By Randy Vogt, Director of Public Relations, Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association
June 6, 2014-The Boys-Under-16 State Open Cup final on Sunday, June 1 at Stringham Park in LaGrange was déjà vu all over again. Two years ago, Manhattan Cruzeiro of the Westchester Youth Soccer League (WYSL) topped the Dix Hills Elite of the Long Island Junior Soccer League (LIJSL), 2-1. Fast forward to this year and the game for the Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association (ENYYSA) championship produced the same score with Manhattan again prevailing, 2-1.
Manhattan’s Miguel Chung scored on a free kick and Matthew Swain added a header off a long midfield cross by Ousmane Barry to give Manhattan the victory over Dix Hills, defending State Open Cup champions who lost in the national final last year to California’s Santa Barbara White on an overtime penalty kick.
“We played against an excellent team who we know well,” commented Manhattan coach Wilson Egidio. “We worked hard to possess the ball and stay composed and that’s what we did. When you do that, good things can happen.”
Manhattan received a $2,000 check from Eastern New York to defer the costs of playing in the Regionals from June 26 to July 1 in Kingston, Rhode Island.
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 11 leagues throughout the association, which covers the entire state of New York east of Route 81. ENYYSA 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. ENYYSA 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.