SHFC's Blaze Prevails at Hershey Tournament

Many readers enjoyed their August 10-11 weekend at the beach or pool, but parents of the Sleepy Hollow Football Club Blaze traveled to the Hershey, PA, the sweetest place on earth, to watch their daughters take on all comers in the Hershey Cup, U-13 Girls Soccer Division.

Parents were not sure what soccer results to expect, because although the Blaze had won two WYSL Group 1 Championships over the past 12 months, and had won a tournament in Chelsea Piers in Stamford, this was the first time their daughters were playing against nationally ranked teams, and also the first time many had ever played 11 v 11 on a regulation field, rather than the smaller fields used in 9 v 9 by Girls U-12.

Being welcomed to the Blaze family were new comers Lilly Wurster, Kimmy Molina, Jhoselyn Pugo, and Samantha Mendieta.

Would the Blaze be able to adjust to the bigger field, the bigger goal to defend, and incorporate their new teammates? Overseeing the process were Blaze Coach John Sutherland and team Manager / Mom / Assistant Coach Annette O'Hanlon.

With a shorter bench, due to a non-soccer injury to leading forward/midfielder Juliana Marvin as well as top defender Zoey Murphy being on vacation, the Blaze had to play their first game Saturday morning against a team enjoying home field advantage, the Berwick Raptors. With injured teammate Juliana Marvin cheering them on, the Blaze shut the Pennsylvania team out 3 - 0. Team MVP Kayla Mcguigan scored the first goal unassisted, and in the second half newcomer Samantha Mendieta scored her first Blaze goal with Meghan O'Hanlon getting the assist, and forward Sami Marvin off a fine pass by defenseman Ellie Fox, netted the Blaze’s third goal.

With only a 90 minute rest between games, the Blaze's second round opponent was the Ole Soccer Select Gray, a team from Connecticut who were playing their first game of the day. Ole scored first with a hard shot that went past Blaze goalie Emily Aridas 10 minutes into the game. Minutes later, defender Penny McVey saved a second goal by backing up her goalie and blocking a shot on goal. While the Blaze tied up the game about 10 minutes into the second half, a penalty kick after a penalty in the box had the Blaze down a goal with only 5 minutes to play. The Blaze rallied furiously, overcoming their fatigue and maintaining control of the ball the remaining 5 minutes of the game. Playing deep in the their opponents half, they peppered the Ole goalie with several shots on goal, knotting the score with a shot by Julissa Casiano, and with less than 2 minutes remaining, the game winner was made by Kayla, off a perfectly timed forward pass by Kimmy Molina.

After two hard-earned victories, the players recharged and enjoyed time together as friends, whiling the afternoon away at either the hotel pool or at Hershey Park.

Saturday night, while players and siblings ate together at their own tables in the Hershey Lodge Restaurant, parents and Coach Sutherland enjoyed a great meal and quality time together just a few tables away.

On Sunday, the Blaze had an 8:00 am game against the Fallston Travel Soccer Hurricanes, a strong team from Maryland. Undaunted, the Blaze executed short crisp passes and demonstrated the great teamwork that they had been taught. The Blaze scored 4 goals before the first half was half over. Rotating players to keep everyone fresh for the second game, Coach Sutherland and Manager Annette O'Hanlon tried players at new positions as the forwards and defenders switched roles in the second half. After getting two first half assists, Gemma Fante frustrated Fallston forwards in the second half by challenging and stealing the ball 3 consecutive times down the field. The final score was 6 - 0, the team's second clean sheet of the tournament.

The final game of the tournament was against the Bellmore PAL Thunder, a team from Long Island with a defense that had matched the Blaze's defensive efforts in allowing only 2 goals in 3 games to-date in the tournament. Using tremendous team speed and playing as a team, the Blaze scored the first time they touched the ball, and doubled that mark less than 5 minutes later with more team play. More crisp play kept the pressure on the Long Island defense. Whenever the ball would make it past midfield, Gabby "The Minister of Defense" Disney or new Blaze player Lilly Wurster would successfully challenge a dribbler and quickly elevate a long kick downfield to one of the Blaze forwards. While all the players enjoyed their goals, the final goal, by forward Lizzie Molina, off a pass by Jhoselyn Pugo, was extra special as the goal was on Lizzie's 12th birthday.

In the end, after their 6-1 victory in the final game, it was the Sleepy Hollow Blaze who raised the 2019 Hershey Cup Championship Trophy.