East Islip Red Dragons: Girls U-11 Open Cup Champions

Proving that nice gals finish first, the two-time Long Island Junior Soccer League Sportsmanship Award recipients, the East Islip Red Dragons, have won youth soccer's Triple Crown.

The Triple Crown is the nearly impossible task of winning the Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association's State Cup, Waldbaum's Challenge and LIJSL division title. Only four out of 1,488 LIJSL teams won the Triple Crown this year

East Islip has a 20-game unbeaten streak.

In the Girls Under-11 State Cup final last month, the Red Dragons defeated Clarkstown 96, 7-1, after leading 5-0 at halftime. Four East Islip goals were scored by the team's leading scorer, forward Kayla Saager, two goals by their second-leading scorer, forward Aly Conley, plus a goal by midfielder Morgan Santoro.

"Morgan gave Clarkstown all they could handle and provided great service for the two forwards from the right flank," coach Eddie Eng said. "All the girls played great. I can't say enough good things about everyone's play, it was one of those games where everything was clicking."

East Islip also took great pride in winning the Howard Rubenstein Sportsmanship Award for the Open Cup tournament.

"Winning the Triple Crown was very difficult. I think that all the players realized how hard it was after we did it," Eng said. "Once we won the State Cup in early June, we were able to avoid a letdown since there were two weeks left in the season."

In the Waldbaum's Challenge final on June 17, the Red Dragons beat the Massapequa Stars, 2-0, with forward Kayla Saager and midfielder Renee Tessa supplying the goals. Keeper Erin Hannigan recorded the shutout.

"The game ball went to center defender Kayla Roundsman for her flawless play providing the backbone of the defense, denying opportunities to the high-scoring Massapequa team time and time again," Eig said. "She was assisted by the
outstanding play of right defender Gianna Jennosa and left defender Tori D'Acunto as well as goalkeeper Erin Hannigan."

In the LIJSL Girls U-11 Division S1, East Islip compiled a 8-0-1 record, the only tie coming its their neighbors, the West Islip Silent Thunder.

"The key to winning the Triple Crown was teamwork," Eng said. "We have some key players but the entire team's effort gave us the Triple Crown."

The Red Dragons have won four consecutive LIJSL Division 1 titles and two successive Waldbaum's championships. 2007 was their first year of State Cup eligibility.

F.C. Westchester: Boys U-16 Open Cup Champions

 Edgar Quiroga, coach of the F.C. Westchester Boys Under-16 team, has a way of keeping his side humble. "There are a lot of teams in our age group," he said. "We don’t think we’re the best. We work hard to be the best.  "That’s our mentality. That’s why we’re successful."

 

No one can argue with F.C. Westchester success this year or in recent State Cup history. For the second year in a row and for the third time in four seasons, this F.C. Westchester side captured an Open Cup title at the Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association competition. F.C. Westchester defeated the East Fishkill Thunder, 3-0, at Gavin Park in Saratoga Springs, N.Y. earlier this month.

 

F.C. Westchester struck in the final minute of the first half to grab a 1-0 lead as Roger Ayalo headed home a left-wing cross from Joseph Posillico into the far post. "There was not way (the goalkeeper) could get it," Quiroga said. "The goalkeeper just watched it."

Posillico doubled the lead 10 minutes into the second half, scoring on a diving head off a right-wing cross by Brian Cabrera. Posillico played a role in giving the Westchester Youth Soccer League team some more breathing room with 10 minutes remaining. With a defender on his back, Posillico managed to get the ball toward the net as a defender miskicked it. But Aaron Markowitz scored to make it 3-0.

 "The final was a matter of when we’re going to score," Quiroga said. "We were in control. It was our game to lose. If we didn’t score early, it would have become a very complicated game."

 

The next stop for F.C. Westchester and Qurigoa is the Region I tournament in Portland, Maine from June 28-July 3. The team will meet Eastern Pennsylvania , New Jersey and Maine in the first round. "It’s going to be a tough draw, but I like our chances," Quiroga said. "Like the State Cup, it’s in our hands. We have a shot, but we have to make it happen." 

 

Quiroga praised his coaching staff, noting that it has played an important role in his team’s success. The staff includes his brother, James Quiroga, Jay Riordan and Matt Maguire.

 

"They work as hard as anyone if not harder than anyone in New York ," Quirgoa said. "My hats off to the coaches. The players make the sacrifices on the field and the players feed off of how the coaches get along."

 

Terryville Fire: Boys U-18 Open Cup Champions

 

Few youth teams have waited as long as the Terryville Fire between State Cup championships. Some eight years ago the Fire captured the Boys Under-10 Open Cup crown. When it came time for the medal ceremony after the Fire won the Boys Under-18 Open Cup title -- a 4-0 victory over the Manhattan Thunder -- in Gavin Park in Saratoga Springs, N.Y. earlier this month, one parent did not forget what transpired nearly a decade ago.

Steve O’Brien, the coach of that team who eventually stepped down due to work commitments, brought along the U-10 championship plaque, but didn’t tell anyone until the end of the game. "He didn’t want to jinx anybody," current team manager Michael Secko said.

A photo was taken of the team with the U-10 and U-plaques.

As it turned out, the Fire’s best offense came from its defense in this year’s championship game. Three of the Fire’s four goals were scored by backline players in the Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association’s State Cup championships.

Defenders Mark Secko found the back of the net twice and Thomas Federico once for the Fire.

Terryville had lost to Manhattan in last year’s U-17 final via penalty kicks. "It was nice to come back and win this time," Michael Secko said.

The Fire likes to send all four of its backs into the attack, although not at once. "It worked out nicely," Secko said.

Indeed it did, since Terryville grabbed a 2-0 halftime lead. "The game was nip and tuck right at the beginning," Secko said.

Federico, chesting a pass from Connor O’Brien, gave the Fire the lead and Mark Secko added a penalty kick. Secko put in a rebound and forward Joe Taverense, who was taken down in the box for the PK, added the fourth goal on a semi-breakaway off another O’Brien feed.

Goalkeeper Tom Booth registered the shutout.

The Fire started cup competition a bit shorthanded. Only 10 players showed up for its first-round game on the weekend of April 14-15, yet Terryville recorded a 3-0 road win vs. the Hudson Valley Strikers. Three players were still attending college and some other players had commitments that day.

"The kids just got better and better," Secko said. "Things worked out well for us."

Secko has been most impressed with the players’ unselfishness. They are a team," he said. "We’ve got some great players. . . . These kids are willing to make sacrifices to help the team. "If someone makes a mistake, there’s someone there to pick him up."

B.W. Gottschee Raiders: Boys U-19 Open Cup Champions

Sometimes rival youth clubs and teams will actually work together for the good of both sides. Take, for example, what transpired between B.W. Gottschee and the New Rochelle Raiders, who were rivals for years in the Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association State Cup competition.

With both teams losing players to age eligibility or other responsibilities at the Under-19 level, they decided to merge into one team: The Gottschee Raiders. It turned out for the best, at least for those two teams, as the Raiders emerged as U-19 Open Cup champions. Gottschee defeated the Rosedale Supersonics, 3-0, in the final at the Peter C. Collins Soccer Park in Plainview , L.I. earlier this month.

"It’s a very talented squad," coach Peter Sterbenz said.   It should be. Both these teams battled for State Cup supremacy the past four years, each side winning two championships. Gottschee performs in the Cosmopolitan Junior Soccer League, the Raiders in the Westchester Youth Soccer League.

"It’s quite odd," Sterbenz said. "We’ve been competing in the State Cup final for four years. It’s been a good rivarly. We respect each other’s teams and accomplishments.

When Gottschee discovered that the Raiders weren’t going to have a team for this spring season, Sterbenz said he coached former New Rochelle coach David Price about which players were interested in joining the combined squad.  "The marriage was consummated," Sterbenz said. "It was good to have them."

Indeed it was, especially against Rosedale in the final. Alfie Runco scored in the 40th minute, Victor Hernandez in the 65th minute and Sebastian Villa finished things up in the 75th minute.

"We had a number of opportunities we missed early on," Sterbenz said. "It was up and down. Rosedale had a couple of talented players. We kept attacking." 

After the second goal it became very chippy. Two Rosedale players were sent off and the Supersonics played the rest of the match with nine players. "A lot of it was based on frustration," Sterbenz said. "We’re a possession team." That has been the key to Gottschee’s success -- "how comfortable they are on the ball," Sterbenz said. "They search out the right options when they have many options.

 

 

F.C. Somers Lasers: Open Cup Boys U-13 Champions

After winning an Open Cup title for the second consecutive year, F.C. Somers Lasers coach Erhardt Kapp has a different philosophy this time around as his Boys Under-13 team prepares for the Region I tournament.

"Last year we wanted to go to the regionals and enjoy the moment," he said. "This year we want to win it.   We feel we are one of the better teams in the region and we showed it."

The Lasers demonstrated they were one of the best Boys teams in Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association, capturing the U-13 crown, surviving a penalty-kick shootout thriller with Bayside Aston Villa, 5-4, after playing to a 2-2 tie in regulation and extratime in the State Cup championships at Gavin Park in Saratoga Springs, N.Y. earlier this month.

Being a defending champion wasn’t easy for the Lasers. "We had a target on our backs," Kapp said.

Kapp said his East Hudson Youth Soccer League team got over the hump by defeating its nemesis, B.W. Gottschee, in the semifinals. The Lasers had lost to Gottschee three times. ’I guess the third time is a charm," Kapp said. "It was very significant," he added. "We actually believe in ourselves a little bit more."

The Lasers needed every bit of that belief against Bayside as they found themselves trailing 10 minutes into the match. But F.C. Somers equalized in the 17th minute as Taylor Washington dribbled past a defender and found Kyle Hughes, who scored.

The Lasers hit the post or crossbar five times. "We were pretty happy with the way we were playing," Kapp said.  Some 15 minutes into the second half, Omar Tall lifted the Lasers into a 2-1 edge, but Bayside took advantage of a defensive lapse to tie in with about 10 minutes remaining.

"After that, one of the most spectacular overtimes I’ve ever (watched) because both goalkeepers had to make some incredible saves," Kapp said. "They kept both teams in it."

So the game came down to penalty kicks. Somers won that, 5-4, as one Bayside player missed his chance.  Gabe Stauber, Daniel Norris, Larry Gonzalez, Tall and Washington converted their opportunities for the Lasers.

 

 

Dix Hills Thunder:  U12 Boys Open Champions

Not every team can play at its optimum every time out.  And that includes at State Cup championships games.  Dix Hills Thunder coach Bart Nason can attest to that. Nason felt his team did not play up to its full potential, yet the Thunder earned the Boys Under-12 Open Cup title with a 3-1 win over Lake Grove United at the Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association finals at Gavin Park in Saratoga Springs, N.Y. earlier this month.

"We didn’t play so good, to be honest with you," Nason said. "It was one of our weakest games. We had a few kids injured and a few sidelined."

 

Still, the Thunder was good enough to capture its third consecutive State Cup crown as the team won the Triple Crown for the second time in three years. That is the Long Island Junior Soccer League’s version of winning three major titles -- the division crown, the Waldbaum’s Challenge, which is the league cup, and the State Cup.  

In fact, the Thunder enter the Region I tournament in Portland, Maine this week undefeated this season in ENY competition at 21-0. Broken down, Dix Hills was 9-0 in the league, 5-0 in the Waldbaum’s Challenge and 7-0 in the State Cup.

Nason said the Thunder has no stars. In the Waldbaum’s final, eight players scored goals in an 8-0 win.

“That’s what the team is all about," he said. "There are days one player will step up and another day another play will step up."

In Saratoga Springs , a number of players stepped up for the Thunder when it counted.

Donovan Fraser gave Dix Hills a 1-0 lead in the eighth minute, but Andrew Eimari tied it for Lake Grove as he put in a rebound of his saved penalty kick six minutes into the second half.

Brett Nason lifted the Thunder into a 2-1 lead it would not relinquish 15 minutes into the half before Dakota Barnachan gave Dix Hills some much-needed breathing room two minutes later.

One key for the Thunder is that players are interchangeable at various positions. "You know what’s a lot of fun?" Nason asked. "All of our players play different positions.

BW Gottschee: Boys U-14 Open Cup Champions

Four times B.W. Gottschee Celeste has reached an Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association Open Cup final and four times the team has received championship medals. The fourth consecutive time occurred at Gavin Park in Saratoga Springs, N.Y. earlier this month as Gottschee registered a 2-0 State Cup win over the Hicksville Strikers.

Celeste became the first Gottschee team to win four consecutive State cup titles, according to Gottschee youth coordinator and unofficial historian Ben Boehm. Years ago the club won 10 successive U-19 titles, but that was with a different team every year.

Because of that winning reputation, this Gottschee team walks around with a target on its backs. "A lot of teams we played try to play not to lose and try to get to penalty kicks," Brunengo said. "Everybody tried to stop us, frustrate us. We make a mistake and they would score. It didn’t happen."

Brunengo gave credit to his opponents in Saratoga Springs. "Hicksville played soccer, contrary to what other teams did in the State Cup," he said. "That benefited us. That’s our style."

Gottschee survived a near disaster early in the match on a missed penalty kick. Andrew Lomanto kicked the ball over the goal. Some teams would fall apart after missing such an opportunity.  But this Gottschee team is different. "We didn’t lose any momentum after that," Brunengo said.

Gottschee scored as David Diosa connected on the first of his two goals in the 15th minute. He added another about three minutes before halftime.

This team has gone through and seen so much -- representing the United States in the Danone Cup in Paris, France, and winning last year’s Region I crown, for example -- over the past several years, Brunengo felt few things can startle Celeste.  "They have played in every big game," he said. "That they have done it all. . . . They find a way . . . They find a way to win.

"That’s a credit to the kids for all the success they have."

Levittown United: Girls U-12 Open Cup Champions

If its progression continues, then Levittown United could do some damage at the upcoming Region I tournament.

The wife of Levittown United coach Gary Babicz noted that United has improved every year since it began competing in the Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association State Cup.
 
She’s correct: Levittown reached the U-10 Girls Open Cup semifinals in 2005, were U-11 finalists last year and won the U-12 crown this year.
 
"Her natural progression would have us as regional champs in 2008 and national champs in 2009!" Babicz wrote in a recent e-mail. "All kidding aside, we have improved nearly every year of play, rising from third or fourth in the division in 2005 to second in 2006, and now division champions in 2007."
 
No one kids when they have to play Levittown United. Just ask anyone of the teams that have lost to this Long Island Junior Soccer League team, which captured the State Cup title with a 3-0 victory over the Syosset Arsenal at Gavin Park in Saratoga Springs, N.Y. earlier this month.
 
United became the first Levittown Soccer Club team to reach the regionals, which will be held in Portland, Maine. The Arsenal will be going as well, as a wildcard team.
 
"While being a state finalist and getting into the regionals as a wildcard would have been an honor for us, winning the state championship was the crown of an amazing year for United," Babicz said. "There is nothing harder than winning a state championship especially in a large state association like Eastern NY where you have to play seven single-elimination games to get it done. I have seen top teams in other age groups get eliminated in Round One, so we never take our position as champions lightly. I have told the girls that every team we play from now on will know you are state champions and will bring something extra against you. Before every game we remind ourselves of how hard we trained to get here.
 
"After last year’s tough PK loss to Syosset in the state championship I felt that United just wanted it a bit more at this year’s final. That is the beauty of our team. On paper we may not have the top athletes or technicians; but at training you will not see a more intense session anywhere, and on game day you will not see a group of girls possessing a more intense desire to win."
 
Another key to United’s success has been its willing to learn from the best.
 
"We like to expose the team to high level competition by playing in top premier tournaments such as the FC Delco Players Cup and WAGS," Babicz said. “It is important to get outside of your own neighborhood and see how other teams in other states are organized. Everywhere we travel we find the soccer community to be friendly and welcoming. We won the Platinum Bracket in FC Delco in 2006 after a solid trouncing in 2005, and then advanced to the semifinals in the Premier bracket this year -- a solid improvement against some amazing teams."
 
So, all that experience and preparation did not hurt United’s performance in the State Cup championship encounter.
 
Marrisa Tidona opened up the scoring late in the first half with a tricky left footed chip that drifted over the goalkeeper. Mandy Barocca made it 2-0 at about the 40th minute with some hard work on the right side followed by a blast to the far post. Amanda Cantos received a nice through ball with about five minutes remaining, beating a defender to round out the scoring.
 
"I felt that both teams played a little conservative at the open with a holding midfielder or extra defender keeping things calm in the back," Babicz said. "Syosset is a great athletic team that attacks very quickly and we wanted to prevent them from finding space in our midfield to work. This was accomplished by our special ’Munchkin Attack’ strategy in which our three smallest (but feistiest) players -- Samantha DiClemente, Heather Maierle, and Michelle Santangelo -- were given a lot of free reign in their midfield or forward positions to close down any developing attacks.
 
"We developed a lot of confidence after getting through our usually rocky opening 10 minutes and really never looked back after stopping a Syosset surge early in the second half. I think even Syosset’s staff would agree that we just won more balls that day."
 
United’s next challenge is the Region I tournament in Portland, Maine, which kicks off Friday.
 
"No one on our team expects to waltz into the regionals and play ’just another game’," Babicz said. "This is a special event for us and our club. We are the first Levittown Soccer Club team to make it to a regional championship and hope to represent well. We are aware of the monster teams we will meet and have seen some of them play at premier tournaments. I have told the girls to enjoy the ride. Few teams get to see this event and there are no guarantees that we will be back."
 
With that in mind, United has been training hard for the regionals.
 
"We have continued to play after our long state and league seasons, working twice a week to get ready for the regionals, while attempting to insure proper rest and recovery for our players," Babicz said. "Literally just hours before traveling to Maine we are scrimmaging our club’s U-13 Division 2 team as a final prep."

STATE CUP HAT-TRICK...Albertson takes home 3 Open Cup crowns

Three out of four State Cup titles certainly were more than enough for the Albertson Fury and coach Paul Riley.

Riley directed the Fury to three Open Cup championships in the Girls division of the recent Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association finals at Gavin Park in Saratoga Springs, N.Y. -- the U-13 and U-16 sides. A week later, the Fury U-19 team captured the Girls U-19 title at Peter C. Collins Soccer Park in Plainview, L.I.  The only Fury finalist that fell short was the U-17 side that dropped a 3-2 decision to the East Meadow Dynamite.

Still, Albertson came away with the largest haul of any team in the competition. "Going in, you said we’d win three out of four, we’d be pretty happy," Riley said earlier this week. Here’s a quick synopsis of how the Fury fared:

Girls U-19:Albertson Fury 3, Quickstrike 3 (Albertson wins in penalties, 5-4)

In a wild, wild game with a wild, wild finish, the Fury managed to prevail over Quickstrike to earn the Girls U-19 crown. The teams were tied after extratime, 3-3, before an unusual penalty-kick shootout decided the winner. The Fury prevailed, 5-4, but not after much consternation and frustration.Riley, who called it "the most amazing penalty-kick tie-breaker I have ever seen," said it took 45 minutes to settle matters, even though each team took only five kicks apiece.

The delay and added time came when the referee had the Quickstrike goalkeeper retake her kick six times due to infractions by both teams. On the keeper’s sixth attempt, she hit the post against goalkeeper Michelle Betos. "It was comical," Riley said.

Only 10 minutes into the match, the Fury found itself in a 2-0 hole, a score that remained through the half. Riley said he "roasted them" during his halftime talk.

Apparently, his message got through. Katelyn Donovan converted a penalty in the 53rd minute and Kelly Henderson equalized 12 minutes later. "Once we tied it up, I thought we would win the game," Riley said.  He was correct, although Albertson’s path was a rather bumpy one.

The Fury took the lead on another Donovan score in extratime, but Quickstrike lived up to its name by tying it up on a 30-yard shot to set up the PKs an ensuing antics. "To be honest with you, I felt we still had most of the play," Riley said. "They had one forward up front we couldn’t control."

The Fury had wanted to meet the Commack ISA Emeralds, who defeated Albertson for the U-18 crown in 2006, but it wasn’t to be. Commack was eliminated in the semifinals.

After the game, several players had to leave to play in a Women’s Premier Soccer League game for the Long Island Fury at the Central Delaware SA Future, including Henderson, who played all 120 minutes in the Open Cup final. "She never came off the field," Riley said. "She was terrific in both games."

Girls U-13: Albertson Fury 3, Smithtown Attack 2

Before the season, Riley admitted there were no great expectations for the U-13 Fury side because it was a new team. "We were a good team, but we didn’t know how good we were," he said.

Well, this Fury squad was good enough to win the State Cup, defeating the Smithtown Attack, 3-2, to become the youngest team in Albertson Soccer Club history to win a State Cup.  "Smithtown was good defensively," Riley said. "They don’t give the ball away."

The Fury scored 52 seconds into the match, but Smithtown equalized midway through the first half. Albertson retook the lead right before halftime, but with seven minutes remaining in regulation, the Attack tied it again after the Fury goalkeeper dropped the ball.  However, with only three minutes left in extra time, the Fury struck again to secure the win.

"It was great to win that one." Riley said. "The girls did well. They proved everyone wrong. They proved they can win big games. After giving up a goal with seven minutes left, they showed a lot of character."

Girls U-16: Albertson Fury 1, Rockville Centre Tornadoes 0

Riley figured the Fury had a 50-50 chance of prevailing entering the game against the Rockville Centre Tornadoes, 1-0. RVC was ranked second in the age group and the coach figured the Fury’s advantage was experience. The Fury used that experience to win its third Open Cup crown, 1-0.

"To win it three times is pretty great," he said. But it wasn’t that easy. "Rockville Centre gave us all we could handle in the first half," Riley said.

However, it was a goal by Vicki DiMartino that boosted Albertson into the lead on a penalty kick, which was the last kick of the opening half. "She’s cool and calm," Riley said.

Heading into halftime with a lead helped a lot. "We got a grip on the game in the second half," Riley said.

Last year the Fury reached the Region I semifinals before it was eliminated. This year Riley would like to see the team go beyond that. "We hope we can cause anyone trouble," he said.

Girls U-17: East Meadow Dynamite 3, Albertson Fury 2

Riley called the U-17 loss to the East Meadow Dynamite "the biggest upset" of the State Cup. The Dynamite registered a 3-2 victory. "We figured if it wasn’t a pretty game we would lose," Riley added. "It wasn’t a pretty game.

"We made some horrific defensive mistakes.The Dynamite grabbed a 1-0 lead in the 20th minute, but the Fury tied it on Emma Mullo’s goal. But on the final kick of the first half, East Meadow scored to grab a 2-0 lead.

Mullo connected to level the match again at 2-2. Riley thought the Fury would take the game to East Meadow. "We never got into another gear," he said. East Meadow’s Michelle Reynolds scored off a 35-yard shot -- "a beautiful goal," Riley said -- in the second half.

"I thought we were done after that," he added. "In all fairness to the Dynamite, they outfought us for the ball. They deserved to win."

White Plains Killer Bees: Girls U-14 Open Cup Champions  
 
The team’s name has changed a bit and so have the players. But one thing remains the same for the White Plains Killer Bees: They keep on winning.
They continued their winning ways in the Open Cup competition by capturing the Girls Under-14 title at the Open Cup championships with a 3-1 triumph over East Meadow United at Gavin Park in Saratoga Springs, N.Y. earlier this month.
 
It was the Killer Bees’ third consecutive State Cup championship in the Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association competition, a rare feat for a team from the North bracket.    In fact, it was the Killer Bees’ 16 consecutive State Cup win, having lost to Bayport in the U-11 quarterfinals, 1-0, when they played 9 v 9 and were named the Briarcliff Killer Bees.
 
Three players remain from the original State Cup champions of 2005. Now the team is made up of players from the Hudson Valley area -- three from the Briarcliff Killer Bees and others from Rye, New Rochelle, Pelham, Washingtonville, Poughkeepsie, Monroe and Scarsdale.    "They’re all from all over the pace," team manager and assistant coach David Kittay said. "They have different racial and economic backgrounds. Nobody fights. Everyone gets along very well."
  
At this year’s final, trailing 1-0 at the half after East Meadow scored off a set piece in the 10th minute, the Killer Bees battled back as Amy Marron equalized at 1-1 in the 42nd minute. Four minutes later Madison Kittay gave White Plains a 2-1 lead it would never relinquish and Lia Bellizzi added an insurance goal in the 62nd minute.
 
The key moment in the opening came right before the interval when Killer Bees goalkeeper Tatiana Saunders denied an East Meadow player on a breakaway. Had Saunders not made the save, East Meadow could have gone into halftime with a two-goal advantage.  "She did a terrific job," Kittay said of Saunders.
 
"After that, the girls got their legs. East Meadow played a very good ball control game. They had nice ball possession, but they had trouble with our speed."