Paul Nasta
12 Feb 2007, 09:40 PM
Three interesting developments, at least if you follow soccer on Long Island.
1. The Rough Riders, who recently acquired the Lady Riders, have dropped down from USL 2 to PDL for this season. Also, the men's team will be leaving Mitchel Field and joining the women at Tully Park in New Hyde Park.
I'm not totally up on the PDL rules, but isn't it under-23 or something like that, and amateur? I always think of it as a college summer league. If so, they're going to have to basically rebuild the roster, since most, if not all of their players were post-college.
It's a long way from their glory days of 1995, when they won the A-League championship - the top tier of American soccer at that time.
2. The Long Island Academy will be a new men's team, competing in the NPSL. The Academy will join the LI Fury, a women's team which played last season in the WPSL (and won the championship, I think). The NPSL is apparently the same level as USL 2, which the LIRR just left. Both the Academy and the Fury developed from the Albertson Soccer Club, with which former LIRR player and coach Paul Riley is affiliated.
It seems that both the Academy/Fury and the Rough Riders organizations are trying to establish top-to-bottom soccer clubs, with elite youth teams feeding into top level adult teams.
3. Some team called the NY Hampton Surf is playing indoor in the AISL. This team has gotten no publicity; they're already well into their schedule, and the first I heard of them was through a friend who spoke with a friend who lives in the Hamptons about a week ago. Long Island hasn't had an indoor team in about 20 years.
Most of the above information comes from www.bigapplesoccer.com.
Part of me is disappointed that the LIRR seem to be retreating, and abandoning the attempt at pro soccer. But the fact that there is another group that is going to field a high level team is encouraging. I've always felt that, with it's substantial population and general itnerest in soccer, Long Island could do better than it historically has in supporting a top level team.
1. The Rough Riders, who recently acquired the Lady Riders, have dropped down from USL 2 to PDL for this season. Also, the men's team will be leaving Mitchel Field and joining the women at Tully Park in New Hyde Park.
I'm not totally up on the PDL rules, but isn't it under-23 or something like that, and amateur? I always think of it as a college summer league. If so, they're going to have to basically rebuild the roster, since most, if not all of their players were post-college.
It's a long way from their glory days of 1995, when they won the A-League championship - the top tier of American soccer at that time.
2. The Long Island Academy will be a new men's team, competing in the NPSL. The Academy will join the LI Fury, a women's team which played last season in the WPSL (and won the championship, I think). The NPSL is apparently the same level as USL 2, which the LIRR just left. Both the Academy and the Fury developed from the Albertson Soccer Club, with which former LIRR player and coach Paul Riley is affiliated.
It seems that both the Academy/Fury and the Rough Riders organizations are trying to establish top-to-bottom soccer clubs, with elite youth teams feeding into top level adult teams.
3. Some team called the NY Hampton Surf is playing indoor in the AISL. This team has gotten no publicity; they're already well into their schedule, and the first I heard of them was through a friend who spoke with a friend who lives in the Hamptons about a week ago. Long Island hasn't had an indoor team in about 20 years.
Most of the above information comes from www.bigapplesoccer.com.
Part of me is disappointed that the LIRR seem to be retreating, and abandoning the attempt at pro soccer. But the fact that there is another group that is going to field a high level team is encouraging. I've always felt that, with it's substantial population and general itnerest in soccer, Long Island could do better than it historically has in supporting a top level team.