The champion Our Lady Star of the Sea Cougars
By Randy Vogt, Director of Public Relations, Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association
May 12, 2016-Although October might be Breast Cancer Awareness Month, the youth soccer leagues of the Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association (ENYYSA) think about this worthy cause year-round. The Long Island Junior Soccer League (LIJSL) will host the 12th Annual Estée Lauder Pink Ribbon Festival at the Peter Collins Soccer Park on Sunday, August 21.
On Sunday, May 8, as Americans honored the wonderful tradition of Mother’s Day, the Staten Island Youth Soccer League (SIYSL) held a 3 vs. 3 Tournament in the rain in support of breast health awareness. The league, in conjunction with the American-Italian Cancer Foundation, also gave mothers, aunts, grandmothers and all female relatives the opportunity to receive free mammograms that day at the Owl Hollow Soccer Complex. The Foundation provided the mobile mammography unit and the SIYSL provided the competition as a celebration to moms everywhere.
“We would like to thank the American-Italian Cancer Foundation for partnering with us for this event. We had over 30 women pre-register for their exams while the mobile unit also accepted walk-ups,“ said SIYSL Vice President Anthony Pisciottano. “We also have to thank Liz Morano from Our Lady Help of Christians Soccer Club for connecting us with the Foundation as well as Giovanni Tafuri from Our Lady Star of the Sea who helped us organize the soccer tournament.”
The tourney featured eight teams from the Girls-Under-10, Division 1 age group. After six 10-minute games each of 3 v 3 soccer, a championship game was held with the Our Lady Star of the Sea Cougars defeating the Richmondtown Fury 1-0. Also participating were teams from Our Lady Help of Christians, Petrides and Blessed Sacrament. All participants received pink wristbands, SIYSL pins emblazoned with a pink ribbon as well as a pink T-shirt commemorating the event.
“So many of our families have been affected either directly or indirectly by breast cancer that we have a standing committee for Breast Health Awareness in our league and we try to develop at least one activity per season to show our support,” added SIYSL Vice President Mike Segretto. “A big thank you to our clubs who participated and supported this worthy cause!”
The mission of the American-Italian Cancer Foundation is to support cancer research, education and control, emphasizing the outstanding resources of the United States and Italy, recognizing world-class scientific excellence in medicine and serving economically-disadvantaged, medically-underserved New York City women through breast cancer screening, outreach and education.
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.