By Randy Vogt, Director of Public Relations, Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association 
September 5, 2019-Throughout the Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association (ENYYSA) this month, from the East End of Long Island to north of Albany and Utica, the Fall Season will be kicking off. But it’s starting with a twist in Eastern New York’s southernmost league, the Staten Island Youth Soccer League (SIYSL), as the Third Annual Gold Ribbon Games will be played next weekend.
All the SIYSL’s Under-15 teams will be playing their first league game this fall at the Owl Hollow Soccer Complex as part of the Gold Ribbon Games. This event was held later in the fall the past two years but was moved to September partly since it’s Pediatric Cancer Awareness Month. The girls will play on Saturday, September 14 with the boys having fun on Sunday, September 15:
Saturday, September 14 (Girls-Under-15)
1:30 pm St. Patrick Cheetahs vs. St. Teresa Leopards; Blessed Sacrament Thunder vs. Great Kills Shamrocks
3:00 pm Holy Child Crimson vs. Our Lady of Good Council Blue Diamo; Our Lady Star of the Sea Pumas vs. St. Joseph Hill Academy Blue Cyclones
Sunday, September 15 (Boys-Under-15)
10:30 am New World Green vs. Man City; ASD vs. St. Joseph's/St. Thomas Tornados; St. Joseph Hill Academy Blue Crew vs. Sacred Heart Lightning; St. Rita Jaguars U13 vs. St. Joseph’s/St. Thomas Tornados Gold
Noon St. Charles Tornado vs. Markham U15; Markham U15 2 vs. Our Lady Star of the Sea Sharks; Richmondtown Fire vs. SIA Tiger; Silver Lake Academy Fire vs. Our Lady Help of Christians Tornado
1:30 pm Petrides Panthers Blue 06 vs. Our Lady Queen of Peace Bears; St. Charles Panthers vs. St. Teresa Raiders; Our Lady of Good Council Blue K vs. Holy Child Crush; St. Joseph’s/St. Thomas Strikers vs. New World Gold
There will be giveaways and special activities as well.
The inspiration for the weekend is Maggie Russo, a spirited teenager from Our Lady of Good Council Soccer Club, who has been undergoing treatment for cancer. Maggie was diagnosed with cancer when she was about to turn two years old and it started in her eye and spread to her bone marrow and later her bladder wall. Yet she had good scans last spring and thankfully is healthy enough to go to school and play soccer.
The goal is to raise money for two organizations dear to the Russo family:
• Candlelighters NYC, a non-profit organization dedicated to helping families through the difficult times when their child is diagnosed with and being treated for cancer. They assist through all stages, including discovery, diagnosis, treatment and remission.
• We Can Kick It, a non-profit organization that works to use the passion of soccer to inspire and empower children and their families affected by cancer
Last year, the SIYSL raised a total of $5,000 for both organizations. They will be asking for an optional $5.00 donation (or more) from every family at the field. If players still have their gold socks and gold shoelaces from last year (gold being the color of pediatric cancer awareness), they are encouraged to wear them once again.
For more info about the 3rd Annual Gold Ribbon Games, please contact Lizz Morrano at 718-290-4405.
With approximately 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 nine 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.