HANC varsity soccer team is MYSHAL champ

A magical season came to a glorious conclusion on June 9, as the HANC Hurricanes claimed the 2016 MYSHAL Soccer Championship by defeating the SAR Sting.

In an epic championship game, under “blackout conditions” (HANC fans dressed in black), the Hurricanes scored a dramatic 4-3 victory behind stellar goal-tending from Yoni Goldenberg, a hat trick (3 goals) by Meir Levy, and a clutch goal with only 17 seconds left by Yonatan Gazal.

The game got off to a rocky start as Riverdale’s SAR scored the first goal two seconds into the game. Things settled down quickly as the HANC defense, led by Daniel Levy and Yonatan Gazal, regained their composure and trademark tenacity. Midway through the second quarter HANC scored the equalizer on a beautiful goal from lead scorer, Meir Levy.

The score remained tied until the third quarter when Meir added two more goals only minutes apart, thereby scoring a natural hat trick. However, as HANC seemed to be settling things down and transitioning towards a more defensive game, the Sting came buzzing back with two quick goals less than one minute apart to tie the game at three. 

The final five minutes were nail-biting and heart-palpitating as both teams exchanged scoring chances only to be turned away by superior goaltending on both ends. Finally, with 17 seconds left, the ball shot out of the SAR corner and the hard-charging Yonatan Gazal found the ball in front of him with only the goalie to beat. As if shot out of a cannon, the ball exploded off of Yonatan’s foot and found the top left corner of the SAR net, giving HANC a 4-3 lead which they never relinquished. 

Major credit for this undefeated championship season is given to Head Coach Scott Kump, as he skillfully prepared the team and calmly created a winning culture.

Big thank go to the fans. Their cheering and high octane energy propelled the Hurricanes to achieve their dream of an undefeated championship season.