Highland Park League Starts on High Note (by Gregory Pinel and Steven Beckingham)

WSP's newest league launched last Sunday at salubrious Highland Park, set among a handful of rolling hills on the border of residential Ridgewood (Queens) and Cypress Hills (Brooklyn).

In just two games, 21 goals found their way into the net. But it wasn't a day that went against keepers. About 80 saves were made in games that resembled the back and forth action of the Stanley Cup Playoffs rather than the general cautionary if not stifling defensive play we've seen in much of the 2010 World Cup Finals.

First up were Titans FC at FC Finest. From the get go, both keepers saw plenty of action while these two new teams' defenses were still sorting themselves out positionally. But goals didn't start to come until midway through the first half, with Titans registering first. Titans continued to press into the opposition half and slotted another in. But that was soon answered back. For the rest of the half and much of the second, the game was a series of balanced attacks. The last 10 minutes, however, saw the Finest gain the edge on both ends of the pitch. Defender Janusz C. made some well-timed pinches, which gave Captain Niall R. the space to march the ball up the field to both score and assist to seal a 6-4 victory. Captain Niall was in on all 6 points, with 2 goals and 4 assists, and was accordingly awarded Match MVP.

The second game of the day involved Rockville Hammers at the Highlanders. Last week's exhibition match against these two teams had Sunday's match touted as a David vs. Goliath battle, with the Hammers having taken the Highlanders at 11-3 in said friendly.

The Highlanders arrived to the pitch with a game plan. And it seemed to work. Players were slotted into positions according to player histories (remember, it was only the second time these players had been on the pitch together, and several on the day were out for the first time), and they kept to those positions well, with exception to some early missteps on defense. Accordingly, the Hammers took an early 2-0 lead. The Highlanders, however, showed big heart by holding their heads high and pressing hard into the Hammer's half, taking back the two goals. Then the Hammers scored again. But again, the Highlanders answered back, making it 3-3 at the half.

In the second half, the Highlanders moved the ball wide and deep, and they made their crosses in to the center count. Clever headers by Tomis P. from keeper Gregory P.'s long kicks put speedy Mike G. into the clear on a few occasions, resulting in one goal and an assist for the striker. Then attacking midfielder Steven B. slotted in another goal. At 6-3, the stunned Hammers seemed for a moment to be in a stranglehold. But they gave their heads a shake and turned it on, led by the streaking runs from Liz S. down the right side of the field. Her crosses were dead accurate, landing on the feet of open players at the far post who merely had to pass the ball into the net as the Highland keeper was forced to play the possible shot from Liz. S., who had four assists on the day.

For me, Highland keeper, Gregory P. was the match MVP. He kept Highlanders in the game with some superb saves, and his distribution created a lot of chances, resulting in two assists. To be fair, the Hammers had some great shots and were unlucky that a few of them didn't hit the back of the net. Final score: Highlanders 6, Hammers 5.