The FC New York Premier U-13 soccer players headed up to Albany last weekend to compete in the Empire Cup Tournament. The talented team of thirteen year old boys from Nassau and Suffolk Counties played in the ultra-competitive Capital District event last Summer as a NOGA Premier team so they were in fact the defending champs under a new label.

Each member of FCNY is a travel soccer player for a Long Island based team. Many of them had trained with the Olympic Development Program and played for Long Island Junior Select teams in years past. Last year they defied the odds and expectations of many by taking the first place trophy. This year, they set out to prove their 2007 victory was no fluke.

Returning from last years squad were Garden City's own Tyler Biscone who is a net-keeper for the GC Thunderbolts as well as Brian "B-Mac" McCann of Plainview, Matt Pepe of Jericho, Alex Witonsky of Smithtown, Keegan Peterson of Oyster Bay, Rocky Famiglietti of Centereach, Danny Miecuna of Syosset and (Courtesy of Hempstead Lion's EOC Coach Hector Hernandez) Kevin "KC" Chavez, Chamion ABooBoo@ Green and Aaron Cust each from Hempstead, Sebastion Morales of Queens and Jelvin Parra of Brentwood. New and welcomed additions to the team were Corey Till of Seaford, Danny Giorgi of Massapequa, Franky Mitrani of Deer Park and John Diaz of Syosset.

Saturday's schedule began with a morning contest against the Lagrange Rockets in which FCNY prevailed by a score of 3-1. Next was the highly anticipated game against Long Island Junior Soccer League's Olympic Development Program "A" Team in which many of the boys faced their former LIJSL teammates. Once again, FCNY prevailed by shutting out the incredibly talented ODP "A" team by a score of three to nil. After a rain delay, FCNY faced DTS PSV to finish the day with yet another convincing win and an unblemished record.

Sunday began with a heated and physical match against the Ossining Cardinals who had suffered a loss on Saturday and needed to beat FCNY to contend for a medal. After a scoreless first half, FCNY broke the stalemate on a huge goal by Danny Giorgi that was initially deflected by the keeper, hit the crossbar and pounded down deflecting off of the keepers back into the net. Unfortunately, the Cardinals were able to take a rebound shot after an initial FCNY punch-out save and tie the game with just seconds left for a One-All tie. The final game of the tournament against the Alleycats Puma squad was also closely contested but FCNY prevailed by a score of 4-3 for an undefeated tournament and once again took the first place trophy and brought the Empire Cup home to Long Island.

Once again, each and every team member played their role to near perfection. Biscone and Peterson guarded their net like lions protecting their den. KC and Boo Boo found their old- time synergy for ample scoring opportunities. B-Mac had a memorable header for a huge goal and played text book soccer. Parra, Morales, Diaz and Mitrani demonstrated an incredible combination of power and finesse. Diaz also showed incredible physical prowess and sent a message that FCNY would not tolerate any nonsense. Cust demonstrated inspiring and unparalleled skills and refused to make mistakes. Mecuina, Pepe, and Famigiletti stepped up their speed and agility leaving the competition in the dust. Till was the consummate sweeper who continually thwarted the offense and had a big boot to the delight of his mid-fielders. Giorgi stepped up to "top new kid on the block"status and Witonski's first goal in the last game set the standard for his team to make a big finish. The big tournament win was was a true team effort from a special group of young men that truly love the incredible game of soccer. Go FCNY!