By Randy Vogt, Director of Public Relations, Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association
July 18, 2022-The Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association (ENYYSA) celebrates the South Shore Bulldogs upon winning the Boys-Under-18 Eastern Regional championship on June 30 in West Virginia.
South Shore is one of 11 teams from Eastern New York that is playing for the national championship from July 19 to 24 at ESPN Wide World of Sports in Orlando. They went 4-0-1 at Regionals, outscoring their opponents 11 to 4.
"We were able to put together five consistent and strong performances, which is not easy to do at the youth level, especially with the quality opponents we faced all week. Anyone that was able to witness our games in person could tell what it meant to the boys,” coach Vincent Companion explained. "There was such a unified and cohesive environment within the team leading up to Regionals, I believe that played a huge part in our success. Our effectiveness in both our defensive third and our attacking third was the deciding factor for me in all five games. We gave up no more than 2-3 good chances to our opponents in each of the games, and we consistently created many good opportunities to score throughout every game. These boys earned the right to call themselves Eastern Regional Champions.”
Back row (left to right): Coach Jason Garguilo, Joaquim Johnson, Adam Lesniewski, Lucas Montalto, David Akpan, Zach Beach, Matt Star, Sean Gordon, Coach Vincent Companion
Front row (left to right): Roberto Contreras, Joey Blackton, Nick Pensavalle, Aiden Benitez, Will Devall, Tony Vigil, Jose Flores, AJ Renderos, Jose Sanabria
Camera shy: Mike Gomes, Liam Stanley
South Shore has adjusted their training times in effort to replicate the conditions they will be facing down in Orlando when they play for the national championship.
"I have never seen the boys so focused and work so hard leading up to an event. I believe this will not only help us be successful at Nationals, but this will also help prepare the boys for their upcoming college seasons. It’s a very special group and I believe they will be very successful at the next level,” Coach Companion concluded.
With approximately 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 nine 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 on to http://www.enysoccer.com/