By Randy Vogt, Director of Public Relations, Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association
June 7, 2016-In the Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association’s (ENYYSA) Boys-Under-12 State Open Cup final, Staten Island United Dinamo Jrs. of the Staten Island Youth Soccer League (SIYSL) and Eastern New York Premier League (ENYPL) topped the Garden City Arrows of the Long Island Junior Soccer League (LIJSL), 2-1, in overtime. This championship game was played on June 4 at Stringham Park in LaGrange.
“Our team has been together since they were six years old,” explained Staten Island United coach John Tardy. “The boys work extremely hard but we often finished in second place. All those second place finishes were motivation enough to grind out a victory in overtime on a hot day.”
Andrew Podolsky scored in regulation and Mike Rofail added the game-winner in extra time for the new champs.
Garden City received the Howard Rubenstein Sportsmanship Award as determined by the game officials. Now living in Kentucky, 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 LIJSL.
Eastern New York will help pay for Staten Island United’s costs when they play for the Regional title, as part of the National Championship Series, from June 30 to July 5 in Barboursville, West Virginia.
With over 100,000 youth soccer players––both boys and 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 Children With Special Needs. 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 onto http://www.enysoccer.com/, which receives nearly 300,000 hits annually from the growing soccer community.