Photo of Massapequa Arsenal being honored by the New York Cosmos
By Randy Vogt, Director of Public Relations, Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association
August 3, 2015-While it’s obviously not as big as the Ticker Tape Parade that the U.S. Women’s National Team received in Downtown Manhattan last month for winning the Women’s World Cup, Massapequa Arsenal is being celebrated on Long Island for winning the prestigious McGuire Cup, the symbol of the Boys-Under-19 national championship. The competition was started in 1935 and the last team from the Empire State to win the cup before Massapequa was Ukrainian of New York back in 1959, more than a decade before the non-profit Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association (ENYYSA) was founded.
Massapequa, a Long Island Junior Soccer League (LIJSL) team, won the McGuire Cup on July 25 in Tulsa, Oklahoma with a 3-1 championship game win over St. Louis’ Scott Gallagher.
“We know what the McGuire Cup means,” Massapequa coach Tobias Bischof said at the time. “We know it’s the oldest youth competition in the U.S., and has been around for 80 years now. We knew there were only four New York teams who have ever won it. Now, the boys have found a way to win it (as well) and bring it back to New York, and we’re really happy about that.”
Massapequa was honored by the New York Cosmos on August 2 before the NASL team’s 2-0 win over the Fort Lauderdale Strikers at Shuart Stadium. The boys will also be feted by local politicians and the youth soccer community this Wednesday night, August 5 from 8 to 9 pm at John Burns Park in Massapequa Park.
Ironically, the last LIJSL team to win the national championship before Massapequa was also named Arsenal. Smithtown Arsenal won the Boys-Under-16 national championship in 2013 and they will have the opportunity to play for the McGuire Cup in youth soccer’s National Championship Series next year as Smithtown would then be a Boys-Under-19 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 Special Children. 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/, which receives nearly 300,000 hits annually from the growing soccer community.