Massapequa Stars Win the First Barbara Rodriguez Cup Going to the GU19 State Open Cup Champions
New York Youth Soccer News: Morgan Santoro, who plays for Central Connecticut State University, scored a hat trick to pace the Massapequa Stars to an emphatic 5-0 win over the Brentwood/Farmingdale Freedom on June 13 at the Peter Collins Soccer Park in Plainview in a final between two Long Island Junior Soccer League (LIJSL) teams. Amanda Garriti, from Marist College, and Erica Modena, of Manhattan College, completed the scoring for Massapequa.
As Girls-Under-19 champs, Massapequa wins the new Barbara Rodriguez Cup. Barbara is a Hall of Fame inductee of both the LIJSL and Eastern New York who volunteered as Chairperson of the State Cup for 23 years, from 1992 to 2014.
“We had a lot of injuries, as did Brentwood/Farmingdale, and we won today because of our high fitness level,” explained Massapequa coach Michael Bernieri. “Our keeper was hurt so we used a fill-in keeper, Tori Antonino, who did amazing in goal.”
The new champs received a $2,000 check from the Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association (ENYYSA) to defray their costs during the National Championship Series. They will be playing in the Regionals from June 26 to 30 in Barboursville, West Virginia.
Massapequa also received the Howard Rubenstein Sportsmanship Award for the Fair Play they demonstrated on the field. Now retired, Mr. Rubenstein was seemingly involved in every facet of New York soccer for decades and is a member of the Halls of Fame of Eastern New York, the US Amateur Soccer Association and the Long Island Junior Soccer League.
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) stretches from Montauk Point, Long Island to the Canadian border. Members are affiliated with 11 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 Special Children. 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.
