By Randy Vogt, Director of Public Relations, Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association
June 9, 2014-After being tied 1-1 after regulation, the Girls-Under-18 State Open Cup final on June 1 at Stringham Park in LaGrange went into overtime. Quickstrike Xtreme ‘96s of the East Hudson Youth Soccer League (EHYSL) defeated the HBC Silent Thunder of the Long Island Junior Soccer League (LIJSL), 3-2, for the championship in the Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association (ENYYSA).
Monica DiDonato scored two goals and Meaghan Doyle scored on a penalty kick to give Quickstrike the win.
“The true difference in the game was the psychological impact was greater for us in the second half than in the first half,” said Quickstrike coach Chris Lyn.
Coach Lyn was the 2013 Eastern New York Girls Competitive Coach of the Year. He was the captain of the University of North Carolina men’s team when a slightly better-known player, Mia Hamm, was captain of the women’s team.
Quickstrike 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, as well as the Howard Rubenstein Sportsmanship Award as selected by the match officials.
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.