By Randy Vogt, Director of Public Relations, Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association
August 19, 2021- How could we have known? We were at work, at school or on the way there when the world changed on the morning of September 11, 2001. 2,753 innocent people were killed at the World Trade Center that day, including 36 from the New York soccer community:
Coaches
Joseph Angelini, coach, Lindenhurst Soccer Club
Scott Bart, son of Danny Bart, past president of the Valley Stream Soccer Club and Long Island Junior Soccer League supervisor
Jim Cove, coach, Rockville Centre Soccer Club
Vincent D’Amadeo, coach, Bellport Soccer Club
Andrew Desperito, FDNY, coach of the Bellport Tigers (Boys-Under-11)
Andrew Friedman, Syosset Soccer Club
Bill Gardner, coach, Lynbrook Soccer Club
Edward Geraghty, coach, Rockville Centre Soccer Club
Jim Geyes, coach of the Rockville Centre Lightning (Girls-Under-14)
Thomas Hobbs, coach, Baldwin Scorpions (Boys-Under-11)
Rudy Mastrocinque, coach of the Kings Park Celtic (Boys-Under-12), past president of the club
Kevin Murphy, coach, Northport Youth Center
Gerald Olcott, coach of the Albertson Lightning Bolts (Boys-Under-19)
Adam Ruhalter, coach Plainview/OB (Boys-Under-10)
Howard Selwyn, coach of the Hewlett/Lawrence Blue Blast (Boys-Under-10)
Lonnie Stone, coach, Bellmore PAL
Steve Tighe, coach of the Rockville Centre Revolution (Boys-Under-12)
Danny Trant, former coach of the Northport/Cow Harbor Bandits (Girls-Under-19)
Paul Zols, coach, Oceanside United Soccer Club
Players, parents
Ezra Aviles, Commack
Erwin Ecker, Farmingdale
Craig Gibson, Barnstonworth Rovers FC (Cosmopolitan Soccer League)
Gary Herold, Farmingdale
Billy Johnston, FDNY, played originally for the North Babylon Patriots
Mrs. James Kenworthy, wife of the coach of Downtown United Soccer Club, Farrell Lynch
Joseph Maloney, Sachem Youth Soccer League
Peter Nelson, South Huntington
Patrick O’Shea, Farmingdale
John Paolillo, North Shore Soccer Club
Christopher Quackenbush, Manhasset Soccer Club
Paul Sarle, North Babylon
Tommy Schubert, New York Hota
Chris Sullivan, Farmingdale
Tim Suozzo, Hauppauge
John Tipping II, Smithtown
Sergio Villanueva, FDNY, player, College Point Flames (Long Island Soccer Football League)
A non-profit organization, the 9/11 New York Soccer Foundation, was created to help the families of the above victims. A fundraiser was held at Farmingdale State College on November 23, 2001 with three friendly games being played that day in front of a large crowd. FDNY played NYPD in the opener, the New York Cosmos Alumni took on the Legends team with the Greens vs. the Blues playing with professional players on both teams.
A decade later, all games in the Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association (ENYYSA) on September 10 and 11, 2011 began with a moment of silence.
At the ENYYSA Annual General Meeting on August 7, 2021, our nine leagues unanimously agreed to have a moment of silence to honor the victims of 9/11 before every game on the weekend of September 11 and 12, 2021, the 20th anniversary of the attacks.
“We all know people who died on 9/11, including those in the soccer community, so we will once again honor them by having a moment of silence,” stated ENYYSA President Richard Christiano. “None of our current youth players were alive then so I hope that our gesture will lead them to ask questions of their parents and find out more about that tragic day.”