By Randy Vogt, Director of Public Relations, Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association
June 5, 2013-Massapequa Arsenal of the Long Island Junior Soccer League (LIJSL) won its second State Open Cup in the past three years as they shut out Downtown United of the Cosmopolitan Junior Soccer League (CJSL), 1-0. Their win for Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association (ENYYSA) supremacy took place on June 2 at Stringham Park in LaGrange.
It was the third championship game appearance for Massapequa in the past four years. The squad also received the Howard Rubenstein Sportsmanship Award as selected by the match referees.
Jonny Nierenberg recorded the only goal of the final.
"The difference was our determination and our heart," Massapequa Arsenal coach Tobias Bischof said. "We stuck to our game plan for 90 minutes and played as a team."
Massapequa will represent Eastern New York 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.
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.