On Saturday April 26th the Hamburg Monarchs Soccer club held their 2nd annual spaghetti dinner fundraiser to kick off the upcoming soccer season.  The event was held at the Big Tree volunteer Fire Hall and featured food prepared by the Olive Garden and a raffle of over 40 theme baskets donated by the club's travel teams and various local vendors.  The money raised by the event will help the club continue to provide the southtowns community with a quality soccer program for it's youth.  

The end of the evening featured the recognition of several players and volunteers from the club. Receiving recognition as the "travel team coach of the year" was Ken Monacco.  Ken has been long time coach for the club and was a player himself with the former Young America Soccer Club. Ken is also currently a board member in charge of special affairs and committees.

Recognized as the club's "volunteer of the year" was Tyler Smith.  Tyler is a coach, board member and creator of the club's web-site.  Tyler was a prominent member of the former Southtowns Soccer Club for years before the merger with Young America.

Several players also received recognition.  Awards were given to the top scholastic high school senior male and female players in the club.  Zach Keane from Hamburg High School  and Jordan Mann from Frontier High School were the male and female honorees respectively.  Both players were all - league selections during their high school careers and have been playing travel soccer for several years.  Zach started his career with Young America and Jordan with Southtowns respectively before the clubs merged two years ago.

Two other players were also honored as the "most outstanding travel soccer team players".  Cody Marr-Sexton received the award for the boys.  Cody was a member of the 2007 boys U-17 team that went undefeated in league play last year.

Receiving the award on the girls side was Nicole Thiel.  Nicole's award was given in the memory of former club member Vicki Gadikian.  On hand to graciously help present Nicole with the award were Vicki's parents , Randy and Mary Angela along with two of her brothers , Abe and Isaac (Iggy). Nicole, like Vicky , is an outstanding goalie and played on the Monarch U-12 team that finished second in Division "A' last year and won two tournaments.

The club would like to thank all those who attended the fundraiser and the local businesses that made donations of food or gift items for the auction.  The Hamburg Monarchs are proud to be a part of a community that helps youth organizations like ours with their financial generosity and support.