Sacred Heart girls win Nassau County soccer championship

The Sacred Heart Parish sixth-grade girls’ soccer team captured the Nassau County Catholic Youth Organization Championship for their grade level at Long Beach Middle School on Sunday, besting St. Aidan’s Parish of Williston Park 5-0 in the title game.

The Sacred Heart squad, which practices at Camp Avenue Elementary School in North Merrick and plays home games at the Town of Hempstead’s Merrick Road Park in Merrick, went 7-0-1 in the regular season, scoring 37 goals along the way while giving up 7. The team met Long Beach Parish in a tough semifinal match at Merrick Road Park on Saturday night under the lights. Sacred Heart fell behind 1-0 after Long Beach scored a penalty kick following an unintentional handball in the box. Long Beach stayed in front through the first half. Then, midway through the second, Sacred Heart capitalized on a penalty kick of its own, electrifying Sacred Heart’s offense, which scored two more goals after that. The game ended 3-1, Sacred Heart.

In the championship, Sacred Heart scored three against St. Aidan in the first half and two in the second, while the defense shut down St. Aidan’s offense, capping a perfect season for the Sacred Heart girls.

Sacred Heart is coached by Maureen Coogan, George Fiederlein and Shane Pallotta. The girls celebrated their big win with a pizza party at Coogan’s house.

According to its website, the CYO of Nassau and Suffolk Counties was founded in 1993 and now serves more than 24,000 children ages 6 to 18 in 95 parishes. The CYO offers programs in 18 sports, including baseball, basketball, cheerleading, soccer, swimming, track and volleyball. Sports are played in season. The CYO keeps the cost of its programs low for families to enable as many children as possible to participate. The CYO also stresses good sportsmanship above all else, maintaining a no-cut policy.