By Randy Vogt, Director of Public Relations, Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association
June 11, 2026-As Girls-Under-17 State Cup champs, Ballston Spa 2009 Girls have won the Richard Christiano Cup, their third straight state championship.
“We are a volunteer organization of girls from the community,” explained Ballston Spa coach Andrew Werner, Eastern New York’s 2020 Girls Competitive Coach of the Year. “I’m blessed to have such good parents that have stayed true to our program and what we’re doing.”
Ballston Spa also won the North Atlantic Premier Division title this spring, overcoming four serious injuries to their players. They started as a Girls-Under-8 team in the Capital District Youth Soccer League (CDYSL), then played in the Eastern Development Program (EDP) when they were Girls-Under-12.
Ballston Spa will represent the Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association (ENYYSA) when they play at Nationals from July 13 to 20 in Murfreesboro, Tennessee.
Coach Werner added, “To prepare, we’re playing in the Mad Dog College Showcase in Saratoga Springs and will also play boys teams in friendlies.”
Richard Christiano, the cup’s namesake, has brought fiscal responsibility to ENYYSA as President for the past 17 years. He also was a youth coach for the New Hyde Park Wildcats and served on the Long Island Junior Soccer League (LIJSL) Board of Directors for 14 years, greatly improving the LIJSL Select Program during this time.
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, east of Route 81. ENYYSA encourages 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 US Soccer and US Youth Soccer. For more information, please log on to http://www.enysoccer.com/