Sunday April 2nd
Herndon Hurricanes – 5
Vista Bulldogs – 2

The Hurricanes began their second season with a decisive win.  Down 0-1 late in the first half, Shomari Carter’s hard blast from the right corner ricocheted off a Bulldog and found the net.  Minutes later, pinpoint passing by the Hurricanes moved the ball the length of the field and resulted in another goal by Shomari off an assist from Ramsey Bates.  A superb left leg save by goalkeeper Eric Meyers pushed a Bulldog blast wide right and preserved the 2-1 halftime lead.  In the second half, goalkeeper Kenny Hanson, scurried way out in front of the box to make a tremendous sliding save on a Bulldog break-away.  His quick kick over the opposition found Marcus Clinton whose break-away goal increased the Hurricane lead.  Minutes later a midfield blast by fullback Ryan Berg found Jeremy Ryan in front of the net whose shot extended the lead to 4-1.  Following a Bulldog goal, Steven Moss made a sure-footed steal in front of the Hurricane net and pushed the ball ahead to Shomari at midfield.  Shomari passed ahead to Uwem Etuk streaking down the left side.  Uwem’s finesse with the dribble left the Bulldog goalkeeper lunging left while his shot found the right corner of the net.  Scrappy defensive play by Beau Brady and Mike Hayden assured the victory.

Saturday, April 8th
Herndon Hurricanes – 5
FPYC Gunners – 0

The Hurricanes logged their second win in as many attempts.  Ryan Berg opened the scoring with a break-away that required some nifty footwork to beat the lone Gunner fullback and to loft a high arcing shot over the goalkeeper and into the net.  Minutes later, a superb steal and pass by fullback Beau Brady enabled Steven Moss to bounce a shot off the goalkeeper that Ryan again buried for a 2-0 lead.  Shortly before the half, Marcus Clinton intercepted a Gunner goal kick and bounced a shot off the goalkeeper that Eric Meyers alertly returned for a 3-0 halftime lead.   Halftime brought strong winds, rain and a 20 degree drop in temperature – apparently Hurricane weather – for the team marched on undeterred.  Kenny Hanson’s perfect corner kick to Mike Hayden resulted in a Gunner hand ball in the box.  Mike beat the goalkeeper by drilling his powerful penalty kick against the wind and into the upper left corner of the net.  The ensuing Gunner kick-off was intercepted by Jeremy Ryan, whose determination and skillful dribbling enabled him to weave his way by three defenders and score an unassisted goal.  Tremendous defensive play by Uwem Etuk and Shomari Carter, as well as perfect goal keeping by Jeremy and Steven, assured the shut-out victory.             

Saturday, April 15
Herndon Hurricanes – 8
MCSA Vipers – 0

Missing four players and forced to play in the rain without a sub, the determined Hurricanes rallied in the second half to dominate the game.  In a tough first half, goalkeeper Eric Meyers thwarted a Viper penalty kick by forcing the shot wide off the right post and forcing the rebound shot over the top of the goal.  Minutes later, off an assist from Marcus Clinton, Ryan Berg opened the scoring with a high blast over the goalkeeper’s outstretched arms.  Off an assist from Mike Hayden, Marcus followed up with a goal of his own to end the half with a 2-0 lead.  The Hurricanes took the opening kick of the second half straight down the field where Uwem Etuk had the ball 10 feet from the goal.  Faced with two defenders, the unselfish Uwem fed the ball back out to Mike who buried the shot.  Minutes later, Mike was tripped in the box and then drilled home the resulting penalty kick.  The scrappy Uwem responded with an unassisted goal of his own and then an assist from Uwem resulted in Mike’s third goal.  Off a throw-in from beyond midfield, Marcus threaded his way through four defenders to score an unassisted goal.  Then, off an assist from Marcus, Ryan scored his second goal.  The remaining 10 minutes found the Hurricanes playing keep-away to kill the clock.  Great passing and defensive play by Shomari Carter and Jeremy Ryan, assured the Hurricane’s second consecutive shut-out victory.  The Hurricanes dedicated this win to their missing teammate, Beau Brady, who underwent an emergency appendectomy.

Sunday, April 16
Herndon Hurricanes – 1
SWYA Fire – 3

Still missing three players and forced to play in sweltering heat with only a single sub, the Hurricanes suffered their first defeat in two seasons.   The speedy and sure-footed Fire controlled most of the first half, but superb goalkeeping by Ramsey Bates held them to a single goal.  Then a break away and pinpoint pass by Eric Meyers found Shomari Carter at the top of the box.  Shomari’s low and powerful blast found the right corner of the net for a 1-1 half-time score.  Initially, the second half found the scrappy Hurricanes playing much more offensively and creating more scoring opportunities.  However, break away   runs and shots by Jeremy Ryan, Marcus Clinton and Eric were all thwarted by the tenacious Fire.  Superb defensive play by Ryan Berg, Uwem Etuk and goalkeeper Mike Hayden held off the Fire until an inadvertent handball in the box with five minutes to play resulted in the Fire scoring off a penalty kick.  Then in the closing minutes, another break away by the Fire, through the exhausted Hurricanes, scored to seal the win for the Fire.  The Hurricanes were pleased to welcome Beau Brady back to the team.  Though unable to play, Beau returned from a recent appendectomy to support the team from the sidelines.

Sunday, April 30
Herndon Hurricanes – 3
Reston Ambush – 0

After his three game lay-off, the Hurricanes welcomed Beau Brady back to the field for the first time since his appendectomy.  Beau didn’t lose a step.  Playing superbly at full back, he and Ryan Berg thwarted nearly every Ambush attack on their net.  The few attacks that got by them were stopped by goalkeepers Jeremy Ryan and later, Eric Myers, ensuring the shutout victory for the Hurricanes.   A tough first half in this evenly matched contest found all the Hurricane’s shots-on-goal turned away by the determined Ambush goalkeeper.  The Hurricane offense also suffered when Ramsey Bates re-aggravated an ankle injury and was forced to leave the game.  Finally, nearing the end of the half, Mike Hayden opened the scoring off a perfect centering pass from Steven Moss.  Early in the second half, Marcus Clinton extended the lead when he scored off another perfect assist pass into the middle, this time from Jeremy.  Superb midfield play by Uwem Etuk, Shomari Carter and Kenny Hanson kept the Hurricanes controlling the ball for most of the second half and wore down the Ambush defenders.  Marcus scored the final goal when he intercepted a goal kick just outside the box and drove in on the goalie unassisted to bury the shot in the left corner of the net.

Sunday, May 7
Herndon Hurricanes – 3
DCST Blue - 4

For only the second time in two seasons the Hurricanes lost a game.   Playing without Head Coach Tim Ryan and the injured Jeremy Ryan, the Hurricanes fell behind early when a powerful Blue shot bounced off the goalkeeper’s right shoulder.  The tide began to turn, however, when a foul in the box resulted in a signature Mike Hayden penalty kick into the upper left corner of the net to tie the game.  A few minutes later, Marcus Clinton intercepted a goal kick and drove in unassisted for the go-ahead score.  With superb midfield play by Ryan Berg and Kenny Hanson; stiff defense by Shomari Carter and Beau Brady; and an impassable net by goalkeeper Eric Meyers, the Hurricanes began to control the ball and dominate the game.  The half ended with the Hurricanes up 3-1 when Uwem Etuk’s perfect assist from deep in the left corner found Mike open in front of the net for his second goal.  In the second half the tenacious Blue regained control of the ball and the game.  Despite valiant efforts at defense by Ramsey Bates, Ryan, Uwem and goalkeeper Steven Moss, the Blue’s swarming attacks on the net overwhelmed the Hurricanes and resulted in three goals.   The Blue’s defense thwarted the few second half attacks by the Hurricanes and the Blue’s superior ball control allowed them to leave with the victory.

Sunday, May 14
Herndon Hurricanes – 4
SWYA Sidewinders - 0

The Hurricanes displayed their tough character by rebounding from a disappointing loss last week to defeat the talented Sidewinders.  Mike Hayden provided the only goal in the first half with a breakaway down the left side capped by a powerful left-footed shot over the goalkeeper’s head.  Even without the usual midfield hustle provided by the absent Kenny Hanson, midfielders Eric Myers, Ramsey Bates and Jeremy Ryan maintained control of the ball for most of the first half.  Superb fullback play by Beau Brady and Ryan Berg kept the Sidewinders from mounting much of an offensive charge, and playing flawless in goal, Uwem Etuk took the full force of a powerful Sidewinder penalty kick square into his chest to go into the half leading 1-0.  In the second half the Hurricane offense came to life.  Off a perfect pass by Marcus Clinton, Shomari Carter caught the Sidewinder goalkeeper moving to the left, so his well placed shot to the right found the back of the net.  Off an assist from Mike, Steven Moss scored off a powerful kick from outside the box.  Finally, after missing two shots over the top of the net, Ryan dribbled across the middle to the right and hooked a chip shot back to the left of the goalkeeper to complete the Hurricane scoring.   A perfect second half in goal by Eric ensured the victory.

Sunday, May 21
Herndon Hurricanes – 2
BRYC Challenge - 2 

In a tough battle the Hurricanes played the undefeated Challenge to a draw.  Marcus Clinton opened the scoring for the Hurricanes with a powerful shot that bounced off the goalkeeper so hard that it hit a Challenge defender in the back and ricocheted into the net.   Along with fullbacks Ryan Berg and Beau Brady, midfielders Kenny Hanson and Jeremy Ryan were able to maintain Hurricane ball control and help create scoring opportunities for much of the half.  However, those opportunities resulted in many near misses.  With some nifty footwork, Eric Myers worked his way into the box and lofted a powerful shot that went over the top of the net.  Minutes later, Steven Moss fed a perfect center pass to Uwem Etuk who also lofted a shot just over the top of the net.  Ramsey Bates played brilliantly in goal thwarting nearly every Challenge attack and holding the explosive Challenge to a single goal in the half.  In the second half Mike Hayden patrolled the net superbly turning back every shot.  Then to everyone’s surprise, a hooking Challenge shot, which appeared to be wide right, caught the right post and spun itself into the left side of the net.  Now down 2-1, the Hurricanes poured on the offense, but again were turned away at every attempt by the teamwork of the Challenge.  Finally, late in the game, Shomari Carter dribbled down the left side of the goal box and while the keeper waited for a powerful blast from the left foot, Shomari surprised him with a clever tap in with the outside of his right foot to preserve a tie.

Sunday, June 4
Herndon Hurricanes – 2
SYC Fire Blue – 0 

Goal-keeping was the story in the Hurricane’s final regular season game and they started with the impenetrable Kenny Hanson.  The tough first half was a see-saw battle up and down the field with each team’s goalkeeper stifling every attack.  Then a Hurricane foul in the box gave the Fire Blue the opportunity to open the scoring.   Although their penalty shot sailed over the top of the goal, a Hurricane entering the box too soon resulted in a second attempt for the Fire Blue.  This time the powerful blast was on the mark, but Kenny moved quickly to his right to block the shot.  The invigorated Hurricanes responded by pressing the attack for the remainder of the half.  Superb in and out passing by Steven Moss and Marcus Clinton on the right and by Eric Myers and Ryan Berg on the left resulted in several shots on goal – but no goals.  The Hurricanes finally opened the scoring when a powerful and perfectly placed corner kick by Marcus bounced off a Fire Blue defender and into the net for a 1-0 halftime lead.  In the opening minutes of the second half Shomari Carter intercepted the ball outside the box and fed a perfect pass across the middle to Mike Hayden.  Unable to move forward or take a shot, Mike wisely passed back across the middle to a charging Uwem Etuk.  With some dazzling footwork, Uwem eluded two defenders and placed a shot off the outstretched hands of the keeper and into the upper left corner of the net.  The two goals were all the Hurricanes needed, for Ramsey Bates was magnificent in goal thwarting every shot that the charging Fire Blue threw his way.  His perfect play in goal and defensive help from Beau Brady and Jeremy Ryan sealed the shutout victory for the Hurricanes.

The mighty Hurricanes ended the Spring season with a 6-2-1 record and closed out their U-9 Boys Travel year with a 14-2-2 overall record – a great tribute to the hard work put forth by Coaches Tim Ryan and Imo Etuk and by Trainer Tansley Thompson.