McGuire Cup champs Massapequa Arsenal in maroon with New York Cosmos players in green
By Randy Vogt, Director of Public Relations, Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association
June 1, 2016-Welcome to Championship Month in the Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association (ENYYSA).
Just as students all over the Empire State, indeed across the United States, are studying for their final exams this month as the school year comes to a close, many players in Eastern New York are training for championship games as the Spring Season comes to a close.
“The best of luck to the more than 75 teams from all over Eastern New York, from Long Island to north of Albany, who will be competing in our championship games during the next three weekends,” commented Eastern New York President Richard Christiano.
The fun begins this weekend––Saturday, June 4 and Sunday, June 5––at Stringham Park in LaGrange in Dutchess County. The best teams in Eastern New York will be playing in the State Open Cup finals all weekend as 16 teams, from Under-12 to Under-18, both boys and girls, are crowned champions.
The scene shifts south on Saturday, June 11 to the Peter Collins Soccer Park in Plainview in Nassau County, Long Island. 13 champion teams will be crowned Arch Capital Group Cup champs that day. Many thanks to title sponsor, Arch Capital Group, which provides the funds so our players can keep on dreaming.
Also being played that day at the Collins Soccer Park is the Boys-Under-19 and Girls-Under-19 finals of the State Open Cup. Last year, Massapequa Arsenal of the Long Island Junior Soccer League (LIJSL) topped Kosmos Greek-Americans of the Cosmopolitan Junior Soccer League (CJSL), 2-1, then went on to win the Boys-Under-19 Regionals in West Virginia and then Nationals in Oklahoma, lifting the prestigious McGuire Cup. The cup, named after a Brooklyn resident who became President of the United States Soccer Federation, has been awarded to the Boys-Under-19 champs for every year since 1935, with the exception of the break taken during World War II. Massapequa is unfortunately not able to play in this competition in 2016 as its players are now too old for youth soccer.
The following Saturday, June 18, eight champions will be crowned during the Eastern New York Premier League (ENYPL) finals played at the Collins Soccer Park. This is the second consecutive year that the title games will be played in one venue as the 2015 finals took place at the Owl Hollow Soccer Complex on Staten Island.
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 on to http://www.enysoccer.com/, which receives nearly 300,000 hits annually from the growing soccer community.