Sports

Sports Round-Up March 10

(Photo of Our Lady of Grace Squirt Boys (Group 2) courtesy Kevin McNally)

Our Lady of Grace, Howard Beach, hosted its fifth annual Invitational Indoor Soccer Tournament from January through the beginning of March at Aviator Sports Complex, Marine Park. A total of 54 teams from 18 diocesan Catholic Youth Organization parishes participated in the round-robin style tournament across 10 different age groups.

In indoor soccer, matches are 5-on-5 or 6-on-6 instead of 11-on-11 in outdoor soccer. The 15-minute-long contests are fast-paced and allow the players to get more touches on the ball, which is heavier than a normal soccer ball. The field size is similar to a basketball court, and scoring is much higher than outdoor soccer.

Just like the Olympics, medals were awarded to the top three teams from each age group. St. Gregory the Great, Bellerose, took home a tournament-leading seven medals, while host Our Lady of Grace finished second with five medals.

 A new award was introduced this year to honor the Outstanding Player for each tournament group. Each coach nominated a player from a different team whom they thought had the greatest impact. This year’s Outstanding Player recipients were:

Midgets/Pee Wee Girls: Gianna Gonzalez, Our Lady of Hope, Middle Village

Novice/Bantam Girls: Sydney Fassard, St. Gregory the Great

Rookie/Intermediate Girls:  Sydney Fassard, St. Gregory the Great

Squirts Boys (Group 1): Jimmy Joseph Chee, St. Gregory the Great

Squirts Boys (Group 2): Nico Rodriguez, Our Lady of Grace

Midget Boys: Joe Carrano, Our Lady of the Blessed Sacrament, Bayside

Pee Wee Boys: Peter Molinari, Sacred Heart, Bayside

Bantam Boys: Kyler Gonzalez, Our Lady of Grace

Rookie Boys: Jason Dumont, St. Gregory the Great

Intermediate Boys: Christian Deservis, St. Bernard, Mill Basin


The Catholic Youth Organization hosted its girls’ basketball diocesan championships Feb. 25 at St. John’s Prep, Astoria. The following teams won their respective divisions:

Division I

Pee Wee: St. Kevin, Flushing

Novice: St. Mary’s Winfield, Woodside

Bantam: Our Lady of Hope, Middle Village

Rookie: Our Lady of Lourdes, Queens Village

Intermediate: St. Kevin

Division II

Pee Wee: Resurrection Ascension, Rego Park

Novice: St. Rose of Lima, Parkville

Bantam: St. Stan’s, Maspeth

Rookie: Our Lady of the Snows, North Floral Park

Intermediate: Holy Trinity, Whitestone

St. Kevin Intermediate