Coliseum Inferno Bring the New Barry Salter Cup Home to Utica as GU14 State Open Cup Champs
New York Soccer News: It is Coliseum’s second state championship in the past three years
Barry Salter volunteered as President of the Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association (ENYYSA) from 2006-10 as well as serving in the same role with the Westchester Youth Soccer League (WYSL).
Salter was inducted into the Hall of Fame of both groups and was on hand on June 1 at Stringham Park in LaGrange to watch the Girls-Under-14 State Open Cup final between Coliseum Inferno and Alleycats 2005 Red for the new Barry Salter Cup.
“It was a very good game between two evenly-match teams,” said Salter.
Nicolina Lokker scored the game’s only goal to win the State Cup title for Coliseum for the second time in three years. Goalkeeper Savannah Cole had the shutout in net, as she did when she shut out Stony Brook Arsenal, 4-0, in
“The game was so close between two excellent teams and we were able to score the only goal of the game,” explained Coliseum coach Charlie Pratt.
The defeated finalists, Alleycats, won the 2018 State Open Cup title and knocked out Coliseum in the process.
Coliseum, from the Central New York Youth Soccer League, will represent Eastern New York at the Regionals from June 28 to July 4 in Charleston, West Virginia as part of the National Championship Series.
Alleycats received the Rocco Amoroso Sportsmanship Award as determined by the game officials. The namesake of the award, who died in 2016, was inducted into the Halls of Fame of the Long Island Junior Soccer League (LIJSL) and Eastern New York plus was honored as a Life Member by U.S. Soccer. Amoroso started the LIJSL Sportsmanship Program in 1980, it has since been copied around the world and he spoke about the benefits of Fair Play across the United States.
USA teammates Crystal Dunn and Allie Long plus Jamaica goalkeeper Nicole McClure, training for the Women’s World Cup, all played on youth teams that won Eastern New York’s State Open Cup when they were kids.
Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association: 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) reaches 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.
