Event to Promote Unity
(Long Island, NY) The seventh annual “Play for Peace” soccer tournament, hosted by Suffolk County 7th District Legislator Robert Calarco, will be Saturday, August 8 at the soccer fields in Medford Park. Leg. Calarco created the event to unify the community following the 2008 murder of Marcelo Lucero, an immigrant from Ecuador who was killed in Patchogue.
The tournament will consist of 12 teams of about 20 players per team. Although the team slots are filled, anyone is welcome to come and watch the tournament. The event begins with an opening ceremony at 9:30 a.m., and the games will start at 10 a.m. Pastor Matthew Greco, a former collegiate soccer player and pastor at Medford Assembly of God, will be delivering the invocation.
“The diversity of the players involved, as well as the sense of community the event creates, reflects the tournament’s purpose: to unite the community,” said Leg. Calarco.
“This tournament is proof of the kindness and compassion that define Suffolk County,” said DuWayne Gregory, Presiding Officer of the Suffolk County Legislature. “I commend these players for participating in something larger than themselves.”
The New York Cosmos soccer team will hold a soccer clinic for children ages 12-17 at 1 p.m. Professional players will help the children develop their skills. Pre-registration is required and spots are limited. For more information visit the New York Cosmos website.
The event was supported by five corporate sponsors (Gershow Recycling, Bridgehampton National Bank, SC PBA, TriTec Development Corp. and Brookhaven Memorial Hospital) and 12 team sponsors (Latin Fashion Salon, Dahlia Fashions, Patchogue-Medford Congress of Teachers, YMCA, St Francis de Sales, Davis Park Ferry, Hope for Immigrants, Bravo Supermarket, Zippy Shell, Rudi’s Bar & Grill, North Shore Youth Council and Suffolk Federal Credit Union). The Patchogue-Medford Youth Soccer League, a partner in the event, helped organize the tournament and donated its fields for gameplay.
More than 20 volunteers from a variety of local churches and organizations, including the Church of the Nazarene in North Patchogue and St. Francis de Sales in Patchogue Village, will help coordinate the event.
Medford Park is located on Sipp Avenue in Medford, just north of East Woodside Avenue. Last year’s tournament was held at the same location.
For more information, call Leg. Calarco’s district office at (631) 854-1400.
