By Randy Vogt, Director of Public Relations, Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association
July 17, 2025-New York Hota won the Boys-Under-17 Regional Championship, winning four games with no losses and tying one. They won the Regional title with an emphatic 6-0 win over Torpedoes Red from New Jersey on July 3 in Loudon County, Virginia.
Front row, left to right: James Martino, Jack Darlington, Otto Alvarez, Frankie Torres, Gavin Joyce, Will Forgerty, Drew Lennon, Sean Mahoney, Robbie Malave, Noah Romero, Kosta Plioutas
“Our team persevered. One of the biggest challenges we faced was the extreme heat. In group play we had 90+ degrees on Saturday, Sunday and Monday and playing tough competition three days in a row is really tough,” New York Hota coach Danny Diliberti explained. “I decided to take the team to Elite Wellness in Ashburn, Virginia. The owner, McKenna Smet, is a former college soccer player at Towson University. She was fantastic in helping the team. We used the center for recovery doing a cryo freeze and compression boots for the players. This method helped the players recover and prevented injuries.”
New York Hota will represent the Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association (ENYYSA) in playing for the national championship in Orlando from July 22 to 27.
“We will go over tactics and situational play before traveling to Florida. We will try to keep our fitness up and maintain focus,” Coach Diliberti stated.
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 on to http://www.enysoccer.com/