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Auburndale Alliance wins Waldbaum’s Cup

By Dylan Butler

For Filippa Petruccelli, the Waldbaum’s Challenge Cup final Saturday at the Mitchel Athletic Complex in Uniondale, L.I. was more than just a championship match. It was a chance for Queens girls’ soccer to earn some respect in a tournament comprised almost exclusively of teams from soccer-rich Long Island.

Petruccelli and her Auburndale Alliance teammates achieved their goal, thanks to a come-from-behind 3-1 win over the Village of Branch Hurricanes.

“I think we’re the best soccer players in Queens and I wouldn’t want to play with another group of girls,” the Flushing resident said. “We definitely made a name for ourselves. We’re no joke.”

Thanks to goals from Courtney Barriere, Petruccelli and Susie O’Connell, the Alliance, made up mostly of players from St. Francis Prep, captured the Girls’ Under-17 Major Division crown, capping an undefeated season.

“We showed that Queens has soccer players too,” O’Connell said. “We came in as a new team and didn’t know what to expect, but we showed we can play.”

While the Auburndale Alliance, which was formed when the Auburndale Rapid Fire and the Bayside Queens merged in the fall, is in its first year as a team, many of the girls have been playing with each other for several years, which, according to Barriere, is one of the strengths of the team.

“There are no individuals on this team, we all work for each other,” she said. “Off the field we are all friends and we all help each other out.”

On the sideline barking out instructions for the Alliance is former Holy Cross and St. John’s University standout Dennis James, who is in his first year of coaching.

“It’s a lot different than playing,” James said. “It’s a lot easier to coach. You can see more things clearly as a coach. I try not to be negative as a coach because I think these girls respond and play a lot better to the positive.”

After cruising through the regular season and the playoffs, the Alliance found their stiffest test in the final against the VOB Hurricanes, who scored the game’s first goal midway through the first half.

But the Alliance answered back with a set piece late in the first half. James urged Barriere to shoot the ball low, but instead the St. Francis Prep junior unleashed a rocket from 25 yards out. The ball bounced off the crossbar and inside the goal line to tie the match at 1.

“I did it before, I tied the game when we needed it and I felt it was my fault that we let up the goal,” the Flushing resident said. “I did what I needed to do and I prayed it went in. And when it did, my heart froze.”

The score remained deadlocked until the 78th minute when Petruccelli, who a minute earlier served a great ball to Elizabeth Niedbala whose header sailed just over the crossbar, found some space along the top of the 18-yard box. Petruccelli dribbled toward the middle of the box and sent a rocket just under the crossbar to give Auburndale a 2-1 lead.

“Coach told me there was about five minutes left and I got an opening thanks to a nice pass from Kristen Berrios,” Petruccelli said. “The forwards did a nice job of pushing up hard and taking the pressure off of me. It was all hard work on that goal.”

O’Connell, also from St. Francis Prep, capped the scoring 10 minutes later when she ran onto a loose ball at the top of the box and put it inside the far post from 20 yards out.

“This is probably the best girls’ soccer team to ever come out of Queens,” James said. “All their practice when they were younger is paying off now. They’ve been playing together for a while now and they’re all good friends which makes them work harder for each other.”

Reach Associate Sports Editor Dylan Butler by e-mail at Timesledgr@aol.com or call 229-0300, Ext. 143.