November 16, 2011: The Fort Lee Soccer League U-14 Travel All-Stars, in a driving rain storm, dominated Dumont 3-1 in the season finale to finish a Perfect Season 9-0. First Place Trophy in the Northern Counties Soccer League in our division. Led by the perennial All-Star, Justin Picache, the team demonstrated great heart, exemplory sportsmanship, and exceptional team chemistry in dominating the competition. The coaches were exceptionally proud of this group of fine young men who never quit and gave 120% in every game. I believe this team was very special, and every player deserves acknowledgement. I admit my prejudice, with no apology, as my son was on this team.
There were many highlights this season, beginning with the finals, where Moustafa Moustafa sliced through the Dumont defense to score the first goal in the finals, followed by Peter Kim’s first goal of the season over the defense with less than one minute left in the first half. Finally, Justin Picache iced the victory, slamming home a rebound off a corner kick, sealing the perfect season.
How many times this season did we watch Henry Chen streaking down the right sideline to score a goal or make a perfect centering pass? The avid fans all witnessed Danny Duarte, Fort Lee sweeper, come to the rescue innumerable times when an attacker would invade our goal area. It would be hard to forget the game where Cody Pearl, Fort Lee’s premier left defenseman, at 82 pounds, “toppled” the Arsenal “Goliath,” the largest player on the field, when fighting for a loose ball. Many times the team rallied, with Nick Danciu slashing through the middle to stop an opponent attack and set up a Fort Lee onslaught. Our mid-season star, Dmitri Koutroubinis, with stellar play at forward in two straight games, kicked balls past diving goalies, feebly attempting to stop him. Chris Corkis, excellent at both midfield and striker, was adept at both setting up goals and scoring them. Kai Otomo, rock solid at mid-field, scored a goal this season and defended well. Sam Keller, right defenseman and the best Fort Lee player on the throw-ins, set up numerous goals for us with his accuracy. Zach Ware, with excellent positioning and quick reactions, scored three goals this year for Fort Lee. Antonio Dimeglio, Ryan Bajollari and Jaidev Chhachhi solidified our midfield with solid play the entire season, while Justin Fasman shored up our impenetrable defense. Cristian Sanchez contributed with excellent goal play and solid defense.
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Justin Picache, striker, shared MVP honors with Mohammed Abdelhamid, goalie. Justin’s booming kicks, accurate corners and slashing breakaway moves, led the league in scoring. Mohammed, with great athleticism and tenacity, allowed a paltry 7 goals in 9 games, a phenomenal .78 goals-against average.
A Magical Season.
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The parents and fans lived vicariously through the team’s exploits and could not be more proud of our stars. For the players, many of them will be moving up to high school next year, and this will be their last year of travel soccer. This will be a great memory for their scrapbooks.
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Team Roster:
Goalies: Mohammed Abdelhamid; Cristian Sanchez
Strikers: Justin Picache; Henry Chen; Moustafa Moustafa, Dmitri Koutroubinis; Antonio DiMeglio; Zach Ware
Midfield: Peter Kim; Chris Corkis; Kai Otomo; Ryan Bajollari; Jaidev Chhachhi
Defense: Danny Duarte; Nicolas Danciu; Cody Pearl; Sam Keller; Justin Fasman
Coaches: Alan Keller; Ralph Dimeglio; Kevin Ware
