By Randy Vogt, Director of Public Relations, Eastern New York Youth Soccer
Association

November 16, 2023- 2023 has been a very good year for Eowyn Lapp. In the spring, she received an Olympic Development Program (ODP) Scholarship from the Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association (ENYYSA).
Eowyn, whose name comes from the character in “The Lord of the Rings,” wrote in her essay, “Dreaming of playing professionally, I believed that playing ODP and D1 were the only ways to reach my goal. I made the ODP Regional Player Pool. Determined to be named to the ODP Regional roster the following year, I focused on improving my consistency and aerial game. However, I suffered a serious eye injury followed by an ACL tear, abruptly ending the most important year in my ODP career.”
Instead, Eowyn wound up at Division 3 Gordon College in Wenham, Massachusetts and is majoring in kinesiology. To prepare for the college season, she played for the New York Shockers of the Women’s Premier Soccer League (WPSL) last summer.
On to the college season this fall, Eowyn took the Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) by storm and sat comfortably at the top of the league in points (30), with the next leading point scorer at 19. The Saratoga Springs resident netted 11 goals, with four being game-winners on the season. Most impressively, one of her game-winning tallies secured a pivotal win over No. 1-seeded Western New England to give the Golden Bears their first CCC loss. Eowyn, from her forward position, was irreplaceable in the Gordon College offense, scoring or assisting in 12 out of the 15 games in regular season action and was awarded the CCC Rookie of the Week three times. She was also selected as the CCC Rookie of the Year in leading the Scots to a 10-5-4 record.
“Everything feels kind of surreal,” she explained. “Very happy that I gave my best efforts and was able to do well with the help and encouragement of my teammates and coaches.”
In Eastern New York, Eowyn played for the Saratoga-Wilton Soccer Club in the Capital District Youth Soccer League (CDYSL) in addition to ODP.
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 10 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. For more information, please log on to http://www.enysoccer.com/