The U-10 Garden City Demons displayed a strong showing this past Saturday placing second out of five teams at the East Islip Soccer Club Invitational indoor tournament. Many of the Demon players have been training hard indoors this winter and this was their first chance to showcase their indoor talents in four 14-minute games against competition from teams in division s other than their own in the LIJSL.

The Demons got off to a good start in game I against Longwood as Matthew Rogers scored to give the Demons the early lead five minutes into the match. The demons, not knowing what o expect in this short game format played well offensively getting the better of the chances. Kevin Mullin along with Matthew Rogers and Peter Escribano each took numerous shots at the goal that went wide. The Longwood strikers worked well together and nearly converted on a couple of break-away chances only to get stopped by Robert Wotczak who was splendid in the Demon net. The opponents would eventually tie the game on a defensive breakdown and the match ended 1-1.

Their second opponent was a talented team from Brentwood who had won their opening match 6-1. The team possessed two quality strikers, but this game belonged to Garden City. Having been warmed up in the opener the team came alive from the opening whistle. Mathew Rogers again opened the scoring with a blistering left footed shot on a nice feed from Greg Vouzianas. Defenders Jack Tigh, Carney Mahon and Danny Simmons were super on defense thwarting numerous in close chances by the Brentwood offense. Brentwood tied the game on a free kick but not before Ray Leto made several acrobatic saves in the Demons net. Garden City then took over the game as Matthew Rogers scored three goals to seal a well earned 4-1 victory. Notable achievers in this game were Jack Tigh who was a force on defense, along with Carney Mahon who in addition to his tough play assisted on two of Rogers’ 4 goals as did Kevin Mullin. Raymond Leto was also fantastic in the net.

The third match of the day featured the East Islip Red team who set the tone early in this match by using pin point passing and shooting at the appropriate times. They controlled the match from the get go going up 3-0 midway through the game. Peter Escribano scored to cut the deficit to 3-1 by the East Islip Red team netted another for a convincing 4-1 victory. Afterwards, the Demon players checked out the tournament standings and since their record going into the last match was 1-1-1, the boys knew they needed a win to secure a trophy. The last opponent was the East Islip White team who came into this game undefeated with 3 complete game wins. The stands were filled with spectators eagerly anticipating this last match of he tournament which would decide he final placements of the teams.

The Demons started with Greg Vouzianas up front with Matthew Rogers. The defense was composed of Jack Tigh, Will Harrington and Peter Escribano. Raymond Leto was in nets. East Islip produced a couple of quick chances in the opening minutes of the game but it was Garden City who scored first as Vouzianas won a 50/50 ball at mid court and fed Matthew Rogers who fired a right footed shot into the upper corner of the East Islip net for a 1-0 Demon lead. It didn’t take the tournament leaders long to tie the game as less than a minute later. East Islip came roaring back and scored a goal on a rebound of a blistering shot. An East Islip defender launched a high, hard shot that Leto somehow managed to leap and initially stop. However the gall bounced behind him and in scampering an East Islip striker to nudge the all into the net to level the score. The advantage seemed to shift for several minutes toward East Islip as they battled hard in front of Leto who stopped several in close chances. After defending against a dangerous corner throw in, Matthew Rogers scored on a head ball to give the Demons the 2-1 advantage. The lead didn’t last long as East Islip scored moments later off a terrific cross and the fans had themselves a nail biter from then on. Defenders Mike Randazzo, Kevin Mullin and Will Harrington tightly marked the East Williston strikers and shut down any further scoring chances. Danny Simmons nearly scored for the Demons but his high shot just missed striking the cross bar. With less than three minutes remaining, Greg Vouzianas scored the game winner for the Demons as his well struck ball went beyond the reach of the East Islip goalkeeper. The Demons won the game 3-2 and finished he tournament with two wins, a loss and a tie. The boys played very well and earned the second place trophy.

In addition to each of the boys gaining a trophy, the East Islip Soccer Club awarded individual trophies to the top goal scorer, goalkeeper and best defender of the tournament. The Demons’ own Matthew Rogers took home the “Golden Boot” award for scoring the most goals in the tournament with eight. A tremendous feat with no pun intended. Kevin Harrington did a marvelous job in coaching the boys. The Demons thank the East Islip Soccer Club for the invite as well as for hosting a very competitive and fun filled tournament.