Local LIJSL Players Earn All-America Honors
01.24.11
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On January 15th, four local Long Island Junior Soccer League players earned All-America honors from the National Soccer Coaches Association of America. Hicksville senior forward Tim Parker and Half Hollow Hills West junior forward Donovan Fraser were named to the Boys High School All-America Team, East Islip junior midfielder Cari Roccaro earned a spot on both the Girls HS and Girls Youth All-America squads, and Westbury senior Karin Simonian was named to the Girls Youth All-America team.
All four players are members of the Albertson SC, and are used to competing at the highest levels of the game. Roccaro was one of just 18 juniors on the 77-member high school team. Both she and Simonian have also played with the Long Island Fury of the WPSL, and are part of the player pool for the Women’s U18 National Team.
“I’ve always had a goal of becoming an All-American,” said Roccaro, who has already committed to Notre Dame and calls this honor the height of her career thus far. “It feels good to have reached that goal and know that all the hard work is paying off. I know that all the soccer I’ve played, starting with my Long Island Junior experience in the beginning, has helped me develop over the years, and helped me get where I am today.”
“Throughout high school I earned several all-county and all-state awards, but I never earned All-American,”said Simonian, who will also attend Notre Dame. “I worked hard to get it, and being part of such a small group of elite players is a great honor.”
Simonian also feels her early experience in the LIJSL played an important role in her development.
“Long Island Junior provided a great start for me,” she said. “It was a great introduction to premier level soccer.”
On the boys’ side, Fraser was one of just 10 juniors selected to the team. He has played on the state and region Select Team, and is now playing at the academy level with Albertson. But this most recent honor has only spurred him to achieve even higher goals.
“This is a great honor, but I’d still like to make the All-America team again next year, help my high school team win a state championship, and eventually make the national team,” Fraser said. “I’d also like to get a 1300 or better on my SAT’s. My goal is to play my college soccer at an Ivy League school.”
Parker will attend St. John’s University, where he expects to be a defender on the soccer team next fall. He started playing when he was three years old on a local Hicksville team coached by his dad, and though he went on to play Premier level soccer and is now playing Academy ball, he remembers some valuable lessons from his LIJSL experience that still ring true today.
“From the time I was young, soccer was fun,” he said. “I learned to love the game early on. When you have that, you want to play more and more. I play a lot, and that is the most important part of becoming a good soccer player.”