Two girls soccer players have recently been involved in charitable efforts involving soccer. Jamie Kimak organized a fundraising effort—Goals for Change—through Tappan Zee soccer. You may remember it from a soccer notebook I did during the season. She had her teammates and the JV players get monetary pledges from friends and family for every goal the teams scored. It ended up raising more than $2900 for People to People, which buys supplies for Rocklanders in need.

The other charity work is by Jessi-Ann Bettcher of Brewster, whose story I detailed in a Sunday feature (and linked to yesterday). She’s created an organization called Jessie’s Goal: Sudden Death, Not in Any Game, which pushes for heart tests for varsity athletes. It argues that a routine test that is not currently administered could save lives of athletes with heart defects. She joined with CARE, another heart health organization, on a free screening initiative at last Saturday’s Maggie Dixon Basketball Classic at Madison Square Garden. I didn’t mention it in my feature because it had already happened and wasn’t specifically relevant to Jessi-Ann’s recovery. But I know this has become a big cause of hers after her transplant and the Dec. 8 event will surely not be the last. Go to ”careforhearts.org”:careforhearts.org to read an interview with her about her ordeal and charity work.

Find it “here”:http://www.newyorksportswriters.org/reference/boys_soccer_all_state_2007.shtml

Find it “here”:http://www.newyorksportswriters.org/reference/boys_soccer_all_state_2007.shtml

Just got back from Miami where I was taking a short vacation. I can’t say enough about how warm it was down there. Every day was t-shirt weather. The beaches are soft and hedonism is rampant. But the Dolphins still stink.

While I was away, The Journal News issued its all-star (for Westchester/Putnam) and all-county (for Rockland) sections. In case anyone didn’t see them, you can link to them below. Congratulations to Will Ogden, who received not only all-star player of the year honors but was also named Westchester/Putnam athlete of the season, meaning he made the most impact of anyone in any sport.

“Boys soccer all-star”:http://lohud.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071209/SPORTS02/712090315/-1/SPORTS

“Boys soccer all-county”:http://lohud.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071209/SPORTS02/712090308/-1/SPORTS

“Girls soccer all-star”:http://lohud.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071209/SPORTS02/712090318/-1/SPORTS

“Girls soccer all-county”:http://lohud.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071209/SPORTS02/712090312/-1/SPORTS

To view the entire all-star and all-county sections, go to the Varsity Central website at lohud.com/vc and click the icons in the upper right corner.

I want to add one more link as well, which is my story on Brewster soccer player Jessi-Ann Bettcher. Bettcher came back from a heart transplant to play varsity this year. It’s an amazing story and was a real pleasure to write. Some of you may not have seen it because it ran on the front page, not the sports section. You can read it “here.”:http://www.thejournalnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2007712110338

Katonah’s favorite daughter scored in the 72nd minute of FSU’s semifinal against Notre Dame to push the Seminoles into their first championship, 3-2. She also assisted on their first goal, which came a record 15 seconds into the game. Read all about the victory “here.”:http://seminoles.cstv.com/sports/w-soccer/recaps/120707aab.html

You can’t say enough about what Amanda DaCosta has done in her freshman year. And I thought she made a huge leap from junior to senior year of high school. Turns out that was chump change.

If you want to see her progress for yourself, turn on ESPN2 at 2 p.m. Sunday. The championship game against USC is airing live.

The girls all-state teams were announced and plenty of LoHudders made the grade. You can see them “here.”:http://www.newyorksportswriters.org/reference/girls_soccer_all_state_2007.shtml

A special congrats to Steph Reimer of Suffern, Amy Marron of Westlake, Amy Wagner of Briarcliff, and Cate Crenson of North Salem, who all made first team in their respective classes.