Jillian Curtin takes the ball upfield On Saturday, October 25th the Garden City Patriettes U12 girls' soccer team played the Brentwood Angels at St. Paul's in an early morning contest. With grey skies and extremely windy conditions, the girls faced an important league game as both teams were tied in the Division 4 standings.

From the outset, it appeared as if Garden City was in for a long morning, as the Angels were in fact no angels and played a highly physical game of soccer. Further evidence of the challenge at hand was quickly provided when five minutes into the game Brentwood's left striker stole the ball and broke free for a break-away. Despite a clear path to the goal, much to everyone's amazement, the shot hit the left post and bounced harmlessly out of bounds. The near miss gave Garden City an opportunity to regroup. The Patriettes soon found the passing skills which had provided them with their second round State Cup win the previous Sunday. Midfielders Laurel Nothel, Erin Rode, Jillian Gregory, Claudia Caracciolo, Kelly McDonnell and Maddy Stone slowly began to take control of the midfield, while defenders Christie Pflume, Jillian Curtin and Julia Biscardi turned back several Brentwood attacks. The Garden City passing game enabled the girls to spread the field, negating Brentwood's physical play and resulting in several scoring opportunities. However, with each scoring attempt, Brentwood's keeper managed to turn back the Patriettes. Finally, on a beautiful pass from Mary Kate Kenny, it looked as if Garden City would break the tie when Becky Reifler fired a shot from the top of the box. Just like Brentwood's earlier scoring chance, the attempt hit the post. Despite a great effort, the first half ended in a zero to zero tie.

Laurel Nothel sends the ball forward The second half began with a continuation of the Patriettes' aggressive play, enabling Garden City to pin Brentwood down in their defensive zone. With the Angels unable to clear the ball, the Patriettes finally broke the scoreless tie when Margot McTiernan passed to Alexis Leighton for the game's first goal. Despite the quick success, Garden City did not let up and continued to apply pressure. A second goal was netted about 3 minutes later, when Alexis Leighton passed to Annie Kane for a 2 to 0 lead. Although there was now a two goal deficit, Brentwood did not admit defeat and continued to press the attack. Despite several great opportunities, the Patriettes' keeper, Isabel Balady would not allow Brentwood to score, making numerous excellent saves. Finally, Garden City placed the game out of reach when Becky Reifler netted Garden City's third goal on a crossing pass from Caitlin Kaczynski. A great shutout win for the girls!

Christie Pflume with a defensive kick to clear the ball The Patriettes' next league game is in Commack on November 1st, followed by a third round State Cup game on November 2nd against Sachem. Go Patriettes!

Julia Biscardi works the ball around opponents