New England Aztec – A History: 2004 Sara Hourihan Named Player of the Year Aztecs U18 Player Receives Boston Globe All-Scholastic Div. 3 Honor Sara Hourihan, Aztec U-18 standout, received Player-of-the-Year honors from the Boston Globe for her part in bringing Lynnfield its 2nd State Championship in as many years. In addition to being named the Boston Globe All-Scholastic Player of the Year, Hourihan was Cape Ann League and Division 3 EMass Player of the Year, and earned her first nod onto the All-New England team. She notched 30 goals and 19 assists this fall, leading 22-0- 2 Lynnfield to a second consecutive Division 3 State Championship. With a career total of 64 goals and 51 assists, Hourihan led the Pioneers in scoring for the last three years. She's not just a standout soccer player. Hourihan was on Lynnfield's 2004 EMass champion basketball squad and ran on the state champion 4x400 relay in 2003. She will attend the University of New Hampshire next fall. Aztec Soccer Stars Excel in High School Boys and Girls Shine in Fall Season Several Aztec players are having notable success in their high school soccer teams. For those that follow the high school game, this is no surprise. The names have been steadily holding and advancing their positions in league and state categories. Some of the Aztec girls having success this fall include: From the Aztec U-18 girls team ... Erin Lensky leads the Northeastern Conference in points with 21 and second in scoring in the NEC is Shawna Medina with 18 points. In the Cape Anne Small Sara Hourihan is second in the conference in points with 25 points. Cape Anne Large Goalkeeper Laura Doran has the best goals against average in the league with a .73 GAA. Merrimack Valley Conference standout Jackie Powers, a new addition to the U-18 girls, is leading the conference in points with 36. Meg Neary, Jenna Tracia, and Jess Dolbeare are all captains of the undefeated Lynnfield High School team. Caitlin Walsh and Jill Jenkinson are hanging tough captaining Masconomet this year. Michaela Hardy is captaining her Reading High School team to a 500 season. Caroline Kennerson is captaining Pingree and holding down the fort defensively. Rachel Wright is captaining the Danvers Varsity team into the state tournament. Conference All Star and last year’s team MVP Katie Weinstein is running the offense for the Marblehead Headers. U-16 Aztec sophomores Sarah Lambe and Kirsten Lundquist are defending like champions for the Masconomet Varsity. Last year's freshman sensation from Danvers Jennie Barrett is coming back from a torn PCL suffered in a tournament out in Memphis TN last spring with her U16 Aztec team. Jennie should be back with her U-16 team this Spring. Sophomore Stephanie Glowick from Peabody High School is doing great in the Greater Boston League. Sophomore starter Stephanie Naugler has been a consistent threat this season at Hamilton Wenham. Last year's freshman star for Methuen Jen Courossi is having a great sophomore year. St Mary’s freshman star last year Kerri Domohowski has been bitten by the injury bug this past Summer and Fall. Brianna Russo is one of the leading scorers on the Danvers High Varsity as a sophomore. Liz Brenton is the starting keeper for Stoneham High School. Freshman Aztec U-15 players making waves for their varsity teams include: Morgan Healy and Mariah Dellea at North Andover High, Sam Weinstein at Marblehead High School, Erica Leber at Andover High and Jackie Gauthier and Kelly Getchell at Danvers High. We have many others that are doing extremely well for their respective schools. Shannon Fitzgerald from Newburyport has started every game as a freshman at centerback. On the boy’s side ... from the Aztec U-18 squad: Chris Ethier from Beverly leads the Northeastern Conference in points with 23. Chris Rappoli, a Senior Captain at Malden Catholic High School finished the season as the leading scorer in the Catholic Conference from his center mid-field earning him All Eastern Mass and All State honors. Jack Lindsay is captaining Waring School in the MBIL. Chris Pickul is captaining North Andover to an undefeated season. Greg Badavas, Brian Doucette, Duke Travers, and Paul Tussini are captaining Masconomet and are headed into a showdown last game of the regular season with North Andover. Mark Pierce is captaining his Gloucester team to one of the best seasons in their history and Christian Slack is captaining the Ipswich High Boys to another successful season. Aztec U-17 standouts include Jared Joaquin from North Andover High, second leading scorer in the Cape Ann League Large and 7th in the state with 28 points. Leading the Cape Ann Small in points is Rob Kennedy from Lynnfield. Both Jared and Rob can thank their Aztec counterparts, center midfielders Pete Koskores (North Andover) and Alex Doto (Lynnfield), for some of their success. Center midfielder Matt Chin is playmaking for NEC Conference leader Danvers where Andrew Ames is providing steady defense and added scoring punch. Erik Sheedy and Greivin Lehman are helping lead Beverly's late charge in the NEC after evening the season with a win over Aaron Tibbetts and Gloucester. Matt Furlong has been a consistent scoring threat for Newburyport. Stew Barrett has dropped into the midfield after scoring some early goals at forward for Georgetown. Senior Caleb Evanter and junior Alex Martland are invaluable pieces to the Marblehead High season. Andrew and sophomore Leo Desbois are both playing varsity for ISL powerhouse Belmont Hill which will face Ross Solomon and Lawrence Academy later this month. Cullen Donohoe is marshalling St. John's Prep with goalkeeper Taylor Bracken. 5 Aztecs on Lynnfield State Champion Team Five players on the Aztec '87 Girls team helped the Lynnfield Pioneers to the school's first state championship for girl’s soccer with a 2- 0 win over the defending champion Lady Tigers of Douglas. The girls (Sara Hourihan, Meg Neary, Jessica Dolbeare, Jenna Tracia, Stephanie Salisbury) were part of a Pioneer team that had a remarkable six-game march through the tournament where they allowed only one goal. They were clearly the most dominant team in the Division 3 tournament and were voted the number 10 team New England in all divisions. Lynnfield recorded its fifth shutout in six games with the victory at Worcester State College. Meghan Neary drew the challenge of defending Douglas' leading scorer. The Pioneers ripped off nine shots in the second half, including a Hourihan bullet that bounced off the crossbar. The Pioneers dominance in the tournament was an extension of their regular season play, where they surrendered just 11 goals in 18 games while scoring 68. "Our defense started with our forwards. They put the pressure on the opposition at midfield and they were not able to attack. When they did, our defense was ready to shut them down," coach Mark Vermont said. That forward line included Hourihan (14 G, 10 A) and Tracia (9 goals, 9 assists). The Cape Ann League had four teams in the North semifinals: Lynnfield, Ipswich, Georgetown and North Reading. Aztecs Continue To Develop Recognition in Youth Soccer in the Bay State Since its inception in 2000, Aztec has sought to help the youth soccer players of the region improve, and it is evident that the Aztec approach is paying off Many of our teams found themselves at or near the top of the table in their MAPLE leagues this year, and many found success in indoor and outdoor tournaments around the region and the country Facing Long odds, playing several teams whose outdoor seasons have already begun, the Aztec U-13 girls prevailed over Virginia Rush Academy Blue 2-1 on Sunday, to win the 2004 Virginia Beach Spring Classic. The girls had earned a 1-1 draw with the Richmond Mystix and a 4-3 win over Stronghold Milan (Central NJ), before beating both Virginia Rush Academy teams (VRA White 2-0 in the semis) to take the crown. Some of the Girls also took part in the National 3v3 tourney in Orlando. The U14 Girls were runners up in Memphis, Tenn., going 2-1-1 in the round robin tourney. Five Aztec teams won the 2004 Memorial Day Weekend Dartmouth Cup tournament in New Hampshire. The Aztec 12 Girls coached by Mike, Matt, and Pete Kersker, the Aztec 14 Girls coached by Mike Kersker and the Aztec 15 Girls (in the 16 Girls Division) coached by Sean Killeen and Mike Moschella all won their divisions. The Aztec 15 Boys won their tourney in the 16 Boys Division, and the Aztec 17 Boys, coached by Justin Dechene and Kenny Hannan, brought the cup home in their bracket. The U16 Boys won their MAPLE Division and earned promotion, recovering from a season opening 7-2 loss to the Boston Blast and not losing a game the rest of the way...giving up just one more goal in the process. They also won the President's Cup at the Cocoa Beach February Vacation Tourney, outscoring their opponents 7-0 and beating the Palm Bay Hornets 3-nil in the final. The Aztec U18 Boys and Girls also won their MAPLE groups, with the Boys winning MAPLE's D1, and the Girls featuring a team that included 17 players who were captains, all-stars and/or state champs with their high school programs. Aztecs Win Regional Over 30 Open Cup Simpson, Lage, Benoit Head to Dallas in August August 2004 - Aztec Coaches Doc Simpson and Tony Lage are heading to Dallas for the over 30 Open Cup National Tournament after defeating Bier FC from Washington DC 5-1 at the German-Hungarian Sports Club just outside of Philadelphia.