Spring 2019 Champions & Season Recap

Sleepy Hollow Football Club is pleased to congratulate 6 teams that won their division championships this spring.

The boys Shadow, who are born in 2010 or later, won Division 5 this spring after winning Division 6 last fall fall. They are coached by Gary Fairley, Dipo Ashiru, and Aaron Luchetti. This is the boys first year playing together and have showed much dedication and promise.

The Red Lions, who are boys born in 2009 or later, won Division 3 after winning Division 4 in the fall. Moving up steadily in the Under 10 age group, the Red Lions are coached by Brad Scheller.

The 2008 boys River Sharks, coached by Ed Greenberg, Michael Glynn, and Gerardo Soto, won Division 4. They are showing momentum and progress, as they won Division 6 last spring.

Coaches Howard Allen, Mary Slattery, and Pat Grimes won their third division championship winning Division 5 with the U12 Dutchmen, who are born in 2007 or later.

The girls Blaze has won their second Division 1 Championship and 6th overall Division Championship. This powerful team of girls, born in 2007 or later are coached by John Sutherland and Annette O’Hanlon.

The JV Los Gauchos, coached Luis Lewis, William Julian, and Jose Monteforte won the Division 2 championship. This group of boys, born in 2003 or later, have been playing together for several years and their level of play is quite impressive.

All winners in Division 3 or higher get added to the “High Division Winners” Plaque and Division 1 champs get added to the SHFC Cup. Both are on display at Main Street Sweets in Tarrytown.

We want to commend our hardworking players and the families who support them. It is also important to acknowledge SHFC’s our all-volunteer coaches, who work year round to ensure the kids have a meaningful experience, as well as the community for its ongoing support.

Here are each of our 21 SHFC team’s results for this past week:

2010 Girls Bandits played their final game of this spring season on the road against the Pelham Mayhem. The score is not available. In just their first year of play, the Bandits have played very cohesively as a team and have showed steady improvement in all positions. They look forward to taking the field together in the fall for more competitive play.

2010 Boys Shadow completed a great season with a 6-1 win at home against Chappaqua Navy. Brandon Wang and Caesar Blanco joined the team for the day to round out a seven-person attack against the physical Chappaqua squad. With hustle and passing, the Shadows jumped out to an early lead thanks to goals from Jackson Pena (2), Elion Ashiru (2) and Nico Barbosa. Wang added a nifty one-touch goal to complete the scoring. Accurate passing from Blanco, Andrew Lucchetti, Luca Bruno and Denis Suqui set the tempo, while goalie Joaquin Rodriguez stopped numerous hot shots from the Chappaqua side.

For the spring season, the Shadows won all eight games and took their second consecutive division crown, with only rain-outs stopping the momentum. The players’ hard work at practice paid off, and we hope to see continued growth from the team in the fall.

A special thank-you goes to all the players, coaches, managers and parents. The team included Elion Ashiru, Andrew Lucchetti, Denis Suqui, Nico Barbosa, Kellen McGuire, Leo Zohar, Matthew Bartolacci, Jackson Pena, Luca Bruno, Joaquin Rodriguez, Bobby Gonzalez and Leandro Santorum; Coaches Gary Fairley, Dipo Ashiru and Aaron Lucchetti and Team Managers Becca Zohar and Niki Ashiru. It has been a truly special first season of Sleepy Hollow soccer for these 8-and-9-year-old boys.

2009 Girls Red Fury, coached by Katie McMahon and Jim McGovern, ended the 2018-2019 season on a high note, with a two-game winning streak and a gutsy come-from-behind win. The Red Fury beat the Castleford Sting Rays by a score of 3-2 in Armonk on Sunday afternoon, with a tremendous SHFC team effort.

Despite a strong start with solid offensive pressure from the Red Fury, the Sting Rays scored the first goal at 11:55 of the First Half, sneaking one past Red Fury goalie Maiyumi Marcus-Kanesaka. The Red Fury took the ball up the field countless times, and recorded several shots on goal, including by Rachel Richardson, Meghan McMahon, Sofia Cruz, Erin Arnegger and Maeve Yox. The Sting Rays managed to squeeze in another goal with a few minutes remaining in the First Half, despite the solid defensive play of the Red Fury.

The Red Fury came out strong in the Second Half. Goalie Grace McGovern made several early saves to keep her team in the game. Momentum formally shifted when Meghan McMahon scored on a penalty shot, bringing the score to 2-1. Red Fury defenders and midfielders Kate Masters, Charlotte Spiridakis, Sofia Cruz, Maiyumi Marcus-Kanesaka, and Breanne Rodriguez played strong defense, continuously moving the ball up the field. The offense came through with ten minutes left in the game as Rachel Richardson converted on a pass from Meghan McMahon. The offense recorded several shots on goal, including from Rose Ritz and Maeve Yox. With three minutes left in the game, Miss Yox scored the game winner, on a terrific pass from Miss Richardson. Goalie Grace McGovern played flawlessly in net, shutting out the Sting Rays in the second half and closing out the season with a great celebration!

2009 Boys United finished their season last weekend. Overall United was 7-8 for the 2018-2019 season but after starting out 0-4 last fall United worked hard and came together as a team the last 11 games going 7-4.

Coaches Pisani and Valenti were so very proud and encouraged by the players’ growth and look forward to seeing how they continue to develop in the coming months and years. They’d like to thank the wonderful, hardworking kids and enjoyed meeting such amazing parents who were so supportive and respectful all year. Sleepy Hollow is a terrific sports town and an amazing place to live!

2009 Boys Red Lions closed out their spring season on the road with a win against the FC Transylvania Barca White. Undefeated in their Division 3, the Red Lions have pulled off back-to-back division wins. Congratulations to the hardworking Red Lions, just in their second year of play, and their coach Brad Scheller.

2008 Girls Red Comets, coached by Joe Block and Sven Armster, fell on the road by a score of 2-1 in a close match against the North Salem Fighting Tigers.

2008 Boys Fusion finished their spring season on the road against Ossining’s Munay Red. In a downpour, the boys played hard but ended up falling short with a 3-1 loss. While the standings may not have reflected such, Fusion played competitively all spring and the boys have developed outstanding cohesiveness as a team. Coaches George Papadopoulos, Ken Mackiewicz and Michael Degen were pleased with the team’s competitive drive and effort all year.

Fusion are Jaiden Brito, Pierce Davis, Kieran Degen, Edwin Dutan, Bruno Flores, Dylan Largo, Aiden Lee, Sean Mackiewicz, Jezrael Panama, Ian Papadopoulos, Dylan Pasato, Justin Paute, Raul Socualaya, and Jack Zhunio.

2008 Boys River Sharks hosted the Manhattan United at Hackley School field, coming away with a 7-3 victory. Undefeated this spring season, the River Sharks claimed the championship for their Division 4. Kudos to the team and their coaches Ed Greenberg, Michael Glynn, and Gerardo Soto.

2007 Girls Blaze

The Blaze traveled to Harbor Island Field on Father's Day Sunday to take on the LMFC Gold Flash.

The Blaze had Julissa Cassiano starting in goal in the first half, as regular goalie Emily Aridas could cheer her team on from the sideline, but could not play as she recovered from surgery. Even without their starting goalie, the Blaze used their well-coached defense to keep the Flash from even getting a shot on goal in the first half. Whenever a Flash player passed the center field line, the Blaze's Gabby "Minister of Defense" Disney was always in the right position to challenge the Flash player and get the ball back to the Blaze for offense. The Blaze kept the pressure on the Flash goalie throughout the first half as 90% of the game was played in the Flash part of the field. The game was scoreless for the first 26 minutes of the game, as the strong Flash goalie made diving saves on kicks by Gemma Fante and Kayla McGuigan. The scoreless play ended when Blaze forward Sami Marvin intercepted a Flash throw-in and passed to Zoey Murphy when challenged. Zoey dribbled briefly and the passed to Blaze midfielder Kayla McGuigan. Kayla kept control of the ball and launched a strong kick into the far corner of the net putting the Blaze ahead 1 - 0 at the half.

In the second half, Lizzie Molina took over goalie duties for the Blaze and Julissa Cassiano moved to the forward position. Lizzie had three nice saves as she was tested in the beginning of the second half. Ten minutes into the second half, Zoey Murphy successfully challenged a Flash player at midfield and passed ahead to Sami "Beast Mode" Marvin who proceeded to dribble up the right sideline. Sami passed to Julissa who executed a very nice kick into the Flash net, putting the Blaze ahead 2 - 0. Sami also played a significant role in the next goal for the Blaze. When a Flash goalie kick was handled by a Flash player near the sideline, Sami challenged the player very quickly and forced an errant pass that was intercepted by Meghan O'Hanlon, who was perfectly positioned on the play. As soon as she had control, Meghan made a short pass to midfielder Kayla McGuigan who had her second goal of the game seconds later after a nice kick off her left foot.

Ahead 3 - 0, the Blaze played back for the remaining few minutes of the game and provided coach John Sutherland, and all Blaze fathers, a 3 - 0 Father's Day gift. Able to win despite missing their regular goalie as well as midfielders Julianna Marvin and Penny McVey made the victory even nicer for Coach Sutherland and Team Manager Annette O'Hanlon. The game was the Blaze's fifth clean sheet of the season, as they finished 7 - 1 for the team's second consecutive WYSL U-12 Division 1 Championship.

2007 Boys Dynamo fell 5-2 on the road against the LMFC Yellow Gunners. Ending the spring with a 5-2-1 record, Dynamo finished in second place of their division. Dynamo are coached by Alberto Blanco.

2007 Boys Dutchmen finished out the spring season on June 9 with a 4-0 win against the Mt. Pleasant Wildcats ending the season at the top of their division. Congratulations Dutchmen!

2006 Girls Storm were awarded a forfeit against the Scarsdale Celtic. The Storm finished 6-1 on the spring season in their age group’s Division 3. On June 13, the Storm took on their 2006 counterparts the boys Warriors for a spirited scrimmage. A photo is attached from after the friendly match.

2006 Boys Firebolts, coached by Ricardo Gonzalez, fell 2-0 at home against the John Jay Purple. Their spring season ended with a 2-5-1 record in Division 3.

2006 Boys Warriors travelled to the Lansdowne Yonkers Cougars, where they lost 4-1. The Warriors finished the spring season with a 3-4 record in their Division 4 play.

2005 Girls Cyclones played a well-matched game against the Gotham Arsenal for their last game of the season. The Cyclones knew the Arsenal would use their foot skills to create opportunities to get into the attacking third. However, the Cyclones used their ability to play defense and to find ways to counter-attack, playing the ball through the middle of the field and out to the flanks. This was how the only goal of the game was scored at 11 minutes in as Caroline D. won a ball, played it to Caitlyn O., who drew the defense passing to Belle M. on the left flank. Thalia T., who timed her run perfectly, took it down the left cutting inside between two Arsenal defenders and was able to get a shot off that hit the back of the net. Both teams had plenty of opportunities to score but the Cyclones would prevail by the entire team working effectively defensively to win 1-0. Lauren K. continued to make clutch saves as she did in the second half thwarting a one-on-one with a diving save.

The Cyclones should be proud of the way they finished off their season in second place in their Division. Congratulations to all the Cyclones on a successful season!

2005 Boys Legends finished in third place in Division 1 by beating the first place team 5-2 this past Sunday. The Legends are a founding team of SHFC. They won 5 division championships and 2 Division 1 championships. They won the Somers Fall Classic, FC Everton Cup, and the Landsdowne Cup. They represented the State of New York in the AYSO National games in Florida... defeating Florida, North Carolina, and Michigan. They have had matches in New York, New Jersey, CT, and Florida. This was a great 6 year run for the Legends, who were the first SHFC team to win Division 1 and one of two teams to win it twice.

2005 Boys Red Devils won 4-0 on the road against the LMFC Orange Wolves to close out the spring season. The Red Devils, who finished with a 5-3 record this spring, finished in a tie for second place in their Division 3. They are coached by Francisco Mendieta, Mark Taylor, and Cedric Smith.

JV Girls Strikers won their last game of the season Saturday. We played at home against Yorktown Lady Huskers. The opposing team showed up with 8 players and we only fielded 10 players as to not blow out the team.

The first half ended 3-1 when they lost 2 more players and the game became a forfeit. At that point we loaned 4 players so the kids could still play the full game.

Final score was 6-2 with 7 of the goals made by the Strikers.

Big thanks to 3 Cyclone players that helped: Thalia, Wyomie and Isabelle.

JV Boys Los Gauchos captured their second Division title with a dominant 8-2 victory. More importantly, celebrated Father's day with their dedicated parents and players.

Los Gauchos are: Mateo, Jhonatan, Paul, Oliver, Shubhro, Henry, Braulin, Jason, Eric, Dylan, Owen, Alex, Gabriel, Julian, Jeff, Peter, Esteban, Jack, Rashid, Zack, Wilfredo, Adam, Daniel T.

Their coaches are: Pepe, Bill, Scott and Luis.

Dedication and effort was outstanding from all the players. Training attendance was very high and it reflected in the quality style of play. The team’s focus is playing quality positional-based possession. They lead their division in goals scored, and least goals allowed.

Please enjoy a video montage of match Highlights and Fathers' Day photos:

Photos attached: team photo, as well as captains and coaches.

2002 Varsity Girls Mustangs came from behind for the third week in a row to tie or win the game in the last few minutes. All three times Haley Wilenzick pulled off the last second score. This week the Mustangs found themselves down 1-3 to the 2000 West Side Red Bull’s with 10 minutes left and managed to score a goal with 5 minutes to go and 30 seconds to go to earn the tie. The Red Bull’s are made up of girls born in 2000 (two years older than the oldest Mustangs) and they are the second best team in all of WYSL. The Mustangs played 5 freshman (4 years younger) against this senior squad. 14 year old Arianna Vizcaino was offensive player of the game assisting on all three goals and shelling the Red Bull cross bar from 30 yards out all second half with near misses. Britany Alban scored first off of one of eight of Arianna’s perfect corner kicks. Anna Marisa Lara scored second off of Arianna’s thru ball with nifty moves beating the keeper to bring the Mustangs within 1 goal at 5 minutes to go. Finally Haley Wilenzick drove in the defender, keeper, and most importantly the ball into the goal off of Arianna’s last corner kick. Haley earned player of the game honors for the tying goal and overall accomplishment of scoring the clutch goal three weeks in a row. Sophie Sylves-Berry earned defensive player of the game honors. She was not beaten on her left defensive back position and usually won the ball outright and started offensive attacks.

Although the Mustangs finished the season tied for fifth place in the highest out of 3 varsity divisions, they were competitive in every game. They were the only team to beat the first place team and went on to tie the second place, third place, and 5th place teams. The Mustang offensive production improved as the season went on and the team scored 5 more goals in three rematches then the first time around. The girls were fourth in offense but last in defense. The defensive rank was explained by missing star keeper Julia Costa all season from injury and noting that most of the competing teams would have one super-star 19 year old that could break thru and out run the middle of the Mustang defense. The girls made great strides this year and look forward to their varsity high school seasons at 6 different local high schools. The girls will celebrate the finish of the season Sunday with a pool party and awards ceremony.

2002 Varsity Boys Horsemen fell 5-0 on the road against the Edgemont Force. They finished the spring with a 1-6-1 record in Division 3 of Varsity play.

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