Garden City Flash Undefeated At Tournament

Standing (left to right) Coach O'Neil, Erin, Olivia, Nicole, Katie, Coach Derby Front row (left to right) Janine, Natalie, Tianna Not pictured: Emily O'Neil and Jenny Keogh

Coach John Derby's squad of eight and nine year old soccer players had a great Memorial Day Weekend as they defeated each and every opponent that dared to challenge them in Levittown on Saturday, May 26, 2007 at the Island Trees Tournament. First, the Flash exploded on home team Island Trees Dyn-O-Mite. The little ladies in lavender from Garden City then went on to burn the Little Neck Devils in a very physical match in which Olivia DeCurtis and Tianna Biscone made it clear that the Flash would not be pushed around!

The defense was nearly flawless and frustrated opposing strikers time and time again. Erin DePasquale, Jenny Keogh and Nicole Derby were simply awesome at clearing the ball out of the danger zone and running it up the sidelines. DePasquale had the speed necessary to move the ball up the field and Derby showed that she had the power to clear the ball.

Natalie Garcia was as effective at offense as she was at defense and made numerous key passes in each game. She also demonstrated some dazzling dribbling skill as she ran rings around the opposition

Net-keeping duties in the final showdown of the event were reluctantly shared by Janine Schwendemann and Olivia DeCurtis who each stepped up, adapted and performed beautifully. Schwendemann also played well at striker and DeCurtis was a powerful defender with perhaps the biggest long distance boot on the team.

Katie Muldoon and Tianna Biscone put on a lightning fast give-and-go passing demonstration all day long that would have made the Saturday Morning NOGA trainers proud as they alternated feeding each other the ball to rack up assists and goals galore. Muldoon posted all four goals with Biscone making some big assists in the closest and final match of the day against the Hicksville All-Stars. The game that was tied at three-all with just minutes left in what proved to be the most exciting game of the day and a big win for the Flash.

Special thanks goes out to assistant coach Brad O'Neil, whose daughter Emily was sidelined at home, for sacrificing a beautiful Saturday to help Coach Derby in what turned out to be a very worthwhile venture. Go Flash!