By Randy Vogt, Director of Public Relations, Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association
June 8, 2013-The fantastic save of a penalty kick at the start of the game proved to be decisive as the Alleycats Ocicats from Albany and the Capital District Youth Soccer League (CDYSL) defeated the Central New York State Soccer League’s Rising Stars Intensity, 2-0, to win the Girls-Under-12 Small-Sided State Open Cup. The game was played on June 1 at Stringham Park in LaGrange.
"The big moment in the game came when our keeper, Penny Rocchio, saved the penalty kick," commented Alleycats coach Skip Dawson.
Olivia Piraino scored a goal in each half to give the Alleycats the championship for supremacy in the Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association (ENYYSA). The Alleycats will play 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.
A master at developing players, this is the fifth consecutive year that Coach Dawson has led an Alleycats Girls-Under-12 Small-Sided (8 vs. 8) team to the State Open Cup championship. And in case you were wondering, their team name of ocicat comes from an all-domestic breed of cat that resembles a wild cat but has no wild DNA in its gene pool.
The Rising Stars received the Howard Rubenstein Sportsmanship Award as they did not commit a foul in the entire match. Now retired, Mr. Rubenstein was seemingly involved in every facet of New York soccer for decades and is a member of the Halls of Fame of Eastern New York, the US Amateur Soccer Association and the Long Island Junior Soccer League.
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.