HILLSBOROUGH: Cosmos, Red Knights, Fireballs win

SOCCER CLUB REPORT

   On March 29, the U10 Hillsborough Cosmos continued their hot start to the spring season with a 5-1 victory over Livingston. A winter spent practicing passing drills paid dividends for the young team.
   To begin the game, Kevin Roarty, Danny Kozimbo and Galen Fritz passed the ball back-and-forth up the field putting pressure on the Livingston defense and establishing the tone of the game. Subsequently, defenseman Matt Ludwig brought the ball up the sideline, passed across the field to John Agosta, who gave a center pass to Alex Bogut, who booted in the first goal.
   In the third quarter, Robbie DeGaris brought the ball downfield, gave a center pass to Ryan Gloria, who shot off the post and the rebound was put into the goal by Nikhil Patel. In the fourth quarter, defenseman Dan Cady brought the ball down the field, gave a center pass to Nikhil Patel, who cross-field passed to Ryan Gloria for a goal.
   John Agosta provided two breakaway goals to seal the game. Nick Coria was a mainstay at center defense continually turning away Livingston offensive charges.
   The team has produced a 3-0 start to the spring season.
Red Knights 5
Westfield 1
The Hillsborough Red Knights battled the Westfield Inter-Milan and emerged with a 6-1 victory.
   The Red Knights wasted no time in their attack during the opening minutes of the first quarter, as Panayiotis Christodoulides passed the ball through two Westfield defenders to Liam Jurkowich, who drove the ball past the goal keeper, for the first goal of the game. The Red Knights continued to put pressure on Westfield, when Panayiotis Christodoulides again fired the ball to Liam Jurkowich, who scored the second goal of the game. Prashant Subramanian continued the momentum, coming up the right side of the field, and passing through the Westfield defenders to Philip Masiakowski, who scored the third goal of the game.
   The Red Knights continued their onslaught in the second quarter, as Nick Palmer passed the ball to Philip Masiakowski in right midfield and he got past Westfield’s defender to score the fourth goal of the game. Brandon Moore and Subramanian kept Westfield on the defensive with excellent shots on goal.
   The third quarter saw the Red Knights overwhelm Westfield with shots on goal by Nick Manuelli, Kyle Cunningham, Masiakowski and Panayiotis Christodoulides.On a run outside Westfield’s box, Phivos Christodoulides passed the ball to Masiakowski towards the right wing. He crossed the ball to Subramanian, who scored the fifth goal for the Red Knights.
   Westfield recovered in the fourth quarter with several shots on goal, which were stopped throughout the game by goalies Nick Melfi and Andrew Larkey, who had atotal of nine saves. Injured goalie Trevor Mateyka cheered his team on from the sidelines.
   The frustration continued for Westfield, when after a corner kick, the defender tried to head the ball out, and accidentally scored the sixth goal for the Red Knights. The Red Knights continued to challenge Westfield with great shots on goal by Christopher Gacek and Liam Jurkowich.
   With only minutes left in the fourth quarter, Westfield attacked from the left side of the Red Knights defense and scored their first goal with an outside shot. Excellent defense by Phivos Christodoulides, Manuelli, Palmer and Moore kept Westfield scoreless for the rest of the game.
   After finishing first in the fall 2008 MNJYSA U-10 Boys Flight One, the Red Knights are once again off to a great start with a 6-1 win in their opening season game.
Fireballs 5
Readington 0
On March 15, the Hillsborough Fireballs opened up their spring season with a decisive 5-0 win against Readington. This U-10 girls’ match was played under cloudy skies at the always chilly South Woods Road field. The Fireballs were led by Shavonne Leacy, who tallied three goals and an assist on the day.
   The first half opened with Readington flexing their offensive muscle. Accurate Readington passing kept the ball in the Hillsborough end for the better part of the first 15 minutes. Solid defensive play by Jaina Hausser, Tiffany Figgs, Megan Moore and Carrie Seelig helped keep the ball out of the Fireball net. Twenty-one minutes in to the half, a pretty pass from Kristin Malebranche to Leacy put the Fireballs up 1-0.
   Less than a minute later Malebranche broke free just outside the penalty box and fired a laser towards the Readington goal. The Readington keeper did a tremendous job to block and hold on to the ball, but the ball’s momentum pushed her across the goal line, making the score 2-0. At the 26- minute mark, the Fireballs struck again as Leacy found Megan Bull open in front. Bull coolly deposited the ball in the lower left corner to give Hillsborough a commanding 3-0 lead.
   The Fireballs offensive assault continued in the second half. Crisp passing by midfielders Kirsten Rudio, Ashlyn Hawes and Alison Fong kept the Readington defense on their heels. At the 42-minute mark, Leacy dribbled past two Readington defenders towards the opposing penalty box. With another defender draping her, Leacy fire a left-footed shot into the lower right corner for her second goal of the day. Several minutes later, Leacy completed her hat trick off a terrific pass from Fong, giving the Fireballs a 5-0 lead.
   The goalkeeping tandem of Monica Stamler and Madeline Vailhe proved invincible. In addition to infallible defense of the Fireball goal, the keeper’s kicks provided outstanding field position for the girls throughout the game.
   The U-14 Girls Hillsborough Blaze team was on hand to cheer for their younger club mates. The Blaze players have generously agreed to serve as mentors to their Fireballs counterparts. As part of this arrangement, Blaze players will attend and provide instruction at various Fireball practices. In addition, each team plans to attend various games of the other. The Fireball players, coaches and parents would like to thank Blaze players and coach Jim Giarrusso for their support.