Coach Tom Gillan and his squad of Demons capture 1st place in Oceanside The U-10 Demons kicked off their Fall season with a very impressive 1st place finish in the Bob Schrager Memorial Labor Day soccer tournament in Oceanside. In their first season together the Demons went undefeated with 4 wins and a tie to finish as the top team in the tournament. Day 1 began with a match against Levittown who lead the game 1-0 through the end of the 1st half. The Demons tightened their defense and the offense began their assault. Two second half goals by Matthew Rogers and another by Gregory Vouzianas sealed a hard fought victory. The second game featured a matchup against Great Neck who put constant pressure on the Demon's goal. Great Neck dominated the 1st half, and if not for a beautiful goal from Mark DeSantis, the Demons would have been held scoreless. But, instead were down 4-1 at halftime. Tom Gillan, in his first season as coach pepped up the boys and in the second half the team came alive. The Demons took control winning nearly every 50-50 ball. Goals by Kevin Mullin, Gregory Vouzianas, Matthew Rogers and Mike Randazzo enabled the team to experience an incredible come from behind victory. In the 3rd game of day, the Demons faced off against host Oceanside. The boys left nothing to chance as they completely shut down the hosts 3-0.

Ray Leto and Matthew Rogers on the attack. The opening game of day two of the tournament saw the Demons take on a very talented East Meadow squad. The match was evenly played throughout with pin-point passing by both clubs. Garden City was up 2-1 in the second half on goals by Peter Escribano and Matthew Rogers. Raymond Leto was outstanding in nets making several acrobatic saves. Unfortunately, East Meadow scored the equalizer and the game ended in a 2-2 draw. The final match of the afternoon was against Kings Park. The Demons began the match with one substitute player and with the temperature well above 90 degrees, the heat was taking its toll on both sides. An early goal by Kings Park stood up until the last ten minutes of the game, and that is when the Demons dug down deep. Defenders Mark DeSantis, Will Harrington, Jack Gillan and Raymond Leto stood firm and yielded no chances to the opponents. Forwards, Greg Vouzianas, Peter Escribano, Mike Randazzo, and Matthew Rogers pressed the attack spreading the ball wide and pressuring the Kings Park defenses. With the help of his teammates, Matthew Rogers scored three times to complete a first place finish for the team. Their hard work in practice, coupled with Coach Gillan's conditioning and fitness program truly benefited the team throughout this game.

Matthew Rogers gets set to score The boys continued their winning ways with an equally impressive 4-0 win over Hicksville to begin the regular season on scores by Mike Randazzo, and Matthew Rogers who netted three. The team played masterfully throughout the game demonstrating quality passing and possession of the ball.

The team then experienced two losses to quality teams in Little Neck and Port Washington. Down 4-0 to Little Neck on poor field conditions, the boys did not quit. The Demons pulled to within 4-2 before falling 5-2. The first home game of the season was another learning experience as Port Washington scored off the opening kick off and did not let up en route to a well deserved 8-2 victory.

This past weekend the boys got the fires going again as they prevailed 3-1 over Rockville Centre. On a gorgeous day at Hewitt School, Kevin Mullin got things going for the Demons in the 1st half with some hard work and nifty dribbling which lead to the first goal of the game. The score was a fantastic highlight goal for Mullin who played with the heart of a Lion throughout the contest. Hard charging Carney Mahon then put home a loose ball in the box for a two-goal lead. Defenders Jack Gillan, Mark DeSantis, Matthew Rogers and Jack Tighe gave Rockville Centre no room to maneuver in front of Raymond Leto in the Garden City net. Gregory Vouzianas and Mike Randazzo pressed the Demon attack and several additional scoring chances were thwarted by the opposing defense. As the second half unfolded, Rockville Centre stepped up their play and it paid off as they cut the lead in half. However, the Demon defenders, lead by Carney Mahon, Jack Tigh, Will Harrington, Mark DeSantis, and Peter Escribano, controlled the midfield, shut down the passing lanes and gave the offense a boost. Matthew Rogers sealed the victory with the final goal of the game off a terrific pass from Carney Mahon at midfield. Raymond Leto and Greg Vouzianas were super in the nets.

The boys are 2-2 in league play and now head to Windsor, Connecticut for the annual Columbus Day tournament. Coaches Tom Gillan and Chris Vouzianas are very proud of the way the boys are spreading the ball wide, winning the 50/50 battles and pressing their attack. The team has wonderful chemistry and the ways the boys support one another in practice and in their matches truly shows. Good luck in Connecticut boys!