Fighting Tomcats, Long Island's new soccer team, facing must-win for playoff berth
'These guys have bought in,' head coach John Fitzgerald told The Post of his mostly local 2-3-4 squad knocking on the door of a postseason trip, as only a win will clinch come 7 p.m. at Hofstra University.
Advertisement
'They come in, they train three nights a week, we train at nine o'clock at night … then they're getting up for work the next day because we're not paying them their full-time salaries.'
For team captain Brian Saramago, a 26-year-old account manager from New Hyde Park, it means everything to have a chance to keep playing competitively at his age.
'We just want to give it our all,' he said, adding that the Tomcats' prior 2-1 victory and 3-3 draw against New Haven are giving everybody confidence.
Advertisement
The Fighting Tomcats, spearheaded by Fox anchor Brian Kilmeade (center) and his brother, Jim, are battling for a playoff berth.
Handout
Even though the guys are only playing with each other for the first time and in a short span, a deep bond has already developed, the captain added.
'Sometimes after a hard day at work, you don't really want to go to training, but then every time, I see everyone laughing and playing with each other,' Saramago said. 'That is why I think that this Saturday it's going to be something special.'
'I know I don't want it to be my last game with these guys.'
Advertisement
Yankees and Mets legend Darryl Strawberry is coming to Smithtown on Saturday afternoon to watch the Subway Series at Bull Smith's Tavern.
The former outfielder will be at the bar at 4:10 p.m. for meet and greets, plus raffles.
Advertisement
The Southampton Firecracker Run is set to pop off Sunday morning, rain or shine.
Darryl Strawberry
Corey Sipkin for New York Post
Both the 8K and the 3-mile runs will begin at 7:30 a.m. in Agawam Park at 25 Pond Lane, Southampton.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
New York Post
a day ago
- New York Post
The Mets make you cling to fragile hopes
When you stare at enough back pages of The Post, you wind up with some that stick to an inordinate degree in the folds of your mind. Here is one of mine: 9 The back page of the New York Post on June 19, 2013. New York Post Advertisement On June 18, 2013, the Mets swept a doubleheader at Turner Field from the hated Braves. Zack Wheeler made his major league debut in the nightcap with six shutout innings. It was also Harvey Day: Matt Harvey struck out 13 in the opener, improving to 6-1 with a 2.16 ERA. Was 'Future Is Wow!' an incautious sentiment? Perhaps even at the time we knew it was, if not for the fragility of wedding your fortunes to young baseball players then for the Mets-ness of it all.
New York Post
a day ago
- New York Post
A trip to Double-A to get the lowdown on a rising batch of Yankees pitching prospects
Access the Yankees beat like never before Don't miss Greg Joyce's text messages from The Bronx and beyond — he's giving Sports+ subscribers the inside buzz on the Yankees. Sign Up Now Every year, it happens: A Yankees farm system depleted from the previous year's trades regenerates. Pitching prospects, in particular, appear. These prospects are occasionally brought to The Bronx, but more often are placed into the coffer Brian Cashman dips into when help is needed at the trade deadline. This time the Yankees GM used packages that included seven more pitching prospects — Trystan Vrieling, Carlos De La Rosa, Josh Grosz, Griffin Herring, Ben Shields, Gage Ziehl and Clayton Beeter — to land Ryan McMahon, Camilo Doval, Jake Bird, Austin Slater and Amed Rosario. It didn't seem to matter that the organization lost, through trade or the Rule 5 draft, 20 pitching prospects from the 2022 deadline to Dec. 2023 and dealt a couple more in landing Jazz Chisholm Jr. and Mark Leiter Jr. at last year's deadline. A significant strength of the organization is producing a never-ending supply of pitching prospects whom other organizations value. Last week, The Post took a trip to Double-A Somerset to get a glimpse of the possible next batch — pitchers who may be the outliers who force their way into pinstripes or may be Cashman's ammunition about a year from now. 9 The Yankees have cultivated a strong pipeline of pitching prospects under general manager Brian Cashman (above). Getty Images All four were acquired differently — a signing out of the Dominican Republic, a trade return, a first-round pick and an undrafted discovery — which speaks to the ability of the Yankees to use every avenue (apart from selecting at the top of drafts) to secure and then develop talent.
New York Post
2 days ago
- New York Post
Basketball prodigy Delaney Walters putting Long Island on notice: ‘She's going to be a great one'
It's going to be a while until Long Island sees another basketball talent like Delaney Walters. The Centereach-born star has been playing varsity at her public school since seventh grade, where she put up surreal numbers — and shattered a record that went untouched for years — on the court surrounded by girls much older. 'I realized then that I could really do this, and the age I am at doesn't matter,' Walters told The Post. 'What just matters is how skilled I am and the work I put in,' the 14-year-old, 5-foot-6 guard added. Two years after her varsity debut, the youth prodigy is ready for a new environment and challenge as a freshman at St. Mary's High School in Manhasset, as Walters shoots to put the Gaels on the high road. 4 Centereach star Delaney Walters, 14, said she wants to go pro one day. Corey Sipkin / New York Post 'My goal is to try to get the state championship — and to make a name for myself,' she said after a ninth-grade orientation at the Catholic academy. 'To be seen by other colleges or schools and just be the best I could possibly be on the court. … I absolutely want to go pro one day.' Crossover to greatness The dead-eye shooter broke Centereach's record for 3-pointers in a season 'from around decades back' with 44 in seventh grade, when she first learned to trust her shot. 'That's when I began with long-range 3s. I would just shoot it and it would go in,' said Walters, likely to finish with six varsity seasons to her credit. 4 Centereach star Delaney Walters shoots a jumper at St. Mary's gym. Corey Sipkin / New York Post 'I was like, 'Wow, I guess I could really do this.' And I just started shooting from outside, like very far out.' Walters, who is already being invited to college camps, proved that her hot hand was anything but a lucky streak after putting up an eighth-grade season that most college athletes would envy. She averaged 18 points a game and shattered her own season 3s mark with an exclamation point, draining 66 shots from deep and earning first-team all-conference honors. No. 10, who was on pace to be the Cougars' all-time leading scorer, is already getting the green light from St. Mary's coaches to fire the ball as she sees fit in summer training camps. 'That was a little bit of an eye-opener for me,' she said of her early jaw-dropping numbers. 'It gave me more confidence that I definitely needed.' 4 Delaney Walters gets ready to shoot. Corey Sipkin / New York Post Full-court press Success is anything but accidental for Walters, said her lifelong trainer, Jerry Powell — who has enhanced the games of LeBron James and other NBA greats like Paul George. 'She has the right approach and the right attitude,' Powell told The Post, adding how impressed he is that Walters, by choice, completely stays off her phone during sessions. 'She's very cerebral. She picks up quick, and that's why the sky is the limit. … She's going to be a great one,' he added of the teen who works out five days a week. Like Walters herself acknowledged, he also observed her game reaching a significantly deeper level between the seventh and eighth grades. 'Sometimes when kids have an early success, they take their foot off the gas,' he said. 'With Delaney, she makes basketball the main thing. When you do that at a young age, you can't help but be successful.' 4 Delaney Walters goes up for a layup. Corey Sipkin / New York Post The top-tier trainer also said playing in a high-caliber environment like the one at St. Mary's will serve as iron sharpening iron to push Walters toward the WNBA dream — which she said would ideally come by way of a major basketball school like Duke or North Carolina. She's a fan of both teams, and nobody really knows why. 'I was told it was crazy when I was wearing a Duke hoodie and a UNC hat,' she said. 'Deep down, I think my heart wants to go to Duke, though.' Afterward, her dream draft would be to the Minnesota Lynx, as Walters aspires to be like guard Courtney Williams. 'She's super fast, and she's just so much energy,' Walters said. 'I really want to be like that.' Naturally, the Long Island teenager has also sought inspiration from Steph Curry of the Golden State Warriors. However, she doesn't model her shooting after the NBA champ. 'I kind of just want to have my own shot,' Walters said, 'so people could look up to mine.'
