All faces were aglow Saturday afternoon, Nov. 6, as parents and riled fans of the Lightening rushed the field to toss their caps and join in on the deluge of hoots, shrieks, and hearty high-fives. After enduring a long season of collected wins and losses, the girls, all ages 7-8, pulled together a swift and powerful performance as they shut out their opponents, the Tornadoes, 3 to 0 in the Oyster Bay East Norwich (OBEN) youth soccer tournament.

The opponents remained scoreless during the entire playoffs, as Goalie Kelly McKeon deflected every attempted goal with focus, with help from the solid defensive lineup comprised of Natalie Gallego, Meghan Hardiman, Casey Kemper, Meghan McGuckin, and Victoria Villalba. Sonja Drabin's fantastic offensive play as half back demonstrates her impressive dedication, overcoming a hindrance due to minor injury in the second game. Along with Drabin, the stellar efforts of Strikers Callie Catacosinos, Stephanie Mattochs, and Olivia Ballone, all fused together to propel their hardworking team into the victory they well deserved.

Also an integral part of the team is Coach Alex Gallego, who spends his workday in the financial consulting world with Ryan Beck & Co., and dedicates the rest of his seemingly inexhaustible time and energy to serving the community around him; from racing up and down the sidelines of a youth soccer game to racing literally in the NYC Marathon, campaigning against hunger. Both he and Assistant Coach Bill McKeon would agree that working cooperatively to help lead these 10 bright young girls to their cap-throwing back-thumping jubilee represents the strongest and most rewarding kind of micro-victory, one in which a community is drawn together in an momentous, cosmic embrace. "These girls really played like a team," says Gallego, his cheerful disposition buttered with pride, "They played with heart." After the game, after congratulating the Tornadoes in good spirit, they laughed and partied with heart too, sporting medals around their necks and thick slices of pizza on their plates.Caption