Week in Review: MacArthur Girls Volleyball Sweeps Hempstead, Division Boys Soccer Tops MacArthur

It was a busy first week for fall sports teams in the Levittown School District.

On the volleyball court, the Lady Generals took on Hempstead in their season home opener on Thursday and shut the Tigers down with a 25-7, 25-14, and 25-5 straight sets victory.

“It’s a great way to start the season," fourth-year MacArthur coach Christine Ruppert said. "Our offensive really showed their strength.”
Senior Kristen Brown had 6 aces and 3 kills in the game. Brown, who has committed to play softball for the University of North Carolina, returns to the team after missing last season due to knee surgery. Senior Emily Lyons had three kills, while senior Samantha Barrett contributed two kills.

Meanwhile, on Saturday, the Division Avenue boys soccer squad grabbed district bragging rights with a 3-1 victory over MacArthur at MacArthur High School.

Despite playing man down due to a red card being issued, Division led at the half by a slim 1-0 margin. Although the consistently strong and solid Generals defense never gave up, the Dragons added two goals in the second half to build a 3-0 lead. MacArthur’s Matt Verini managed to break through the Blue Dragons defensive wall late in the second half to break the shutout and finish the 3-1 margin.

The Blue Dragons roster consists of 11 seniors, 7 juniors and 1 freshman. After the match, head coach Brian Maloney was asked about his team's prospects.

“The team will miss last year’s outstanding goaltender Andres Montoya (SUNY New Paltz)," he said, "but we return All County and Conference Player of the Year Shane McLaughlin who is a strong offender. We plan on concentrating on an early lead and let the defense finish.”

After the game, MacArthur head coach Eric Schmidt said he was proud of both new additions to the team, freshmen Greg Baumstein and Anthony Rocchio. Coach Maloney shared the same sentiment regarding his ninth-grade starter Justin Hansen, whoscored his first varsity goal and added an assist. Captain Shane McLaughlin and Eric Marciel were the other 2 scorers for Division.

Both soccer teams are back home today. Division hosts Lawrence at 4:30 p.m. while MacArthur hosts Calhoun at the same time.