Horsemen tied the Valhalla Vikings 1-1 at home. On May 5, the host the Eastchester Strikers at 5pm at Washington Irving school field.

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