By Randy Vogt, Director of Public Relations, Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association
June 9, 2018-In the Girls-Under-14 State Open Cup championship game at Stringham Park in LaGrange on June 2, Lake Grove/Newfield United of the Long Island Junior Soccer League (LIJSL) shut out Alleycats 2004 of the Capital District Youth Soccer League (CDYSL), 2-0.
Laryssa Bolger and Sophia Onek scored the goals while keeper Avery Leon got the shutout.
“Alleycats are a good team,” commented Lake Grove/Newfield coach Tim Graham. “We have been playing with 12 kids all season, which has been insane. Our players are tough and they played a very intelligent game, attacking with the wind in the first half and playing defense in the second half."
Alleycats are bringing the Rocco Amoroso Sportsmanship Award, as determined by the game officials, home to Albany. Amoroso, a US Soccer Life Member who died in 2016, started the LIJSL Sportsmanship Program in 1980 and it spread to Eastern New York, nationally and then to China and Ireland, and in the process, made soccer games kinder and gentler.
Lake Grove/Newfield will represent the Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association (ENYYSA) at the Regionals from June 29 to July 3 in Spotsylvania, Virginia as part of the National Championship Series.
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.