By Randy Vogt, Director of Public Relations, Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association
July 9, 2014-The Boys-Under-17 Region 1 final for supremacy in youth soccer in the Northeast United States came down to another championship game between two Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association (ENYYSA) teams as Manhattan Paris Saint-Germain of the Westchester Youth Soccer League (WYSL) played Smithtown Arsenal of the Long Island Junior Soccer League (LIJSL), the defending national champions, in Rhode Island on July 1.
It was the 16th time the friendly rivals have played one another and it wound up being Sweet Sixteen for Manhattan as they won, 2-1, on goals by central defenders Moctar Niang and Sean Fitzgerald. Manhattan took the Region 1 title back to New York City and qualified to play for the national championship from July 22 to 28 at the Maryland SoccerPlex in Germantown, Maryland. Smithtown had qualified for the Nationals as well by winning their division in the US Youth Soccer National League last winter. The friendly rivals are rather equal in talent since in their 16 games, both Manhattan and Smithtown have won seven times and tied two games.
Manhattan coach Wilson Egidio commented that his team’s success in winning the past two out of three Regional titles and appearing in the past five State Open Cup finals is due to three factors.
“One is the talent of the group as you can only go so far without talent. Two is the hard work, dedication from all involved including the coaching staff, players and parents. And three is the continuity with coach and philosophy of playing style. I’ve had some of these kids since age 10 and there’s trust in work done!” commented Coach Egidio.
Manhattan Paris Saint-Germain receives its name from the Manhattan Soccer Club’s partnership with the French Ligue 1 club that is also known for its outstanding youth development program.
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.