PAL squad a ‘Force’ at Disney tourney

In youth soccer, one arena tops all others –– the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex at Walt Disney World in Florida. It is a mecca for youth soccer players itching to display their skills before hundreds of college coaches at the Disney Soccer Showcase.

Just playing in the tournament, which draws squads from across the country, is a dream of thousands of youth soccer players. Winning a championship there is a very big deal.

That’s exactly what the Merrick Force U16 team, which plays under the Merrick Police Activity League banner, did earlier this month. It was the first Merrick PAL squad in recent memory to earn a Disney title.

“The [PAL] program is so happy for the girls,” said Skip Haile, president of Merrick PAL Soccer — and a North Merrick and Central High School District Board of Education trustee. “These are once-in-a-lifetime memories being created.”

The U16 Force, a premier team, is led by team manager and coach David Levine, of Merrick, and coaches James Marinello, of Merrick, and Don Birkenhead, of Plainview. The trainer is Manfred Kapper.

The Force, comprising 18 players from Merrick, North Bellmore, Oceanside, Rockville Centre, Plainedge, Plainview-Old Bethpage, Syosset, West Babylon and West Hempstead, went 4-0 in the Championship Gray flight at the Disney tournament, capturing the title in a squeaker, besting a squad from Florida, West Pines United FC Black 2, 1-0 in the final.

Midfielder Lauren Marinello, the team captain, scored the championship-winning goal in the first 10 minutes of the match, and the Force held on for the next 80 minutes. It was Marinello’s second goal of the tournament.

“They were a great team, very physical, very fit,” Levine said of West Pines United. “They were really great opponents. It was nonstop, high-intensity soccer. We scored, and did everything we could to prevent them from scoring a goal.

“We started off really strong,” added Levine, whose daughter, Nicole, a midfielder, plays not only for the Force, but for Kennedy High School in Bellmore. “It was just the collective energy after Lauren’s goal. We just wouldn’t give in. We really fought. The girls were spent. They couldn’t even walk.”