Neptune - last updated Sunday (9:17pm)

     The Flying Falcons started their long weekend Saturday morning, playing in the Neptune Township Soccer Tournament. The Tournament, now in its 35th year has hosted clubs from all over the globe. ast years have seen teams from China, Germany and Mexico. The Falcons started their international journey today by playing the Kanawake, from Canada.

     The Falcons got off to an early lead when Rebecca took a break away and hit the ball high, with it bouncing off the crossbar. Marissa Mancuso took the rebound and slammed the ball into the goal fo rthe 1-0 lead. Ten minutes later, Amanda passed the ball to Rebecca who kicked the ball into the back of the Canadian goal, for the 2-0 lead.

     Halftime came, with Coach Tom explaining to the girls that the way to survive the heat, was to pass more and run less. Twenty one minutes into the second half,Rebecca hit a towering right footed shot from 30 yards out that went into the top of the net for the 3-0 lead. Julia followed up that goal with an impressive shot that crashed into the Candian goal for the 4-0 lead. The game ended with the Flying Falcons winning the first of their 4 games this weekend, 4-0. In this tournament, the opposing team names an MVP for our team. For this game, Canada chose Rebecca as the Falcon MVP!

     The second game of the day started with a tremendous downpour. The sun came out as the game was scheduled to start. The Falcons had a complete team effort in their outing against Old Bridge. In the first half, Rebecca, Marissa Mancuso and Michelle Whelan all scored impressive shots to put the Falcons ahead 3-0. In the closing seconds of the first half, Paige got her first goal as a Falcon, as the half ended with the Falcons ahead 4-0.

     For the second half, Coach Tom decided to mix up some positions, giving some players a chance to play new positions. Sophie went into goal, giving Jenny a chance to play forward. Jenny played very well the whole half. Eleven minutes into the second half, Ani scored on a towering shot from 25 yards out. The team played hard all game, with many great pass combinations. The game ended with the Falcons winning 5-0. For this game, Old Bridge chose Paige as the Falcon MVP!

Sunday afternoon, the Falcons took the field aqainst Ocean. It was a hard fought game, with great plays on both sides of the ball. Both teams were scoreless going into halftime. After Ocean got a goal ten minutes into the second half, the Falcons turned up the heat, with Rebecca scoring by powering the ball past Ocean’s goalie. It was the only time all tournament that an opponent scored against Ocean. At the conclusion of the 1-1 tie, Sophie was named the MVP by the opposing team.

In the late game on Sunday, the Falcons played a strong Neptune team. It was another close came, with the only Falcons' goal, coming 14 minutes into the first half when Julia took the ball and hit a great shot past the Neptune goalie. The game ended, with the Falcons winning 1-0. This finish was good enough for the Falcons to take 2nd place in the tournament. Rebecca was names MVP by the opposing team, but chose to give the MVP award to her sister Julia. The Falcons reveived nice trophies for their outstanding effort. Coach Tom was pleased with the Falcons' performance. He said he is looking forward to taking a little time off and then starting up beach practice soon.