Mustangs Are Champions! Finish Impressive Perfect Season.

The under age 12 girls soccer Mustangs had to wait a week for their showdown with the undefeated North Salem Sparks because of a weather cancellation. The make up date was Saturday November 8th and the Tarrytown girls traveled to North Salem to take on a Sparks team that was also undefeated with 27 goals scored and only 3 allowed for the year. Coach John Sutherland faced an experienced adversary in varsity coach Fabian Videla of the Fox Lane high school, who hadn’t lost a game since October of 2013. The combination of a light head wind and North Salem speed caught the Mustangs off guard in the first half. Keeper Catherine grimes made two incredible saves on Sparks break aways that kept the Mustangs in the match and earned her MVP honors for the game. Caroline Grimes, Catherine’s sister, got the Mustangs to score first by hustling to save a ball from going out of play, then crossing to Julia Costa, who forced a ball in the net off a Sparks defender. The wind continued to have an effect on the Mustangs and the defense found it self on its heels giving up only its third goal this season. In the second half the wind was in the Mustangs’ favor and they took control of the game. Despite the speed of North Salem the Mustangs continued to press. Britany Alban took control of the middle and Sophie Sylves-Berry unveiled new dribbling moves at right wing to keep the ball in Mustang possession. Sam Livingston, the most improved Mustang player of the fall, took control of the left side as well, leaving North Salem nowhere to penetrate. The Mustangs were rewarded when Talia Fante fired a shot that rebounded off the keeper. Pesky Maya Weitzen was there to make the keeper pay before she could gather her rebound making the game 2-1. Maddy Navin played her best game of the year at middle defense and Annie Dineen continued to stop any Sparks offensive with perfect position, good support, and scary speed. After adjusting for the speed of the game Sadie Swenson used her body and smarts to shut down attacks on her defensive side. Carolina Lopez was not often tested but still perfect in the second half as keeper. Emma Clarke was versatile as usual playing from her forward spot then moving to sweeper to secure the win. Late in the second half the 5’ 5” North Salem keeper became visibly irritated with 4’6” forward Maya Weitzen after Maya nearly scored and attempted to kick Maya in the face. The referee awarded the Mustangs a penalty kick after issuing a formal warning to the Sparks keeper, which fell on Talia Fante to take. North Salem’s coach Videla then argued with the referee and delayed the kick to “ice” Talia in hopes that she would miss. Talia drilled a beautiful shot into the upper left net that even their mammoth keeper could not reach. The Mustangs finished with a 3-1 victory and claimed at least a share of the division title.

The next day the Mustangs had to face their rival Mt Pleasant at home. With a tie or a win the Mustangs would claim sole possession of the championship. The Mustangs have been facing the Wildcats since 2009 and it took seven games before the Mustangs notched their first victory in the series in 2013. Since that win, Tarrytown has won 3 of the last four and appears to have surpassed Mt Pleasant. Despite the Mustangs playing flat and emotionally drained from the day before, Mt Pleasant was no match falling 3-0. Sophie Sylves-Berry had her best game yet setting up Julia Costa for the first score. Julia then returned the favor as Sophie scored next. Britany Alban finished scoring with a beautiful arching shot set up by Julia Costa’s second assist. Lily Rodriguez and Isabella Chambers provided needed energy and aggression off the bench. The Mustangs’ defense led by Maddy Navin, Annie Dineen, Catherine Grimes, Carolina Lopez and Sadie Swenson, earned their 6th shut out of the year and only allowed three goals all season. Catherine Grimes made another great save as keeper and Carolina Lopez was perfect in goal for the second half. The Mustangs now lead Mt Pleasant Lifetime with 4 wins, 3 losses, and 3 ties.

With this final win of the fall season the Mustangs clinched the division 3 championship with a perfect record. Initially the Mustangs had to justify playing in such a high division in the Westchester Youth Soccer League in only their first season as a “club” team, but now they will be moving up to the elite second division in the spring. The Mustangs finished with nine wins, no losses, and no ties. They scored 31 goals on the season and only allowed 3. They held the league to 20% of their scoring average while forcing the competition to give up more than double their average number of goals. They finished with the league’s best-ranked offense and defense. Talia Fante led the Mustang scorers with 13 goals, which is more than four other teams scored in total all season. Maya Weitzen led with 7 assists and Carolina Lopez led keepers not allowing a single goal all season. The Mustangs will continue their year round training as they enter the Chelsea Piers Connecticut indoor winter soccer league. Their fist game is this Saturday 11/15 vs. New Canaan, CT. They also will be participating in the Somers Fall Classic Tournament on Saturday 11/22.