By Randy Vogt, Director of Public Relations, Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association
June 5, 2024-In a game between two teams from the same historic Queens club, B/W Gottschee Blue defeated B/W Gottschee White, 4-0, to win the Boys-Under-12 State Open Cup championship on June 1 at Stringham Park in LaGrange. It was the 72nd state championship that B/W Gottschee teams have won since the club’s founding in 1951.
The cup’s namesake, Luis Montoya, founded the Big Apple Youth Soccer League in 1997 to serve the growing number of soccer families who recently arrived in New York City. He had two tours of duty as Trustee of the Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association (ENYYSA) serving two Presidents, Barry Salter and Richard Christiano, before his passing three years ago.
Christian Perez scored two goals plus Teo Freund and Moussa Azala each added one. Goalkeepers James Semming and Alex Diclerico shared the shutout in goal.
“Credit to our club that two of our teams made the State Open Cup finals,” commented B/W Gottschee Blue coach Andreas Kalpaxis.
B/W Gottschee Blue also received the Rocco Amoroso Sportsmanship Award as determined by the game officials. Amoroso, a US Soccer Life Member who died eight years ago, started the Long Island Junior Soccer League (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.
B/W Gottschee Blue will represent Eastern New York at the East Regionals from June 27 to July 3 in Charleston and Barboursville, West 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 10 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 US Youth Soccer. For more information, please log onto http://www.enysoccer.com/