By Randy Vogt, Director of Public Relations, Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association
June 7, 2019-Barry Salter volunteered as President of the Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association (ENYYSA) from 2006-10 as well as serving in the same role with the Westchester Youth Soccer League (WYSL). He was inducted into the Hall of Fame of both groups and was on hand on June 1 at Stringham Park in LaGrange to watch the Girls-Under-14 State Open Cup final between Coliseum Inferno and Alleycats 2005 Red for the new Barry Salter Cup.
Salter stated, “It was a very good game between two evenly-match teams.”
Nicolina Lokker scored the game’s only goal to win the State Cup title for Coliseum for the second time in three years. Goalkeeper Savannah Cole had the shutout in net, as she did when she shut out Stony Brook Arsenal, 4-0, in the 2017 final.
“The game was so close between two excellent teams and we were able to score the only goal of the game,” explained Coliseum coach Charlie Pratt.
The defeated finalists, Alleycats, won the 2018 State Open Cup title and knocked out Coliseum in the process.
Coliseum, from the Central New York Youth Soccer League, will represent Eastern New York at the Regionals from June 28 to July 4 in Charleston, West Virginia as part of the National Championship Series.
Alleycats received the Rocco Amoroso Sportsmanship Award as determined by the game officials. The namesake of the award, who died in 2016, was inducted into the Halls of Fame of the Long Island Junior Soccer League (LIJSL) and Eastern New York plus was honored as a Life Member by U.S. Soccer. Amoroso started the LIJSL Sportsmanship Program in 1980, it has since been copied around the world and he spoke about the benefits of Fair Play across the United States.
USA teammates Crystal Dunn and Allie Long plus Jamaica goalkeeper Nicole McClure, training for the Women's World Cup, all played on youth teams that won Eastern New York’s State Open Cup when they were kids.
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.