(Seldon & Kingsboroug, NY) It was a beautiful weekend for soccer as the Tigers prepared to face the Suffolk County Sharks and the Kingsborough Wave. Heading to Long Island on Saturday the Tigers knew they had a physical and mental challenge ahead of them. Trying to keep their heads in the game while playing through was definitely a challenge, but the girls were able to pull through and play tough.

    The first half had a lot of back and forth and was evenly matched as the half continued on. Later in the half, however, the Tigers became more defensive while the Sharks began applying heavy pressure and taking shots outside of the 18 yard box. Although the Tigers started out strong, with many injuries flaring up and the constant pressure from the Sharks, Suffolk was able to end the first half with a goal, making the score 1-0 for halftime.

    In the second half, we had our center midfielders, Katie Amato, Halie Retterath and Tabitha Sloane working well together and serving the ball up to our forwards Katie Reiker and Chloe Strickland, who did a great job of moving the ball up-field to one another. Unfortunately the were not able to find the back of the net, and Suffolk was abke to score another goal and the Tigers began to feel defeated, losing their focus on the game, which allowed the Sharks to capitalize and score another 3 goals making the final score 5-0. 

    On Sunday September 25, the Tigers did not allow the events of the day prior to get in the way of their game verse the Kingsborough Wave. The girls came out strong, once again, and took control of the game. The Tigers had the ball on the Waves defensive half for most of the game, with our defense pushing up to the midfield. The girls were passing and transitioning the ball smoothly throughout the field, and they were on top of their game, despite the injuries most of them were fighting through. Before the end of the first half, center midfielder Tabitha Sloane was able to find the back of the net 3 times, with assists from Katie Reiker and Halie Retterath. With our strong defensive, consisting of Claire Anvelt, Christina Shumschyk, Hunter Welford and Nicole Saade, they were able to keep the shots at a minimum and our goalie, Senior Stephanie Roberts, was able to keep them from scoring throughout the whole first half.

    During the second half, the Tigers kept up the high pressure with outsides Adrianna DellaValle and Chloe Strickland making runs and helping create opportunities towards goal. Kingsborough began to get frustrated giving up free kicks due to careless fouls, and Anvelt stepped up taking the free kicks and putting them on frame, which led to a corner kick taken by Schumschyk, who feeds a great ball in front of the net, where Sloane was able to one time it into the net. Sloane then scored additional 2 goals with an assist from Monica Gutierrez and another from Reiker. The game ended in a shut out with no goals against, making the final score 6-0 with all 6 goals scored by freshman Tabitha Sloane, but not without the help of the team. 

     "This weekend wasn't a true display of our soccer talent. What this weekend showed was the character and mental fortitude of our team; Girls persevering through injuries and personal trails and showing up to play. They took the field knowing they were not 100% healthy physically or mentally, they met the challenge with pure dedication for their team and themselves. I am so proud of what they did this weekend." Said Coach Bevivino of the weekend as a whole.

    You can catch the Tigers this weekend October 2nd home at Kingsborough playing Nassau at 3:00pm and October 3rd, away at Pier 40 where they will face Borough of Manhattan for the first time this season, at 12:00pm.