Playing in the rain

A driving rain did not stop South Side High School’s girls’ and boys’ varsity teams from competing in the annual soccer kick off on the evening of Sept. 11 at the Skelos Sports Complex, nor did it stop a sizeable crowd from turning out to watch them. Both teams played to ties — in the first game South Side’s boys and Baldwin’s boys reached a 0 to 0 conclusion and South Side’s girls, in a game against Garden City, ended with a 1-1 score, with senior Chrystal Dunn scoring the lone goal for the Cyclones.

During the half time between games, Sen. Dean Skelos, Mayor Mary Bossart and the village trustees read the names of all those from the Rockville Centre community who perished in the tragic events of that day eight years ago, with special mention of the four coaches from the RVC Soccer Club who were among those lost. The crowd next observed a moment of silence which was broken by Jean Toomey who sang “God Bless America.” Lauren Maietti and Dakota Rizzi both also sang the national anthem before the start of each game. Peter Bralower announced the girls lineup at the start of their game; Kevin Bohn announced the boys roster.