By Randy Vogt
The Great Neck Falcons of the Long Island Junior Soccer League (LIJSL) beat the highly ranked Cedar Stars Staten Island of the Eastern New York Premier League (ENYPL) to win the Eastern New York Arch Capital Cup Platinum Championship in the Boys-Under-14 age group.
The game was scoreless throughout regulation and overtime, and went to a shootout to decide the champion. The Falcons won 4-2 on penalty kicks after two overtime periods on June 10 at Stringham Park in Dutchess County’s LaGrange.
Penalty kicks were scored by Eytan Ran, Logan Golia, Luke Levinson and Issac Badilla. Goldkeeper Matthew Heimowitz stopped two crucial penalty kicks to secure the win.
“It was a long game and we kept telling our players, ‘Keep your head in the game,’” said Great Neck Assistant Coach Ernesto Paiz.
Game officials presented the Cedar Stars with the Rocco Amoroso Sportsmanship Award. In 1980, Amoroso started the LIJSL Sportsmanship Program, which has since been copied around the world. The founder spoke about the benefits of fair play across the United States.
The nonprofit Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association (ENYYSA) has more than 100,000 players and 25,000 volunteers throughout the state, and promotes and enhances the game for boys and girls between the ages of 5 and 19 for intramural play, travel teams and premier players, as well as for children with special needs. The association is appreciative of its title sponsor, Arch Capital Group, for “providing the funds to help our players keep on dreaming.”
For more information, visit www.enysoccer.com.
