Patriots 99 Place First in Another Indoor Tournament This Winter
On the final Sunday of February, the Patriots '99s completed a superb
indoor season by winning the Soccer Palace tournament in West Orange,
N.J. against a tough field of U-12 teams.
For coach Jeff Fleischmann's team, it was the fourth tournament
victory of the winter.
In defeating Wayne, N.J. (4-1), the Cougars (2-0) and Manhattan
(3-0), the 99s got solid contributions from the entire lineup, and
were backstopped by fine performances in goal from Delaney Coppola and
Rachel Sondor. Advancing to the championship game against Parsippany,
the Patriots broke a scoreless tie midway through, when Mason Warble
sent a well-placed cross to Samantha Coffey, who drilled it in with
her left foot for the only score of the contest.
"I was very happy with the way the girls were able to shake off the
winter cobwebs and play some nice football," coach Fleischmann said.
"It is never easy to play up a year, but they stepped up to the
challenge. They are becoming a team in many ways. They pull for each
other and understand the roles that need to be filled to achieve
success."
