Nick Sarkis and Jack Brennan look for the play Saturday, October, 13: It was a nippy morning in Garden City, but as the cool fall wind blew over St. Pauls, the Destroyers u11 boys' soccer team took to the field exuding confidence. A gallery of parents braved the chill, hoping the Destroyers could capture their first regular season victory. These onlookers, full of the giddiness that can be brought on only by hot coffee, were not to be disappointed.

The first half was all about the defense. With capable Nick de Moura in goal, the Wantagh-Seaford Dominators just couldn't dominate. "Da D-Boyz"; Brandon Choi, Brandon Punturo and Darius Iraj were flawless on defense. Unfortunately, the Dominators' defense was flawless as well and the score remained 0-0.

In the second half, the Destroyers offense came to life. John "Mr Energy" Malandro and Marc "The Shark" Oellrich used their excellent passing and pressing to keep the ball in Dominator territory. John "The Bomb" Evangelista played well digging the ball out of the corners. Chris Gormley helped control the game on both sides of the field with his his stellar play at halfback. The Garden City side of the field cheered wildly after Andrew Mohacsi scored, assisted by Conor Sproat. Soon after, the Dominators scored, to tie the game at 1-1. The Destroyers, including skilled halfbacks Matt Mullahey and Michael Brennan, quickly regrouped, and kept the pressure on, proving once again to coaches Mullahey and Sproat that the second half is their speciality. Finally, with the Dominators all out of whack, Conor "Superman" Sproat, made an amazing centering pass to the goal and Nick "Nacho-Libre" Sarkis seized the moment in a huge way and scored. Now with the Destroyers in position to take the win, the pressure was on. Matt Jones gave it his all in the final minutes and Jack Brennan helped him out with his huge kicks to keep the ball away from the Destroyers net.

John Malandro fights for possession With their momentum strong, the Destroyers will travel to Oyster Bay this weekend to take on the Fusion. Go Destroyers!

Marc Oellrich shows his great footwork The victorious Destroyers are: Front Row; Matt Jones, Chris Gormley, Brandon Choi, Nick de Moura, Marc Oellrich, John Malandro, Brandon Punturo, Matt Mullahey, Darius Iraj. Back Row; Andrew Mohacsi, John Evangelista, Jack Brennan, Nick Sarkis, Conor Sproat and Michael Brennan.