This past weekend, the Tigers hit the road eager to begin their first tournament of the 2023 season. All pre-season preparation had prepared them for this weekend, and the coaches couldn't wait to see the players' hard work at practice translate to the field. Saturday greeted the team with great soccer conditions; a nice 74 degree sunny day, at 3:30 in the afternoon. The Tigers took the field with the starting eleven excited, yet collected to begin the game against North County Community College. It's always rewarding to watch the chemistry built up in practice come alive for the first game of any season, especially with the roster this year. The game remained scoreless through most of the first half, with the Tigers exchanging numerous combination plays, and connecting all over the field. In the 40th minute, the North Country Saints capitalized on a foul given by the Tigers, resulting in a goal.
This did not deter the Tigers from coming out just as strong in the second half, with even more combination plays, give and goes, and dominating possession. Michelle Muratore and Alexis Kufta recorded over 10 shots on goal, with many other Tigers also hungry for an equalizer. With time working against them, they were not able to find the back of the net resulting in a loss of 0-1, North Country taking the win.
Not letting Saturday's results define them, the Tigers look ahead to Sunday afternoon for another great day of soccer. They took to the field at 1:30 facing Holyoke Community College with the same energy as they did the previous day. It took a mere twelve minutes before Tigers' freshman Kiley Cacace would put them on the scoreboard notching her first goal for the team, and first goal of the season. This resulted from a fantastic combination play assist from both Michelle Muratore and Emma Rathburn. Less than ten minutes later, Alexis Kufta, the Tigers' top shot taker, notched a goal with an assist from the center back Ivelisse Vargas. The Tigers went on to complete the half 3-0, with a last minute own goal from the Holyoke Cougars.
At half, the coaches and players were elated with the status of the game, leading the team to set out for the second half with the same tenacity wrapping the game with a final score of 5-0. The last two goals came from Alexis Kufta (her second goal of the day), with an assist credited to Zoe Mullen, as well as Lissandra Micera assisted by Ivelisse Vargas.
The coaches' expectations were far exceeded for the entire weekend. The start of this season brings a huge level of excitement for all involved, and the coaches can't wait to see what the rest of the season has in store. As the Tigers return home to NYC, they look forward to the upcoming weekend facing Rowan College on home turf at Kingsborough Community College in Brooklyn, NY at 3:30pm on Saturday, and then traveling to Rowan College of South Jersey, Cumberland in Vineland, NJ for a 1pm game on Sunday
