The Sleepy Hollow Football Club Kicks Off the Spring Season

The 2015 Spring Season got underway for the Sleepy Hollow Football Club last week. After knocking the rust off in some hurried practices 11 games were played on Sunday April 12th. The team rosters carry over from this past Fall Season and it was fun for the coaches, players and parents to have the seasoned “veterans” back on the pitch.

A big “THANK YOU” to the administrators and field crew for getting us back out on the fields after such a long winter.

Below are the game recaps from the all-volunteer coaches:

U9 Girls – Magic

After finishing the Fall season in second place with a record of 7-3, the SHFC girls U9 Magic moved up to the Blue division for the Spring. The more advanced play was felt immediately with the Chappaqua Utd Blue scoring quickly in the game’s opening minutes. Goals by the Magic’s #6 Shea Bertolacci and #3 Emily Orellana helped to send the game into halftime knotted at 2-2. Chappaqua started the second half with a score on a direct kick after a hand-ball in the box. That turned out to be the game winner as the Magic fell to the Blues 3-2 in an exciting and equally matched contest. Both teams saw strong play from their goalies which kept the rest of the game scoreless. The goalies for the Magic were also the captains – Christine Kern and Amy Torres. The Magic were also paced by solid all-around games by Sophia McLaurin and Anastasia Mazon. Next week the Magic travel to take on the John Jay Thunder.

U9 Boys - Sentinels

The Sentinels played to a hard fought tie against the Harrison Rockets. The Sentinels started strong, getting an early goal and controlling play during the first half. In the second half, the teams traded goals, and the Rockets eventually scored the equalizer in stoppage time. Next weekend the Sentinels take on the Pelham Pythons here in Tarrytown.

U9 Boys - Warriors

By winning their division in the Fall the U9 Boys team, Warriors, moved up to Gold division and saw them meet FC Transylvania Barca in an away game at Mount Kisco. The first half was incredibly intense with a goalless result after 25mins. Declan McCarthy made some huge saves to help that score line remain intact along with some solid defensive play from Kallen Fairley & John Arnegger. Some fast runs from Eli Krajovan up the wing were promising but the Barca defense was extremely well organized and impenetrable. The second half saw Declan McCarthy with some shots on target which were saved, and Callum Gallagher hit the bar to crowd gasps. FC Transylvania were a team coming down from Blue division to Gold and physically were also a much larger team which eventually won over as 2 goals went in to result in a final score line of 2-0 loss for the Warriors. The Warriors next game is at home to take on Rye Rogue Wave, a previous Gold division team.

U10 Girls – Red Angels

The under age 10 girls Red Angels, captained this week by Emma Behrens, played a complete game, resulting in a 2-0 victory against the Rye Brook Cheetahs. Thalia Tsilibes and Samuella Schroeder scored for the Red Angels, and the team played great defense all around. It was a great start to the season, playing in Tarrytown at Losee Field. The team will play in next week’s White Plains Invitational tournament on April 18th and play away against the Mt Pleasant Gunners on April 19th.

U10 Boys – Legends

U10B Legends opened the season on a picture perfect day on WI Upper versus New Rochelle. The boys dominated the lesser known statistical category of “Most shots on Goal” by approximately 15:1. There were standout performances by Nikhil Weltig and Max Matailo on defense and Sweepers Kyan Aguilera and Julian Bermeo. The parents were well entertained and the coaches have lots to work on during the week. Incidentally we lost the actual scoring part 1-0.

U11 Girls - Strikers

The U11 girls Strikers had tough start to the spring season. The suffered a 1-2 home loss to Edgemont Dynamite. Despite having the better of the play and dominating ball position they struggled to find the back of the net. The goal that was made was a great team effort, moving the ball down field through a series of well-placed passes. The team had many more attacking opportunities with shots going wide or forcing the goal keeper to make the save. The players, coaches and parents did receive perfect sportsmanship points, which is always a positive note. We are participating in a tournament in White Plains this Saturday and have an away game against the Eastchester Flash at Parkway Oval at Tuckahoe North.

U11 Boys - Tornadoes

The U11B Tornadoes opened the Spring Season at Losee Park today in high spirits, under sunny skies by the blue Hudson. Facing the Yonkers United Rush Predators, the Tornadoes went down 1-0 in the first few minutes, before Oli Monteforte equalized on a skilled solo goal. After that point, the Tornadoes did not fall behind again, though the game tied once more. Final score was 6-4 Tornadoes, with additional goals by Zack Burnett, Victor Ribeiro, Zack Burnett, Jack Taylor, and a “two-footed combo goal” by Sean Gallagher and Zack Burnett. Carlo Ricciutti and Griffin McLaurin valiantly tended goal. Sean Wozniak saved a 3-4 surefire goals with exceptional field vision and speed from right back. The RUFC Tornadoes look forward to welcoming the Greenburgh United Tornadoes to Losee Park next Sunday.

U12 Girls - Mustangs

The under age 12 girls Mustangs started division two play against the talented West Side Red Bulls who moved down to division 2 from division 1. The Mustangs started flat and fell behind early to the Red Bulls. Catherine Grimes and Carolina Lopez made several great saves at goal, but the Mustang defense allowed too many opportunities and the offense was unable to finish. Coach John Sutherland’s girls were unable to recover and went down 0-4. The Mustangs get a chance for redemption next week against undefeated Mamaroneck on the road.

U13 Girls – Horsemen

The newly-promoted U13 Girls Horsemen opened their Spring season in Division 3 last Sunday with a 1-1 tie against their sister RUFC U13 Girls Club, The Rivertowns United Fire.

The two teams were evenly matched and played a scoreless first half. The Fire opened the scoring early in the second half with a close-range effort from a set piece. The Horsemen responded by carrying play for a large portion of the second half and were rewarded with a goal eight minutes from time by Avery Schumacher. The goal started with a surging run down the right wing by Jessica Cowles who swung the ball across the face of the Fire goal. The ball was only partially cleared and lead to the goal-scoring strike from the top of the penalty box.

The Horsemen continued to pressure the Fire defense, coming close on several scoring attempts, but thanks to some fine play by the Fire goalkeeper, the game ended 1-1.

Next up for the Horsemen is an away match with the Briarcliff Grizzlies this Sunday, April 19th at Briarcliff High School.

U13 Boys - Tornadoes

The RUFC U13B Tornadoes had a very successful trip to the Bronx with an impressive 4-2 come-back win over the Riverdale Leprechauns. The Tornadoes went down in the first minute 1-0 off a rebound. They rallied again in the 20th minute to make the score 2-0. The Tornadoes held most of the play in the first half and in the 25th minute a nifty pass from Jonathan Orellano up the wing to Joey Morquecho who made a pin-point pass to DJ Cronin and he hit a rocket into the top of the Leprechauns net. The first half finished 2-1 and the Tornadoes were just getting started. Joey Morquecho found the back on the net early in the second half to tie the score up 2-2. Joey was not done yet as with 10 minutes to play he directed a shot to the bottom of the net beyond the Leprechauns keepers outstretched hands. With 2 minutes to play DJ Cronin made a good tackle outside the 18 yard line, brought the ball back into the box, froze the back and the keeper with a move to the right and made a perfect pass to a waiting Adam Geisker on the left side of an open net. The backs Aaron Andrade, Sebastian Campusano and Joe Cioffi were a force to be reckoned with as they thwarted all of Riverdale’s counters showing tremendous composure and maturity. Jonathan Orellano played very well in his new position as a controlling center midfielder. MIchael Richards and Abhijay Weltig both created many opportunities with their speed on the outside.

The Tornadoes next game will be a challenge when they travel to New Rochelle on Sunday April 19 to battle the New Rochelle Raptors.

U14 Girls - Eagles

The RUFC U14G Eagles lost a close match in their Division 1 debut. The Shrub Oak Fundamentals just managed to hold on for a 3-2 win. The Fundamentals took an early lead in the opening minutes of the match. Taylor Burnett answered quickly by tenaciously following her own shot as it was deflected along the goal line and then put the ball in just ahead of the diving keeper. Shrub Oak scored again in the first half, but the Eagles were quickly able to even it up as Julia Friedman scored when she found a loose ball in front of the goal about 8 yards out and fired it into the back of the net. Shrub Oak then went ahead to stay early in the second half. Although the Eagles had many opportunities in the second half, they couldn’t get the ball to bounce their way before running out of time. Next Sunday the Eagles take on the West Side Red Bulls at Dobbs Ferry High School.