By Randy Vogt, Director of Public Relations, Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association
June 21, 2017-Two Long Island Junior Soccer League (LIJSL) teams, Brentwood Freedom ’98 and Lake Grove/Newfield Tsunami, produced a memorable Girls-Under-19 and 20 State Open Cup final on Sunday, June 4 at Stringham Park in LaGrange. Brentwood won, 3-2, to take their fourth State Open Cup in the past five years.
As Girls-Under-19 and 20 champs, Brentwood wins the Barbara Rodriguez Cup. Barbara is a Hall of Fame inductee of both the LIJSL and Eastern New York who volunteered as Chairperson of the State Cup for 23 years, from 1992 to 2014.
"Our team has accomplished a lot over the past five years with most of our players committing to Division 1 and Division 2 colleges," commented Brentwood coach Chris Roche. "I believe this can be attributed to the fact the players and their families bought into us being more of a family than a team and the willingness to maintain a high level of fitness during this run!"
Brentwood will represent the Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association (ENYYSA) at the Regionals from June 30 to July 4 in Spotsylvania, Virginia.
Coach Roche added, "We also have pretty much kept the team intact the last five years, which in today's soccer climate is a rarity. Again leading us back to being more of a family than a team!"
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.