U-11 Demons Compete In North Babylon Tournament

The U-11 Garden City Demons participated in the 27th annual North Babylon Patriot Soccer Club Indoor tournament last Saturday afternoon at Robert Moses Middle School. This was the first competition of the winter for the Demons and they put on an awesome display of firepower against some highly ranked clubs from Suffolk County. The competition was fierce and with ten teams playing 8-minute games it paid to score early and maintain the pressure.

The Demons faced the Commack Heat in game one and both teams were evenly matched. The Demons had Peter Escribano showcasing his goalkeeping talents and he matched the Commack goalkeeper save for save in the early going. However, the Heat scored midway through the game and kept the Demons offense at bay until with less than 30 seconds to go in the match, Matthew Rogers fired home the equalizer and the game ended in a 1-1 draw.

According to the schedule, the Demons were to enjoy a lengthy break between games, but due to one team dropping out of the tournament, tournament officials rushed the boys back to the gym to face the Jericho Cyclones. Having not been mentally prepared, the Cyclones very quickly scored 3 goals and the Demons were in trouble. Although the Demons mounted a comeback on late tallies by Greg Vouzianas and Matthew Rogers, the Cyclones held on for a 3-2 victory. The Demons came back for their third match of the afternoon with a vengeance. The opponent was the Babylon Strikers who endured their wrath as our lads unleashed an attack that could not be stopped. Mark DeSantis scored the opening goal. Shortly thereafter, Jack Tigh and Will Harrington found the back of the net and the rout was on as Jack Gillan and Matthew Rogers added 2 goals apiece, and Ray Leto sparkled between the sticks en route to a 7-0 thrashing. With a win a loss and a tie, the Demons had two games remaining in order to finish in the top three. They built on this victory by adding another against their next opponent, the West Islip Hurricanes. The Hurricanes possessed some advantage in size and defenders Jack Tigh and Will Harrington along with Leto did a remarkable job in shutting them down while Matthew Rogers, Peter Escribano, Mike Randazzo and Greg Vouzianas worked some magic up front. Randazzo and Rogers scored goals in the game and that reduced the Hurricanes to a tropical depression.

In the fifth and final round, the Demons took on a team from Lake Grove and a victory here meant finishing among the top three. The Demons were tenacious from the opening whistle. Peter Escribano and Greg Vouzianas exhibited some wonderful one and two touch passing. Jack Gillan was the man in the air and very nearly converted off two strong throw-ins by Mike Randazzo at the Lake Grove net. Matthew Rogers scored twice on left footed bullets and very nearly scored a third had it not been for a hand save by the goalkeeper on a laser beam of a shot. Jack Tigh, Will Harrington and Mark DeSantis again closed the door in front of Ray Leto and the boys enjoyed their third shutout of the competition. The Demons finished 3 wins, one loss, and a tie enabling them to take home the second place trophies.

In addition to each of the boys gaining a trophy, the North Babylon Patriot Soccer Club awarded individual trophies to the top goal scorer, goalkeeper and best defender of the tournament. The Demon's own Matthew Rogers was named Best Forward and received a plaque for his achievement in scoring the most goals. The Demons thank the North Babylon Patriot Soccer Club for the invite as well as for hosting a very competitive and fun-filled tournament.