Standing, L-R: Head Coach Walt Winchurch, Lauren Williams, Elizabeth Mahoney, Kate Butcher, Erin Mullins, Barbara Sullivan, Mikaela Rix, Assistant Coach Bill Mahoney. Middle Row: Patricia Takach, Kelly Reis, Kara Zerille, Lauren Engelke, Caroline Tarzian, Assistant Coach Peter Takach. Front Row Sitting: Cate Murphy, Carly Cento, Emily Winchurch, Katie McCarthy, Maria Sokolovic, Krysta Cento. After working very hard during the summer months preparing for the tough season ahead, the Garden City Goalbusters began their 2004-2005 soccer season with their opener at St. Paul’s on Saturday, September 11 against the Rockville Centre Synergy. Improvements made by the team in their physical conditioning program as well as honing their foot skills and speed, the Division II GU-12 squad took early control of the contest by playing great defense and penetrating offense in the first half.

Taking turns on defense, Kate Butcher, Katie McCarthy, Lauren Williams, Elizabeth Mahoney, Patricia Takach, Kara Zerille and Barbara Sullivan aided their goalie Erin Mullins by fending off penetration by the strong Synergy offense. Good communication and strong passes up field shut down opportunities for the Rockville Centre team. The mid-field, which included Krysta Cento, Lauren Engelke, Cate Murphy, Mikaela Rix and Emily Winchurch, worked tirelessly by aiding both the offense and defense by feeding the ball to the forwards for scoring opportunities and by assisting the defense by clearing the attempts by RVC. Goalbusters offense played by Carly Cento, Kelly Reis, Maria Sokolovic and Caroline Tarzian kept penetrating the Synergy defense using their speed, foot skills, and heads-up passing.

The all around teamwork paid off well in the first half. At the 15-minute mark defensive play by Lauren Engelke cleared the way for the first goal when she passed the ball up field and connected with Caroline Tarzian. The same scenario found Lauren passing again to Caroline for the second goal at the 22nd minute, making the score 2-0. After that, the tough Synergy managed to penetrate the Goalbuster’s tight defense for a goal of their own making the score 2-1. However, at the 30-minute mark, the Synergy goalie miscued a goal kick, which landed short in their end. Caroline was there once again to answer the call by dropping the ball in the goal. The net result at the whistle was Goalbusters 3, Synergy 1.

The second half found the Goalbusters continue to push the ball up field, taking shots on goal only to come up empty. However, the Synergy had other plans. Not ready to give up the Rockville Centre team kept pressuring the Goalbusters scoring two goals by the 60th minute. This evened the score at 3-3. With just 10 minutes left to play the unimaginable happened. A miscommunication allowed for a Synergy goal forcing the Goalbusters into the only deficit they had the entire game. With the score at 4-3 and time about to expire, the speedy Goalbusters offense got back to work. At the 70th minute, Kelly Reis took a wide, high shot on goal forcing the Synergy goalie up in the air and off her feet. Just as it appeared that the Goalbusters might tie the score with their fourth goal of the game, the ball hit the crossbar. This sent the ball behind the net and everyone on the sidelines to let out the air they held in their lungs, realizing that time was not on the Goalbusters side. As time expired, the hard-fought, well-played effort by the Goalbusters ended in defeat. It was a heart-breaking loss and each player put “it all” out there on the field. They are truly a team to be reckoned with.

Of course, knowing that September 11 will always be remembered for the saddest day our country has known since December 7, 1941, losing a soccer game is considerably small in comparison. We honor the lives lost on September 11, 2001 and we pray for the loved ones they left behind. They are all in our thoughts and our prayers.