Sleepy Hollow Football Club: Week 3 Round Up

It was another great week for soccer! Sleepy Hollow Football Club wrapped up week three of the Fall season. While the SHFC teams gear up for another strong performance this weekend, see their most recent results:

On Sunday, the SHFC Gators traveled to Pleasantville to take on the Pleasantville Stars. Coached by John Sutherland and Shiloh Mackey, and with only one substitute available for this contest due to the holiday weekend and injuries, the Gators displayed tremendous heart, teamwork, and excellent conditioning to beat the Stars 3-2 and keep their undefeated record intact.

Ella Pietrosanti paced the Gators with two goals in the first half. After the Stars pulled even in the second half, each Gator was relentless for the rest of the contest, resulting in Evie Mackey netting the game winning goal the 3rd quarter.

Kaylee Carrigan and Maeve Geary spilt duties at goalkeeper, with both making multiple important saves to help preserve the 3-2 victory.

The SHFC Red Devils matched up against the Pleasantville Galaxy on Sunday morning at Washington Irving. Coming off two losses, the Devils started the game with a determination that we have not yet seen from them. David Alban got a quick goal, executed with precision and the crucial support of Marco Robilotto and Henry Kromelis, which seemed to light a spark in the Devils' offense. With early saves by Max Muinos in goal and strong defense from Asher Gaito, Dylan Feroe and Sebastian Espinoza helped keep the Galaxy at bay while Alban scored again off a corner kick, putting the Devils up by 2. The Galaxy came back with a goal of their own, and then superb passing by Johan Rodriguez and Ryan Mackiewicz on offense helped lead defensive back Declan Kennedy to make a beauty of a goal for the Devils. Just before the halftime whistle, Galaxy scored again, and the Devils went into the half up by a score of 3-2. The second half of the game started with another Galaxy score, tying up the game. However, the Devils battled back, leading to another excellent goal by Alban with support from Muinos and Kromelis. Mackiewicz made save after save, with help from Espinoza and Feroe, as the Devils battled to retain their lead. In the end, Galaxy evened the score at 4-4, and the game ended in a draw. However, the Devils were encouraged by their strong showing in the match against the impressive Galaxy.

G11 Mercury hosted the Mahopac Firecrackers Blue on Sunday. In a pretty evenly matched game, Mercury played a very spirited first half highlighted by the goaltending of Kaylee Xu. Her many stops kept the team in the game. Unfortunately, the team lost the contest but had many positive take-aways. Amelia Ortiz scored on a beautiful direct kick from just outside the box to highlight the team's second half. Julia Ritter, Gabriella McCarthy and Ashley Villa played well on the defensive side clearing the ball forward. Marylin Suqui, Garbriella Variano and Zoe Papadopoulos made some nice passes to each other and Mia Scipioni, Mia Saa, Cameron Zuniga and Brie Wolins hustled all game long in the mid-field. This week the team will work on spacing to bunch less and more on their ball control and passing. On Sunday they host Castleford at 1:15 on the WI Upper Field.

The Boys U10 All Reds scored a great victory against Castleford (Armonk) on Sunday. The final score was 7-2. Goal scorers included Phillip Coffman, Devin Degen, Dennis Van Lent, Manny Clavijo, Matthew Zhuzhingo, and Oliver Scherich. The boys played great soccer but more importantly displayed great sportsmanship. Next up, the All Reds play Mt Pleasant. The All Reds are coached by Nathan Scherich, Ben Neilsen, and Gary Fairley.

Red Fury, coached by Katie McMahon and Kevin Richardson, played a spirited game against the Mahopac Fusions. There were great defensive plays by Sofia Cruz, Swara Ketkar, Natalie Coffman, and Mia and Meadow Gurreri. Meghan McMahon and Maiyumi Marcus-Kanesaka, playing goalie, had some big saves. During the game, Rachel Richardson, Breanne Rodriguez, and Maiyumi had shots on goal but could not find the back of the net. The final score was 0 - 6, marking this as the first loss for the Red Fury.

The Red Comets, coached by Joe Block and Lisa Fanelli, squared off against White Plains Black at White Plains High School this past Sunday. In spite of not having our entire team at this game and having to borrow three players, the Red Comets did not let that slow them down or dampen their spirits.

The game started off with a goal by right midfielder Amani Kelly Carty within the first two minutes of the game that got the Comets adrenaline pumping. The goal was assisted by Antonia Fanelli who sent a great pass to Amani who drove to the net and got the ball past the WP goalkeeper.

The second goal was scored by Samantha Mendieta, borrowed from Blaze, who was playing center midfield for the Comets and played a fantastic game.

The next goal was scored by speedy striker Antonia Fanelli, assisted by Mila Gallagher, from the Bandits, and fearless defensive midfielder, Ava Dominguez.

The Comets still showed perseverance even being up 3-0 In the second half. They displayed a tough defense from Erin Arnegger, Leila Dillow, Paloma Dominguez, Mia Martinez, and Ada Chalfy from the Bandits who played an outstanding game. The Comets goalkeeper, Libby Block, stopped a few shots on goal, but nothing got past her. Libby scooped those WP attempts up and got the ball back down the field.

The final goal was delivered by a Comet striker, Yvonne Leonardo, who rebounded a couple of attempts from Antonia Fanelli and Samantha Mendieta, and got the last shot on goal for the goal!

The game ended in a 4-0 win for the Red Comets and the second consecutive shut out thanks to our tight defense and hands on goalkeeper Libby. Despite all odds, the Comets pulled together with the help of fellow SHFC players and came out with a win!

Boys 2008 Fusion hosted the Lansdowne Yonkers Meteors, ultimately prevailing 2-0. The first half was quick moving, but Fusion was unable to convert opportunities into goals. Attempts from Kieran Degen, Sebastian Londono, Raul Socualaya, Eoghan Glynn, and the chronically offsides Ian Papadopoulos kept the score tied at 0 at halftime.

Fusion came out strong after the break and immediately a flurry of attempts from Luke Tonaj and Sean Mackiewicz were dramatic misses. Finally, Tonaj broke through to Londono for the score and minutes later, Londono would feed to Glynn for another fast-paced goal. There were additional attempts and noteworthy spirited play from Olin Keough who came in as forward.

While the offense worked on pace and precision, defense was a huge component of this game as Fusion sought to eliminate the Meteors' opportunities. Aiden Lee, John Ortiz, Alessandro Soto, Luca Dominguez, Luca Simbana and Edwin Dutan were instrumental in this effort. Bruno Flores showed aggressive defensive play until a debatable foul required him to sit. Jonathan Figeroa was showing excellent defensive hustle, as well, until a leg injury forced him from the game, but that slack was aptly picked up by Shyam Manjanath. Pierce Davis played a great game as goalie, saving the few attempts that did break through the defensive wall and showing good situational awareness.

Fusion played aggressively throughout the game and did a great job of controlling possession. The team is new to playing on the WI turf, which has football uprights. There were many confusing and comical moments when the attempts instead became field goals. Coaches Ken Mackiewicz, Michael Glynn, George Papadopoulos and Michael Degen were happy with Fusion's persistence and time of possession. They look forward to Sunday, when the team hosts the Don Bosco Hawks Panthers at 4:30pm at WI turf field.

The Sleepy Hollow Blaze, the U-14 girls team of the Sleepy Hollow Football Club in the Premier Division of WYSL, played division rivals Castleford Ravens to a 2 - 2 tie on Sunday in Armonk.

Both teams were undefeated on the season coming into play, but it was the Ravens struck first on a corner kick two minutes into the game. While most teams use a throw in to simply get the ball into play and hope to keep possession, the Blaze's strong-armed Minister of Defense Gabby Disney is capable of throwing over many opposing defenses. She did exactly that in the 15th minute of the match when her long pass over two defenders found Blaze forward Lilly Wurster. Lilly, one-touched the ball to forward Carina Armster. Carina's quick shot inside the post found the back of the net to pull the Blaze even in the match. That was the first goal allowed by the Ravens on the season, including an exhibition match against the Castleford Boys U-13 team that the Ravens frequently scrimmage against.

The Ravens pulled ahead 2 - 1 when a high arcing shot went just over the outstretched arms of Blaze goalie Emily Aridas in the 27th minute on the pitch. However, two minutes before the half, the Blaze pulled even when Gabby, once again on a throw in, found the feet of Blaze forward Lizzie Molina in front of the net. Lizzie's left foot tapped the ball in and pulled the teams even.

Once again urged on by their injured teammate Kayla McGuigan, the Blaze started the second half strongly. Daisy Star intercepted a pass as a defensemen and passed to midfielder Zoey Murphy. Zoey deeked past two defenders and passed to Blaze forward Gemma Fante. Gemma had a strong shot on net, which was deflected by the Ravens goalie. Later in the second half Meghan O'Hanlon, who constantly placed herself in the right position to make a play, intercepted a ball at midfield and passed to teammate Cassie "Instant Offense" Junge. In this game, Cassie's strong shot on goal was deflected however, and a second shot by Sami Marvin hit the crossbar. On the defensive side of the ball, the Blaze defense was strong. Juliana Marvin and Daisy Star worked well as a team backing each other up and stepping in front of Raven passes. The duo were often helped by midfielders Zoey Murphy and Lilly Wurster who came from midfield to help. Goalie Emily Aridas had 5 saves in the second half, including one in which held onto the ball despite being run into by an opposing player, which would normally have warranted at least a yellow card.

Next week the first place Blaze will be home against the visiting Munay Earthquakes from Ossining in a match scheduled for 2:45 on the pitch at Washington Irving. The team hopes their friends and teammates who were unable to join them against the Ravens will be able to join them against the Earthquakes.

Boys JV Red Legends got an unexpected week off. It turns out that a very tough 16-year-old and under (JV) Don Bosco was actually tough because they were really 17-year olds (Varsity). Once this accident was corrected the schedule had to be rearranged as Don Bosco was moved to an older division. The undefeated defending champions Red Legends look forward to playing an age appropriate Mahopac team this Sunday.

Varsity Girls Mustangs continued to make a statement in the premier division with another convincing 5-1 win over the Gotham Girls Portero. After scoring first the Mustangs had their second defensive lapse of the year giving up a corner kick that led to a score off a blown assignment. With the game tied 1-1 and 5 minutes left in the half, Arianna Vizcaino asked the coach to go back in the game guaranteeing she would score a goal. With the help of one of Abi Oppenheim’s two game leading assists, Ariana delivered on her promise and put the Mustangs up 2-1 at the half. In the second half the Mustangs poured it on with Emma Clarke scoring from distance off a second Abi assist. Abi then scored one of her own floating another long ball over an aggressive keeper who had been playing far out of her area all day. Arianna finished scoring with a high-powered curve shot from 18 yards out from an Emma cross. The keeper was lucky she couldn’t reach it as it likely would have dislocated her wrist. The Mustangs are in first place of the premier division at 3-0. They have scored 18 goals and allowed 2. These dedicated young ladies have been working hard as they also just went through preseason training for their high schools and every Mustang made their schools squad. They look forward to playing Yonkers this Sunday.

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