Photo of Allie Long in red, courtesy of the Portland Thorns.
By Randy Vogt, Director of Public Relations, Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association
September 2, 2013-Allie Long was prophetic when she stated in an Eastern New York press release back in April, "My favorite moment so far is probably winning a national championship with University of North Carolina but this is a new year and it will be the best yet."
That’s because her Portland Thorns won the inaugural National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) championship with a 2-0 win over the Western New York Flash in Rochester on August 31. And they did it down a player in the final 33 minutes when defender Kathryn Williamson was sent off for her second yellow card.
"It’s a moment I’ve been training for, long before the season started. I feel as though I accomplished a goal and feel proud of my team," Allie commented. "Going down to 10 players on a great team and ending up closing the game out is something no one thought could probably happen. It’s a great moment and I feel so happy and proud to be the first NWSL champs!"
Allie scored the semifinal game winner in overtime to give Portland a 3-2 win at FC Kansas City on August 24 and a berth in the finals.
To play pro soccer, the 26-year-old midfielder from East Northport has travelled a long and winding road from three cities on the East Coast to Paris and now to Portland.
Allie played for the Long Island Fury of the Women’s Premier Soccer League summers when she was a college student, then played for the Washington Freedom in 2009 and 2010 plus Sky Blue FC in 2011 before Women’s Professional Soccer folded. With no pro league in the United States to play in, Allie went to France and competed for Paris Saint-Germain during the 2011-12 season, then for the New York Fury last summer.
She started playing soccer for the Northport/Cow Harbor Mustangs of the Long Island Junior Soccer League (LIJSL). She completed her youth career playing for the Oceanside Express and the Albertson Express of the LIJSL, winning four consecutive State Open Cup titles with the Express.
Allie used being a member of the Olympic Development Program (ODP) of the Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association (ENYYSA) for five years and Region 1 ODP for four years as a springboard to representing the United States internationally with the U.S. Women’s National Team and Under-23 Team.
Paul Riley coached her on the Long Island Fury plus New York Fury and said, "Great vision, top level range of passing and a work ethic second to none. She has a million dollar ball and can unlock any defense. We are extremely proud of her career, I believe she deserves to play again with the full Women’s National Team and I hope to see her one day at the Women’s World Cup."
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.