
By Randy Vogt, Director of Public Relations, Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association
June 5, 2013-Two goals from Nicole Wahlig off corner kicks paced the Albertson Silver Premier ’94 Fury to a 4-1 win over the Lake Grove Lightning and the Girls-Under-18 State Open Cup. The game between two Long Island Junior Soccer League (LIJSL) teams was played on June 2 at Stringham Park in LaGrange.
Albertson’s other goals were scored by Ayana Smith and Kayla Capuzzo.
‘It took us 45 minutes to get going but we created a ton of chances in the second half," commented Albertson coach Paul Riley. "Lake Grove did a good job closing us down and battled for every ball. I can see why they made the final and they kept plugging away all the way to final whistle. They were a credit to their club."
Other top Albertson performers at the final were Shannon Horgan and Kaitlin Kingston who helped the Fury control play, Alexandra Girardi was strong in the middle and Jesse Mouradian showed her continued improvement.
Coach Riley added, "I’m going to miss this team, they are a fantastic group of young ladies who train hard and have made many sacrifices to improve their game. Had a great season reaching the Region One final and lifting the State Cup. Winning the championship of the Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association was the icing on their Fury careers."
Albertson will play at the Regionals from June 28 to July 2 at the University of Rhode Island. Eastern New York is donating $2,000 to the team and paying all expense fees for the Regionals.
Lake Grove received the Howard Rubenstein Sportsmanship Award as selected by the match referees. Now retired, Mr. Rubenstein was seemingly involved in every facet of New York soccer for decades and is a member of the Halls of Fame of Eastern New York, the US Amateur Soccer Association and the Long Island Junior Soccer League.
With 123,843 youth soccer players––68,587 boys and 55,256 girls––and more than 25,000 volunteers, the non-profit Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association (ENYYSA) stretches from Montauk Point, Long Island to the Canadian border. Members are affiliated with 12 leagues throughout the association, which covers the entire state of New York east of Route 81. Eastern New York exists to promote and enhance the game of soccer for children and teenagers between the ages of 5 and 19 years old, and to encourage the healthy development of youth players, coaches, referees and administrators. All levels of soccer are offered––from intramural, travel team and premier players as well as Special Children. No child who wants to play soccer is turned away. Eastern New York is a proud member of the United States Soccer Federation and United States Youth Soccer Association. For more information, please log on to http://www.enysoccer.com/, which receives nearly 300,000 hits annually from the growing soccer community.