Garden City Boys U 10 T-Birds The Garden City boys U 10 T-Birds started this year’s fall season on the ground but learned to fly in a hurry thanks to the coaching efforts of head coach Bob Hugel and his assistant coaches, George Perrotta and Greg Kramer.

Despite early losses in league play to Port Washington and Garden City Park, the T-Birds began their ascent with a 3-3 tie with Little Neck in a well-played game. Ryan Costigan, Mike Perrotta and Matt Greco scored the goals. Matt Schmelzinger played well at both ends of the field.

The momentum continued the following week with a solid 3-0 win over Levittown. Goal keeper, Dan Smith, recorded the shutout making 19 saves but had lots of help from a great defense led by Stefan Hugel, which limited the opposition to a lot of outside shots with excellent defensive positioning. The finely tuned offense was led by Nick Angora (1 goal) and Matt Greco (2 goals). The unbeaten streak remained intact via a 3-2 victory over the Hicksville Comets. Matt Greco scored twice with Michael LeMonda sealing the victory by scoring the game-winning goal.

Tournament life for the T-Birds has been rewarding. A record of 3-1-1 was good for a 2nd place tie (3rd place trophy) at the Labor Day Oceanside Tournament, which featured eight teams per division. The team beat a number of perennial soccer powers (Massapequa, Hicksville, Island Trees). A solid all-around performance was turned in by Mike Caravella.

The Columbus Day weekend tournament at Windsor, Connecticut, proved fruitful as well. The team won 3 out of 5 games, good for 3rd place. Matt Leto was unanimously voted Tournament M.V.P. by the coaches. Jonathan Kramer was most productive, scoring 2 goals and assisting on another of the team’s six total tournament goals.

How high can the T-Birds fly?..........................Stay tuned!