SHFC Week 6: Rainy, but teamwork and determination shine

Sleepy Hollow Football Club teams are operating “full speed ahead” as they move through the Fall season. Despite the rain and the wind, the SHFC teams are on fire for the Week 6 games:

The Gators, coached by John Sutherland and Shiloh Mackey, had a sweet, wet victory over Edgemont on Sunday, November 1st. The slippery, rainy conditions didn’t stop Olivia Montolio from sliding two goals in the back of the net early on. Ella Pietrosanti soon followed them up with a goal of her own to put the Gators ahead 3-0 at halftime. After switching up some positions, Siena Spataro, Kaylee Carrigan and Evie Mackey each scored a goal to solidify a 6-1 win. The Gator defense was strong and relentless as Gabbi Godanho and Mauve Geary had standout games in the back field. Next week the Gators host the Rye Thunder on Sunday, November 8th at 2:30 pm at Washington Irving School in Tarrytown.

On Sunday, the Red Devils hosted the Yorktown Avalanche for a wet and wild rematch of the first game of the season. The Red Devils continued to show great progress, with discipline and skill to hold positions; teamwork to create and complete multiple passes down the field; and greater offensive confidence. Coach Antonio Muinos said following the game "we saw some excellent build up play from the boys, fantastic passing, and disciplined positioning overall. Unfortunately, we were unable to convert some great opportunities in the first half and fell behind to a couple of wild goals." David Alban had a great breakaway run to the net but was unable to get past the Avalanche goalie for the goal. Meanwhile, Marco Robilotto dazzled the opposition and the crowd with his incredible ball control and tenacity. Finally, deep into the second half, Sebastian Espinoza scored for the Red Devils, giving the boys their first goal against the Avalanche this season. Unfortunately, it wasn't enough to best the strong Avalanche team, ending with a 6:1 loss. Despite the score, the players and coaches were happy with the skill, determination, and progression that the Red Devils demonstrated.

Chaos had their away game at the Chappaqua Rockets cancelled, just prior to its start, due to rain. The girls under-10 team is growing their skills, both individually and as a team, with every practice. They look forward to travelling to the Pleasantville Fireballs on Sunday. Chaos is coached by Kevin Richardson and Torsie Judkins.

Red Fury played fiercely on the soaked field Sunday afternoon. Megan defended the goal straight out of the gate, first with her patented power kick, and second with a solid catch, letting Swara and Sophia tag team to push the ball back up the field. Lauren and Rose took great shots. Red Fury was ready to play, rain regardless.

Kate hit a couple strong kicks up from midfield at minute 13, and again at 15, allowing forwards, Sophia and Julia to keep pressure on Armonk, but by minute 16 Armonk turned the tables and scored a goal off a penalty.

Red Fury recovered quickly and pushed the ball back up the field so Sophia could score the first Fury goal of the game bringing us up to 1:1 for 1/2 time.

Red Fury switched things up for the second 1/2 of the game with Rose in the goal and Megan as forward. Ten minutes into the second 1/2 of the game, with an assist from Meadow and Swara, Megan soldiered through the downpour and landed the second Fury goal of the game. Two minutes after that, with assists from Kate to Sophia, Megan landed another one, bringing us up to 3:1. Armonk scored 13 min into the second 1/2 putting us at 3:2

Great defense from Mai and Rose in the goal box kept us up one. Briani and Lauren battled the slippery terrain to push the ball up and keep pressure on Armonk's strong defense, but eventually Armonk pushed it back and they got another one in. Rose caught another close call keeping us tied in this fierce game, where the players battled other payers and also the elements of nature - it seems like a victory either way.

The Red Comets took the turf at Washington Irving against the Harrison Dynamo last Sunday. Although it was a cold soaking day, the Comets were red hot! The rain come down in sheets just as the game began, but it didn't damper the players spirits. The Comets came out passing and communicating well and it showed. About midway into the first half, the Comets were dominating the opposing side when striker, Antonia Fanelli, got the ball just above the goalie box and saw midfielder, Ava Dominquez, to the right of her with an opening and side swiped the ball to her. Ava took a dribble and fired a shot passed the Dynamo keeper to get a score on the board of 1-0. A few minutes later, the Comets were back for more when Amani Kelly Carty, playing attacking center midfield, received another fantastic pass and took the ball in control and kicked it right past the goalie to make it 2-0. Then back in the Comet territory, a penalty kick was issued and fortunately that kick soared over the net to keep the score still. Julia Ryan, the Comet goalkeeper, made several saves, but nothing got passed her nor Armani Kelly Carty who was in goal the second half. The ball traveled well around the soggy turfy from left to right because of our midfielders and strikers. The Comet defense made up of Erin Arnegger, Lene Cice, Leila Dillow, Mia Martinez and Paloma Dominquez, who knocked the ball away from a Dynamo player coming towards her, didn't let the ball get too close to their goal. The game ended in another Red Comet shutout of 2-0. Despite the horrible weather conditions, the Comets played a terrific game and we are so proud of them all!

FUSION, SHFC's boys 2008 team, travelled to the Chappaqua Hawks, for a battle of two undefeated teams.

Fusion brought many first half attempts at goal, in particular from Eoghan Glynn, Edwin Dutan, and Sebastian Londono, but were turned away by a strong opposing keeper. The first half ended with Fusion down 1-0. Early in the 2nd half, Sean Mackiewicz took a beautiful feed from Kieran Degen and evened the score at 1-1 with a powerful shot that went through the keeper's hands to find the back of the net. Unfortunately, Chappaqua was quick to answer and retook the lead at 2-1. Pushing hard, Fusion had a few more chances to come in the second half and Luke Tonaj nearly converted on back-to-back strikes with time running out. Finally, with about 5 minutes left in the game, the constant pressure from Fusion's offense led to a huge goal by Luca Dominguez when he netted a bouncing ball in the box through a wall of defenders to even the game at 2. Despite a series of final minute chances from Fusion, the game would end a draw.

Chappaqua's two goals came from well outside the goal box and travelled into the upper corners of the goal, challenging goalie Pierce Davis for the first time in several games. Davis would have other big saves to try to keep Chappaqua's big kickers at bay. Noteworthy was ball handling and defense from Luca Simbana and Josh Ortiz, who managed to dispossess and control the ball at key times. Aiden Lee and Bruno Flores were reliable defenders as well.

Coaches Ken Mackiewicz, Michael Glynn, and Michael Degen, were pleased with their team's aggression and commitment. With many players absent from the game, some due to quarantine and others due to other conflicts, those who attended gave their all to a game that was hard fought and exciting to watch. Special thanks to the substitutes on the sideline who supported the team throughout the game with encouragement to help drive the team towards two come-from-behind-goals in the match.

While Chappaqua still leads the division after this tie, Fusion played hard and carry a 4-0-2 record as they plan to travel next Sunday to the Doxa-Wolfgang TWolves.

People who follow thoroughbreds at the track know that certain horses are known as "mudders" for doing their best racing on rainy days when the track is full of mud. On Sunday afternoon at Washington Irving, in a windy downpour, the Blaze proved they could be a mudder as they played to a 2 - 2 tie with the Chappaqua Cheetah's. Chappaqua came into the match having scored the most goals in WYSL's U-14 Premier Division, whether boy or girl.

The match was only in its eighth minute when a Cheetah player broke through three Blaze defenders and took a hard past the diving outstretched arms of Blaze goalie Emily Aridas. The constant Cheetah pressure in the first half kept the ball on the Blaze's side of the pitch as the Cheetah goalie did not touch the ball in the first half. After the initial misplay, the Blaze defense of Juliana Marvin, Daisy Star, and Gabby Disney stiffened, preventing any more goals until two minutes were left in the half. On that play, a clearing kick went to a Cheetah defenseman who launched a high arcing kick from the 40-yard line. Hit so high NASA started tracking it, the shot landed and then skipped on the frozen field near the goal line. The resulting bounce, aided by the prevailing wind, flew over the head of the Blaze goalie and put the Cheetah's ahead 2 - 0 at the half.

Not willing to succumb to the elements, the Blaze played with renewed vigor in the second half. Unused in the first half, the Blaze attack kept constant pressure on the Cheetah goalie. Forward Gemma Fante had the Blaze's first shot on goal less than a minute in the second half. Although the shot was turned away, the Blaze kept the pressure throughout the second half. Forwards Cassie Jung and Sammi Marvin both had strong shots on goal that although denied, showed their opponent that the Blaze's offense would not be distinguished. In the seventh minute of the second half, midfielder Lizzie Molina took a pass from fellow midfielder Lilly Wurster who had intercepted a Cheetah pass and launched her own shot from about the 30-yard line. The strong, arcing kick by Lizzie over the Cheetah defense made it to the back of the net and cut the Blaze deficit in half.

The Cheetah's kept trying to clear balls through the maze of players Blaze coach John Sutherland kept launching at them, but Blaze midfielder Zoey Murphy and forward Megan O'Hanlon used their speed and their anticipation of where the ball would go to keep the ball on the Cheetah's side of the field. With seven minutes left in the match, a perfect corner kick from Gemma Fante landed in front of the Cheetah net. Proving two heads are better than one, Blaze forward Samantha Mendietta passed to fellow forward Lizzie Molina and Lizzie headed the ball into the net. Lizzie's brace was her first of the season and tied the score 2 - 2.

Anxious to earn the 3 match points rather than settle for the tie, the Cheetah's played with abandon for the remaining time. However, Blaze goalie Emily Aridas, fresh off additional work with Varsity Coach Paterno on Saturday, had several nice saves, and the defensive trio of Gabby Disney, Daisy Star, and Juliana Marvin worked well together backing each other up to ensure the Blaze's tie did not get stolen. The 2 goals scored by Chappaqua tied their season low for fewest goals scored in a game, which was also against the Blaze in the team's first match of the season.

Still undefeated on the season, the Blaze will be on the road next week against the Rye Brook Wildcats in a match scheduled to begin at 12:30.

Boys JV Red Legends clinched their second consecutive premier championship with a convincing 7-2 win at Harrison. Aiden Smith was too much to handle scoring four goals himself. Frank Mendieta Jr managed two goals and Kieran O’Sullivan scored one. The Red Legends clinched the championship early with two games to go and powered through the top junior varsity division with 29 goals scored and only 6 allowed. Coaches Frank Mendieta and Cedric Smith are proud of the team’s accomplishment.

Girls Varsity Mustangs held on for an exciting 6-5 win against the undefeated Bronx Rising Stars. The girls took a commanding 6-2 lead in the second half but a combination of rain, injuries, fouls, and a talented Bronx forward made the game close with only 10 Mustangs holding off 11 Rising Stars for the last 5 minutes of the game. The game was stopped for three Mustang injuries and 6 yellow cards, including two leading to a red card and even one for coach Mike. Arianna Vizcaino and Melanie Urgiles both scored 2 goals. Juliana Largess and Isabella Chambers each scored 1. Arianna scored the final deciding goal as well as two assists. With the win the Mustangs remain in first place and next face Riverdale on their championship run. They appear to be on a collision course with undefeated Don Bosco for the last game of the season.

The Red Angels had a well-played win against Pelham Sambas. We started with an early goal 3 minutes into the first half with a great shot by Alicia on target finding the back of the net. After the early lead, the team got a little comfortable and allowed the visitors to pull on back. That tying goal was a wakeup call for the Red Angels. Before the end of the half, Thalia had a great breakaway from the mid-field, made a great move to get around the opposing keeper and slotted the ball in the goal at a tough angle. The second half saw better possession play for the team. The team was pushing on looking for more goals, switching the point of attack from one side to the other. This keeps the defense unorganized and constantly readjusting. This tactic was effective in not allowing many scoring opportunities for the visiting team. Key players in the midfield, Shea, Ali, Lily, Caitlyn and Angie really helped to control the flow of the game. Defensively Ywomie, Leslie and Araceli stayed organized and solid. Two goals came in the second half, Thalia scoring her second on the game with a really well-placed shot. The goal that sticks out, was a tremendous effort from Amy to get past 2 defenders, keeping the ball in on the goal line and placing a great cross in front of the goal and finding Diana, she was well positioned to knock that ball into the net. Final Score 4-1. The Red Angels have their next game in Manhattan at 3:00, Pier 40.

SHFC Los Gauchos Boys Varsity won 2-1 in cold and freezing rain against a very determined defensive squad from Yonkers. Los Gauchos dominated possession and had dozens of shots until the final few minutes when the game-winner was scored. Pat and Mateo captained Sleepy Hollow. Final Score was 2-1 on a late goal by Jhonny [see video below]. Attendance again was excellent with 21 players playing. Coaching staff was very proud of that fact. Watch the Los Gauchos: https://youtu.be/F3yFGNWIHZA

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