SHFC's Fall 2019 Season Concludes

Sleepy Hollow Football Club’s fall season is now complete. All teams have exhibited hard work and progress in their skills, both as individuals and as a cohesive unit. This long 10-week season would not be possible without the hard work of the players wearing the SHFC uniform, their volunteer coaches, and the endlessly supportive family and friends.

Of our 20 teams this fall, 5 have won the championships for their divisions.

The Shadows, a team comprised of boys born in the year 2010, are coached by Gary Fairley, Dipo Ashiru, and Aaron Lucchetti. Playing in their third season together, this very hardworking team has an impressive 29-game winning streak in League play. They are the division winners in their age group’s Division 3.

United, comprised of boys born in 2009, are in their team’s second season. They went undefeated at 9-0 in their age group’s Division 8. Coached by John Patino, United works hard on their skills, has a positive team spirit and no-quit attitude. The team is looking forward to taking on new competition in the spring.

The undefeated 2008 boys Fusion coached by Ken Mackiewicz, Michael Degen, and George Papadopoulos, won Division 5 and led the division in offense with 40 goals. This is the team’s third fall championship.

The 2005 boys Red Legends also went undefeated this fall. This hard-working group, led by coaches Francisco Mendieta, Cedric Smith and Mark Taylor, have brought home the first ever premier division title to SHFC.

The Varsity girls Mustangs coached by John Sutherland, Matt Evans, and Mike Weitzen won the Division 1 mini-season. The undefeated Mustangs led division 1 in scoring and allowed zero goals.

The Mustangs, Red Legends, and Shadows will be added to the high division winner plaque (for teams winning Division 3 or higher) and the Red Legends will also be added to the Champions Cup for winning the top division. The cup and plaque are on display at Main Street Sweets in Tarrytown.

Congratulations to all SHFC teams on a great fall. Here is a recap of each team:

Boys 2011 All Reds played at home against Mahopac to a 3-3 tie. In their first season together, the team has learned a lot and become much more cohesive.

Girls 2011 Chaos, coached by John Sutherland and Kevin Richardson, won their final game 4-1 last weekend on November 10 at their home field of Pocantico Hills school. Playing in their first fall season together, Chaos really came together cohesively over the 10 week season and will work hard this winter to build on this progress. The finished the season with a 5-3 record.

2010 Girls Bandits played a tough game in the cold against the Eastchester Pride at Pocantico, producing some great plays and fabulous teamwork in the face of some tough conditions. Many thanks to coaches Mike Levine and Mike Glynn, who stepped in to replace the absent referee. The Bandits came out strong, displaying some excellent footwork and brilliant passing between Mackenzie Linhart, Katie Yamolkas, and Ada Chalfy. After a number of looks at the goal, Linhart scored a goal with an assist by Chalfy. On defense, Marianna Patsch, Melodie Molina and Marley DeFillipis were speedy and aggressive. Lily Glynn showed she has sprung back from injury as strong as ever, with multiple saves in front of goal. Elizabeth Impasto had 3 major saves as goalie in the first half.

The second half started strong with a goal by Katie Yamolkas, as the offense continued to display great communication and passing. Arlee Judkins stepped in as goalie in the second half, on loan from the 2011 Girls Chaos, and displayed mental and physical toughness, with multiple diving saves. Ella Judkins and Noah Levine showed great hustle and grit on defense. The Bandits defense stayed strong throughout the second half, with Molina and Impasto stopping numerous shots at goal from the opposition. Chalfy had numerous looks at goal, but in the end, the Pride came out on top, 6-2, leaving the Red Bandits hungry for a win to start the Spring season.

2010 Boys Shadows finished their fall season with a home win against the Eastchester Warriors on November 10. Coaches Gary Fairley, Dipo Ashiru, and Aaron Lucchetti, and their very hardworking team, have extended their win streak to 29 games and are the division winners in their age group’s division 3. Congratulations!

2009 Girls Red Fury, coached by Katie McMahon and Jim McGovern, finished their season with a 5-2 win on November 10. They showed great teamwork and progress this fall. The Fury finished their fall season 4-4.

2009 Boys United, coached by John Patino, played to a 6-1 win against the Chappaqua Turbo. They finished the season with a 9-0 record and won their age group’s division 8. They will advance to a higher age group in spring play.

Many of United’s players have been playing together for a few seasons; others are new this year. Likewise, Coach Patino is in his first year with SHFC. This team truly embodied the concept of ‘united’ and coming together as a team across many circumstances. Congratulations!

2009 Boys Red Lions received Scarsdale Juventus at the Hackley School on Sunday in a very demanding game and finished the season strong with a 4-2 victory. The first half closed with Juventus ahead 2-1, due in part to the Red Lions suffering an early goal from the penalty kick spot. After a few adjustments at halftime by Coaches Brad and Nuno, the Red Lions showed their best version in the second half with great soccer combinations from all players and comfortably scored three goals for a 4-2 win -- ending a string of less achieved games at their home field. Despite unpredictable adversities -- including playing several games without key players -- the Red Lions closed the season proudly in third place in a very competitive 6-team U-11 Division 1. Being the only team to beat the division champions, Landsowne Yonkers Flames, the Red Lions know they have the potential to fight for and clinch the championship spot in spring 2020, and look forward to doing so.

2008 Girls Red Comets ended this season at 4-3-1 and are coached by Chris Junge and Lisa Fanelli. They worked hard throughout the fall growing their skills, all while showing positive attitudes and good sportsmanship.

2008 Boys Fusion

The undefeated Fusion won their third consecutive fall division championship in their three year history.

In Sunday’s game against the Eastchester Typhoon, the teams played to a 1-1 tie in a fast-paced, physical and hard-fought game. The game featured key blocks from goalies Pierce Davis and Marcus Spataro. Defense was the essential in this game, given that Eastchester really excelled at crowding the goal. Noteworthy was defensive play by Bruno Flores and Jaiden Brito.

Kieran Degen had Fusion’s one goal which can only be described as a beautiful windmill amid chaos at the goal mouth. Fusion’s offense came in bursts, with many nearly-there attempts from Ian Papadopoulos, Sean Mackiweicz, Olin Keough, Sebastian Londono and Luke Tonaj.

Special thanks to SHFC President Matt Evans who rearranged his schedule to referee the game when it looked like the WYSL League would be unable to provide one. His experience helped navigate a few crucial moments with aggressive play, an animated sideline and high stakes. Special thanks also to Sebastian Londono, Luke Tonaj and their families who hustled from another team’s game in NYC to this one in order to contribute to their SHFC team’s success.

Fusion is comprised of Jaiden Brito, Pierce Davis, Kieran Degen, Edwin Dutan, Bruno Flores, Olin Keough, Sebastian Londono, Sean Mackiewicz, Shyam Manjanath, Ian Papadopoulos, Dylan Pasato, Raul Socualaya, Marcus Spataro and Luke Tonaj.

Coaches Ken Mackiewicz, Mike Degen and George Papadopoulos are pleased with their team’s determination through this fall season. It may not always have been pretty, but the team got it done!

2008 Boys River Sharks won 6-3 on the road against the Don Bosco Hawks Hurricanes. They finish their season with a 6-2-1 record in a tie for third place of division 2 of their age group. Coached by Ed Greenberg, Gerardo Soto and Michael Glynn, the River Sharks have continued to move up in their divisions and show quality play and teamwork.

2007 Girls Blaze

The Blaze finished their initial Premier season in WYSL on a high note Sunday afternoon at Washington Irving, beating the Munay Earthquakes 4 - 2. Coach John Sutherland and Team manager / Mom Annette O'Hanlon led their troops to victory despite missing three regulars, Ellie Fox, Penny McVey, and Lilly Wurster from the lineup.

The Blaze had constant pressure on the Munay defense at the start of the game and came close to scoring when Jhoselyn Pugo intercepted a Munay pass, at the 30 yard line, dribbled past a defender and then passed to Lizzie Molina near the net. Lizzie's shot was stopped by the goalie however. Kayla McGuigan broke through 30 minutes into the half when she intercepted a goalie kick near the net and her quick arching kick found the net before the goalie could get back into the goal. The Blaze attack was weakened further when just minutes later long time Blaze forward Gemma Fante had to leave the game after aggregating a previously-existing ankle injury. Munay evened the score 1 - 1 on just before halftime on a breakaway when the Munay striker's shot went past the arms of the Blaze's goalie, Emily Aridas.

Just minutes into the second half, Daisy Star pounced on a loose ball near midfield and passed to midfielder Kayla McGuigan, hitting her in stride as Kayla was streaking down the middle of the field. Kayla's strong kick went off the post, but Carina Armster had followed the shot and was able to put the ball into the opposing net. Not going down easily, Munay fought back and tied the score 8 minutes later on a high kick that went over Emily's outstretched arms.

The Blaze went ahead to stay with 12 minutes to go when after a textbook challenge by Juliana Marvin, Juliana passed to her sister Sami "Beast Mode" Marvin playing forward. Sami passed off the side of her foot to Kayla McGuigan who dribbled past two defenders and launched a strong shot on goal. While the Munay goalie was able to deflect the kick, she could not control the rebound and Blaze forward Carina Armster's hustle once again put her in the right spot at the right time. Her strong kick zipped past the Munay goalie. After Samantha Mendieta stopped two Earthquake strikes down the sideline with some nice challenges and subsequent quick passes, an Earthquake player busted through for a shot on goal that was stopped by the Blaze goalie. The subsequent punt by Blaze goalie Emily Aridas went all the way to the opposing 30 yard line before being touched by Meghan O'Hanlon who stopped the ball and passed back to Daisy Star who was playing midfield. Daisy made a one-touch lob pass to Kayla McGuigan who was able to score, putting the Blaze ahead 4 - 2. The Earthquakes put pressure on the Blaze for the remainder of the game, but the strong defensive unit, led by Gabby "The Minister of Defense" Disney and fellow defensemen Zoey Murphy, Juliana Marvin, and Kimmie Molina combined with strong goalie work by Emily Aridas prevented the Earthquakes from scoring again. Emily had 13 saves on the day, including 7 in the second half.

The Blaze finished their first season in WYSL's U-13 Premier Division with 5 wins and 2 ties in 9 matches - a successful transition to the big fields used by U-13 compared to U-12, while incorporating the talents of several newcomers and saying goodbye to a few girls who decided to leave the team. Long after the victories are forgotten, the girls will remember the friends they made, the teamwork they learned, and the love and support provided by their coaches and parents.

The Blaze are looking forward to playing in a winter league in Chelsea Piers and will be back to challenge for the Premier Division Championship next Spring.

2007 Boys Dynamo finished their season with a 4-0 loss on the road against the Castleford Titans las week. Coached by Alberto Blanco, they finished the season with a 2-6 record in their division.

2007 Boys Dutchmen prevailed 3-0 at home against the West Side Red Bulls. The Dutchmen came in second place of their division 2 with a 5-1-3 record and are coached by Howard Allen.

2006 Girls Storm lost 2-0 in their last fall game of the season against the Mahopac Strikers, finishing with a 4-4-1 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, ended their season with a 3-1 loss on the road against the John Jay Purple. The Firebolts are 3-5-1 in Division 2 of their age group.

2006 Boys Warriors closed out their season with a 3-1 loss at home against the JPSC Fire and with a final record of 4-4-1. Coached by Chris Junge and Colin Gallagher, the Warriors play in Division 3 of their age group.

2005 Girls Cyclones had a pre-scheduled bye this final week of the fall season. After last week’s hard-fought 5-2 victory, the team finished with a 5-3 record in the Premier Division of their age group. The Cyclones, who are coached by Nick Tsilibes and Tracy Koch, play with a lot of energy, skill and heart, and are looking forward to their spring season together.

2005 Boys Red Legends completed their undefeated season after clinching the premier division championship one week earlier. The Red Legends had one more game to play and handled Port Chester 2-1 with goals from Frank Mendieta and Dylan Orellana. The Red Legends controlled the game and only a valiant effort by the Port Chester keeper kept the game close. The boys finished undefeated with an 8-0-1 record, 31 goals scored and 8 allowed. They led the division in offense and defense. As the premier division champions they were the top boys 2005 team in the Westchester Youth Soccer League and their name was enshrined on the Sleepy Hollow FC champions cup. The boys had a wild celebration party thrown by the team parents with food, music, and indoor pyrotechnics. Coaches Francisco Mendieta, Mark Taylor, and Cedric Smith couldn’t be more proud of the dedication and effort from the boys this season.

Please see 3 photos included in the photo section: Red Legends celebrate league championship with trophies, banners, cake and “La Copa.” Fireworks not shown.

JV Boys Los Gauchos lost 4-0 against the Deportivo Yonkers Red Bulls, who were the division winners. Los Gauchos ended the season with a 4-5 record in the Premier Division of their age group. This team features players who have been together for many years, including those who play on school teams and juggle multiple commitments. The team plays hard, with a proven love for the game.

Varsity Girls Mustangs won their fourth WYSL championship Sunday with a scoreless tie against Somers. With that tie the Mustangs clinched the division 1 mini-season title. Varsity teams don’t have a full fall schedule and only play 3 games in November. The girls led the league in scoring and did not allow a goal all season. Haley Wilenzick was player of the game at midfield with a dominating performance that left visiting Somers frustrated. The Mustangs had several chances to score while putting in an impressive defensive performance. Defenders Sophie Sylves-Berry, Maya Weitzen, Annie Dineen, Lily Rodriguez, Talia Fante, Nataly Parraga, Carolina Lopez, and keeper Alicia Carvalho-Evans earned the shut out. Celebrity guest Jose Costa was in attendance and the players give special thanks to Joe Golden for his beautiful photos. The girls plan to play a friendly scrimmage against premier Don Bosco this Sunday, weather permitting, and then start the indoor soccer winter season.

Please see photos included from Joe Golden: 1) Mustang defenders thwart Somers. 2) Mustangs challenge on direct kick.

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