USL Youth league play is intensifying as teams vie for a bid to the Finals in Tampa, Fla. later this year. That was none more evident than the determination from players on July 25-26 in Huntington.
In honor of the World Cup, USL Youth league games were played over the course of a weekend at Half Hollow Hills Soccer Park in a tournament-like atmosphere. Teams from around the North Atlantic Division descended upon the fields in Huntington to compete in multiple games across the two days.
“It was great to see so many teams from the North Atlantic Division in one location,” LIJSL Academy Administrator EJ Schwarz said. “The atmosphere and competition on the fields was phenomenal and many thanks go out to the LIJSL and USL Youth as well as Bill Rudy and HBC Soccer Club for putting on a great weekend of soccer.”
While this was the first event the LIJSL Academy has participated in during the regular USL Youth season, the hope is that it can become a more regular occurrence, especially on Long Island.
“This is the first year we hosted a USL event,” LIJSL Academy Director Ronan Wiseman said. “Clubs from all over the northeast came to play multiple games at one location in a pseudo-tournament format. This was great for our teams to play against teams from other states without the summer travel, and we look forward to hosting the event again next year.”
After representing the LIJSL Academy in the event this July, several teams will hopefully represent the Academy on the much larger stage at USL Youth Nationals in December. Last year, the LIJSL Academy claimed its first national title in the GU15 age group.
More info on the LIJSL Academy USL Youth program can be found here.