By Randy Vogt, Director of Public Relations, Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association
Now comes crunch time in the Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association (ENYYSA) as teams throughout the eastern
portion of the Empire State plus the top teams in Region 1, going from Maine to Virginia and West Virginia, prepare for some elite competition during the next three weekends.
The Presidents Cup, featuring many of the top teams in Region 1, will be played from Saturday, May 28 to Monday, May 30 in the Albany area. It is being hosted by the Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association and Capital District Youth Soccer League. The venues are Gavin Park in Wilton, Zenner Road in Niskayuna and Clifton Commons in Clifton Park.
100 boys and girls teams from throughout Region 1, including Long Island’s Albertson 94 Fury in the girls U14 grouping, will be competing for the opportunity to qualify for the national championships in Des Moines, Iowa this summer. The Presidents Cup regional finals will be played at Clifton Commons on Monday, May 30. The championship teams in the Under-14 to Under-17 age groups will be competing in the US Youth Soccer National Presidents Cup, July 7 to 10 in the capital of Iowa.
There are two competitions in the State Cup. The State Open Cup includes many of New York’s top soccer teams, both boys and girls squads. The finals will be held on the weekend of June 4 and 5 at Stringham Park in LaGrange, New York. There will be 16 final games in the State Open Cup and 642 teams originally entered the competition. The winners from Under-12 to Under-19 age groups of this single elimination tournament go on to compete in Regionals this summer, with those winners in the Under-14 to Under-19 brackets playing for the United States Youth Soccer National Championship in Phoenix, Arizona from July 26 to 30.
A remarkable 22 LIJSL teams have qualified for the championship finals of the State Cup in their respective age groups. They are:
BU12: HBC United
BU13: Dix Hills Elite
BU14: Smithtown Arsenal
BU15: Massapequa Arsenal
BU16: Northport/Cow Harbor Sound
BU17: Auburndale Bayside Aston Villa
BU18: Smithtown Wizards & Garden City Gladiators
GU12: HBC Impact & Albertson Red 98 Fury
GU13: Dix Hills Panthers & Massapequa Crush
GU14: Farmingdale United
GU15: East Meadow Sparks
GU16: East Meadow United & Patriots FC 95
GU17: East Meadow Express & Alberston 93 Fury
Continue to head south as the other competition, the Arch Capital Group Challenge Cup, also has both boys and girls teams and will have its finals on Saturday, June 11 at the Peter Collins Soccer Park in Plainview, Long Island. The rain date is Sunday, June 12. There are 12 championship games and 234 squads had entered the competition which kicked off in March. ENYYSA would like to thank our new sponsor, Arch Capital Group Ltd., a Bermuda public limited liability company. They write insurance and reinsurance on a worldwide basis through operations in Bermuda, the United States, Europe and Canada, with a focus on specialty lines.
Long Island is represented by 14 teams in the finals of the Challenge Cup competition:
BU12: HBC New Force
BU14: Garden City Warriors & HBC Juventus
BU15: NY Hota Athletics
BU16: Commack Rapids
GU12: Great Neck Jaguars & Dix Hills Dominators
GU13: Albertson Chelsea Fury & Brentwood Lady Falcons
GU14: Auburndale Bayside Tigers & Sachem Alliance
GU15: Lindenhurst Extreme & POB Extreme Power
GU16: Deer Park United
Good luck to all the LIJSL Teams this weekend!