ISSUE 5!

APRIL 30, 2010

Yankee United News

Strikers Win 2010 PDA Championship Title
The U-14 Strikers won their tactical, playing to feet. Each had opportunities to
first-ever Tournament score, each was thwarted by a smothering defense.
Championship at the PDA In the end, the decision came down to a 3-1
Spring Kickoff in Somerset, NJ advantage in PKs scored by Katie Danaher, Carly
on April 10-11. This was Cugine and Audrey Dannenbaum, coupled with
especially gratifying for the girls after 1-0 loss in the brilliant saves by Keeper Charlotte Massey.
finals at Baltimore March Madness.
The path to the finals had the Strikers playing
MPS Lady Knights (3-1 win), West Morris PFC Villa
(2-0 win) and Randolph Premier (2-0 win). Under the
PDA scoring system this gave the Strikers 27 out of a
maximum of 30 points and qualified them for the
final.
That set up a show-down with Eastern FC, their
intra-state rival from Greenwich. The two styles of
play could not have been more different: EFC’s play
was direct and physical, the Strikers style was The U-14 Strikers a"er defeating West Morris PFC at the PDA Spring Kickoff

The Stars Align in Baltimore, U-16s Win Title

Under clear blue skies, with Yankee United Stars. A defender got a head on
temperatures in the mid-70s, the Busto’s cross, but waiting for it was Georgia
Stars were shining in Baltimore. Ferguson. With one touch, Ferguson shot the ball
After playing to 0-0 draws with past the goal keeper for the deciding goal.
Arsenal Fury and New Hyde Park, “I am very proud of these girls.” observed Coach
the U-16 Stars were able to Wayne Mones. “They worked hard throughout this
generate the points they needed to advance to the tournament. They earned the Champions Title.”
final with a 2-0 victory over the USP Ocean Eagles.
In the final, the Stars faced the Eastchester
Patriots. The game was shaping up like another
scoreless game, with both teams working hard and
the defenses having the better of it.
With 22 minutes remaining in the second half
and possession in the offensive third, the play of
Jackie DeLucia, Lindsay Macri, Georgia Ferguson
Autumn Sorice and Stephanie Palmer worked to
maintain possession and set up a score. That came
on a cross by Julia Busto 15 yards in front of the goal
where five defenders held the line against four The U-16 Stars, 2010 Baltimore March Madness Tournament Champions

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ISSUE 5! APRIL 30, 2010

U-14 Strikers at PDA. Clockwise $om upper le": Charlotte Massey, Sabrina Toole, Cori Scales, Madison PAGE 2
Ricks, Keely Lockwood and Carly Cugine, A&ie Furlo, Megan Bartholomew. Center: Eliza Paltauf.
ISSUE 5! APRIL 30, 2010

U-12 Pride. Clockwise $om upper le":. Lauren Coty, Leah Lewis, Kerrigan Loughman, Carolyn Tagney, PAGE 3
Haley Arruda, Lauren Coty, Ali Moraveck, Julia Christo, Gina Lampart, Bari Love
 ISSUE 5! APRIL 30, 2010

U-15 Blaze at Manhattan Kick-Off. Clockwise $om upper le": Nikki Peterson, Siri Andrews, Kasey Butts, PAGE 4
Nicolette Glidden, Abby Fagan and Dani Valente, Abby Fagan, Sam Washuk.
 ISSUE 5! APRIL 30, 2010

Blaze Reach Finals in 2010 Manhattan Kick-Off

The U-15 Blaze started of the the five games. Kiana Rugar and Turner Block led
Spring 2010 season in fine the team in goals scored for the weekend.
shape, making it to the finals “These tournaments are all about improving
of the Manhattan Kick-Off team play before the start of Open Cup and
Classic against very tough Regional League play.” observed coach Nicki
competition. Pereira. “We’ve accomplished that. Picking up
In the qualifying round, the some ranking points along the way also helps.”
Blaze beat Parsippany 4-0 and
Smithtown 2-0 before losing 1-0 to FC Somers in
their 3rd game.
That combined performance was good enough
to elevate the team to the semi-finals where they
beat World Class 5-0, setting the stage for a show-
down with top-ranked Levittown United.
In the final Levittown, the #4 ranked team in
Eastern, NY, jumped out to an early lead and never
looked back. The Blaze pulled to within 2 but were
not able to overcome the early deficit.
The U-15 Blaze a"er receiving their Finalist medals at the Manhattan Classic
Megan FitzGerald and U-14 Guest Keeper
Charlotte Massey combined for three shutouts over

Yankee U-15’s Ranked Number One in State

It has been a promising start to the Spring
season for Yankee girls teams and the results
are beginning to show in the state rankings
with four teams ranked in the top five for their
age brackets.
With strong performances at the
Manhattan Kickoff Classic and Baltimore
March Madness, the U-15 Blaze are now the
number one ranked team in Connecticut by
The U-12 Pride has made great progress for a
nearly 800 points.
very young team under Coach Matthew Mones. The
The U-16 Stars have moved into 4th place in the team made the semi-finals at the Nashua World Cup
state rankings after winning a Championship title at in Fall of last year and reached the finals of the
Baltimore March Madness. Only CFC, Oakwood Manhattan Kickoff Classic in March of this year.
and Eastern FC are ranked higher. They are ranked 4th in Connecticut.
Yankee’s newest team, the U-14 Strikers started “Rankings don’t precisely rate the quality of a
the Spring season with zero ranking points. In a 3 team but they are a good indication.” observed
week span, the team made the finals at the Yankee President Wayne Mones. “These results
Baltimore March Madness tournament and won the should help our girls teams to be accepted to more
Silver Division Championship at PDA to move into advanced tournaments and improve their visibility
fourth place in the Connecticut rankings. within the state of Connecticut.”

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 ISSUE 5! APRIL 30, 2010

SubRegion 1
Strikers Finish No. 2 in Northeast League
It was a season of bad weather that yielded good goal off a free-kick.
results for the U-14 Strikers. The girls started their With the score knotted
first season in the Northeast League in the worst 1-1 and 5 minutes left in
storm New England has had in 30 years: the game, Katie
temperatures hovering around 40 degrees, heavy Danaher shot a free
rain, and gusting winds in the range of 40 to 60 kick just right of the
mph. They won both games they played that day. goal that was bobbled
The Strikers beat Long Island FC Wolves 1-0 on by the keeper and put
an unassisted breakaway goal by Keely Lockwood in by Audrey
driving into a howling wind and pelting rain with just Dannenbaum off a cross
by Aimee Manderlink. Carly Cugine
10 minutes left in the match. After just 40 minutes
rest the Strikers then played top-ranked East The Strikers then played World Class, the team
Meadow. In those same conditions and with the that would later become the Division champion.
wind against them, Katie Faryniarz scored off a World Class scored on a lofted corner kick that
corner kick by Katie Danaher for the settled in front of the net where a
game winner with 13 minutes left in throng of players took turns at clearing
the game. and shooting until one shot settled in
In their 3rd game of the season, the back of the net. The Strikers
Strikers faced the New England rebounded and pressured World Class
Comets (a former Yankee team). following the goal but were not able to
Eliza Paltauf scored a pair goals finish.
(assists from Keely Lockwood and The final game of the season turned into
Cori Scales) to put the Comets under a shootout with Explosion FC, in which
just 15 minutes into the first half. Aimee Manderlink the Strikers lost 5-4. That score only
The Strikers then relied on their defense to thwart tells part of the story, as the team was actually down
the Comets efforts to get back in the game. 3-0 at the half. Keely Lockwood set up goals by
The unbeaten streak came to an end against Aimee Manderlink, Eliza Paltauf and Katie
Soccerplus one week later. After holding the Eagles Faryniarz. Katie Danaher scored the fourth on a free
to 0-0 in the first half, the Strikers gave up two goals kick made possible by a
in ten minutes en route foul against Keely
to a 3-0 loss. Lockwood.
After a break for the The Strikers
PDA Spring Kickoff, the finished their NERP
Strikers faced FC Sting season as the number 2
Bees. After Aimee team in the Red
Manderlink scored on an Division. They also are
assist by Allie Furlo late the highest ranked CT
in the first half, the Sting team in the U-14 age
Bees responded with a bracket. Katie Faryniarz
Katie Danaher

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ISSUE 5! APRIL 30, 2010

U-12 Pride Stand Tall in Manhattan Classic

The U-12 Pride faced some of the best teams in but Coach Matt
Region 1 and learned that they can hang tough with Mones saw more
them on the pitch. positives than
The Pride battled to a 0-0 tie against negatives in the loss:
Manhattan, and beat Parsippany “These girls are
2-1 before losing to Smithtown learning the right to
1-2 in the qualifying round. That play this game. Over
record was sufficient to qualify time, and with
them for a match against top- further growth we
know we have the Members of the U-12 Yankee Pride with
ranked Albertson in the final. Coach Matt Mones
skill and tactical
Albertson won 2-0 in the final knowledge to win these kinds of games.”

Blaze, Strikers Finalists at March Madness

The U-15 Blaze earned finalist honors at
Baltimore March Madness on March 20-21.
After a hard-fought 1-0 loss to the New Jersey
Rangers, the Blaze fought their way
back into contention by defeating
Southampton Sting 3-1 and earning a 2-2
tie with the Cherry Hill Freedom. With
all of the teams in the bracket at 4
points each at the end of the qualifying
round, the Blaze earned a trip to the
finals based on an advantage in tie
breakers.
In the Championship game, the Blaze faced
TEYSA FC Europa, the 6th ranked team in Eastern
Pennsylvania. The girls worked hard and played
well but ultimately fell to Europa 2-1.
In their first tournament appearance with their
full roster, the Strikers made the most of their
opportunities. After defeating South Jersey United
2-1, the Strikers lost 1-0 to Chantilly of VA
on a 40 yard blast that tucked just beneath
the crossbar with less than 5 minutes to go
in the game. The Strikers dominated play
but Chantilly got the win.
In the semi-final, the team defeated Nether
Providence in PKs after a 0-0 draw in
regulation.
In the final, the Strikers faced the Bethesda
Threat and played most of the first half in
Bethesda’s end of the field. With 10 minutes to go,
the Threat scored on a breakaway for the game’s
only goal.

Meaghan Ford Garners All-Colonial Award

Yankee United wishes to recognize Meaghan Congratulations Meaghan!
Ford, who was named to the All-Colonial team for
the second year in a row at the end of the Fall 2009
High School season. She plays centerback for the
Yankee U-17 Charge.
Meaghan has played varsity soccer and started
every game for Bunnell High School since she was
a freshman. In addition to her current award, over
her high school career she has been named an
honorable mention player, earned the Good
Sportmanship Award and two All-Academic Awards
for the Southwest Conference.

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New Yankee United Website Goes Live May 1

Effective May 1, Yankee United’s
website will migrate from Blue
Sombrero to League Athletics.
“The migration is being
completed in stages
and some teams
may transition
earlier if their
team’s data and
schedule have already
been transferred.” observes Coach
Matt Mones, who is leading the
project. “The new interface is much news and events, and a much friendlier user
easier to work with and will be easier for our interface.
teams to keep up to date.”
“The goal is to be completely finished with
The capabilities of League Athletics include: the transition prior to tryouts in June.” says
automatic e-mail and text message notifications, Yankee President Wayne Mones. “We will be
online schedules and scores, easy updates for much more efficient with the new system.”

YUFC Club Picnic: Yankee Board Members

Save the Date! President/Coaching Director

Wayne Mones

When: Where: Administrator and Registrar

Saturday SJHS field Dee Demers

June 26th Treasurer

Jack Nogueira

What: Referee Assignor

Ed Maloney
Food, Fun
and Friends Goalkeeper Coach
Mark Pataky

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