Rangers win a pair of titles

In their final season together as a competitive travel soccer team, the New Egypt Rangers won first place in the Jersey Coast Premier Soccer League and won the U10 Seagull Division Championship at the recent BeachBlast Tournament in Wildwood.

In regular-league play, the Rangers finished undefeated in first place with a record of 9-0-1. The boys unleashed amazing passing skills and very aggressive play throughout the season. Several teams were amazed at the level of play displayed by the boys. They allowed only five goals for the entire season while scoring almost 30 goals on offense. All boys played various positions throughout the season, helping them to learn and understand the fundamentals to become great players.

Recently the Rangers captured the championship of the BeachBlast Soccer Tournament in classic fashion. The first day of competition saw the Rangers outclass their opponents 8-1 and 4-0. In the second day of play, the Rangers had a hard-fought win against a local Toms River team, 5-4, which included the winning goal made by Matthew Blomgren with only five seconds left to play. This victory put the Rangers into the final against a team from Warrington. The final was very competitive, and after regulation the score was 1-1. Raphael Archer scored the equalizer to send this game into overtime. The teams were tied again after the three-minute overtime period, and the final was decided by sudden-death penalty kicks. Tre Gonzales made the first

kick with a brilliant shot past the keeper. Warrington missed the goal on their first shot, and the Rangers won. Nicholas Pisani led all scorers for the weekend with six goals, and Kyle Stemmer and Kenneth Johnston were outstanding in goal. The balance of the team, who provided constant pressure on opponents all weekend, includes Tyler Dey, Thomas Haskoor, Nicholas Romano and Kenneth Friedrich.

The Rangers have been a fantastic team over the past three years and most of the boys have learned enough about soccer to allow then to play on almost any level. The team's coaches wish their players good luck in their future endeavors, and also wish to thank the parents and coaches for their efforts in making the past few years a great experience with many lasting memories.