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
