Three Middle Country teams take top spots

Three Middle Country teams take top spots

by -
0 59

A sweet victory for U-11 MC United team, which finished No. 1 in Hershey Cup tournament

The U-11 boys’ soccer team MC United. Photo from Robyn Reitano

Boys’ U-11 MC United

Middle Country is proud of its new 10 and 11-year-old boys’ travel soccer team for taking the first place title in its first out of town tournament on Memorial Day.

After two days of playing four games, the boys beat all their competition except for the local Hershey club team comprised of top players around the area.

Hershey awarded Midlle Country United the second place finalist trophy, but first place ranking and champion title for defeating every team in its bracket.

Despite the oppressive heat, distraction of the park, and some illnesses and injuries on the field, the new team played together as if the boys had been doing it for years.

The sportsmanship and maturity displayed was commendable. Instead of treating it as a vacation, focusing on going to Hershey Park and enjoying hotel facilities, the boys were completely focused on the games. They concerned themselves with proper diet and getting plenty of rest.

The experience fostered the boys’ love of the game. MC United now ranks 12th out of 172 teams in the New York East, 95 out of 1,191 teams in the region and 593 out of 3,873 in the nation. They team, consisting of Anthony Ciulla, Kevin Cosgrove, Michael Cosmo, Eric Crescenzo, Lucas Ferreira, Andrew Ferreira, William Kiernan, Benjamin Mark, Timmy McCarthy, Sean McGuigan, Luke Reitano and Christian Torres, has superseded expectations for a new team.

Girls’ U-11 MC Bandits

The girls’ U11 team, called the Middle Country Bandits, also competed on Memorial Day and took home a first-place finish.

The girls put together four solid games and finished in first-place in the Memorial Day soccer tournament in Manalapan, New Jersey. The girls displayed great determination, teamwork and grit throughout the 90-plus degree heat.

Girls’ U-13 LGN Sting

The LGN Sting girls’ U-13 team also successfully brought home first-place honors from the Manalapan tournament in dramatic fashion.

After controlling much of the possession in the championship game, the Sting still found itself trailing 1-0 in the late stages of the game. The team eventually broke through and evened the score 1-1 with five seconds to play in regulation, and won the championship in a penalty-kick shootout.