The Smithtown Arsenal (Boys U16) and the Dix Hills Elite (Boys U15), both member teams of the Long Island Junior Soccer League (LIJSL), have advanced to the national championship game in their respective age group after completing pool play with an undefeated record at this week’s US Youth Soccer National Championship Tournament in Overland Park, KS. Dix Hills will play their final on Saturday, July 27th at 6:20 pm against the Santa Barbara Soccer Club of California. Smithtown will play for their championship on Sunday at 9:30 am against GSA Phoenix (GA).
This is the first time since 2000 that two Long Island Junior Soccer League teams have advanced to the national championship game in the same year. That year the Boys U17 West Babylon Panthers won the national championship while the Girls U19 Northport-Cow Harbor Piranha lost in the final.
“We are extremely proud of the players and coaches of both the Smithtown Arsenal and Dix Hills Elite for their outstanding play, and congratulate them on reaching this great milestone,” said LIJSL President Addie Mattei-Iaia. “They have been a credit to their families and their communities in the way they have carried themselves on and off the field, and they have been outstanding representatives for both the Long Island Junior Soccer League and Long Island as a whole.”
For Arsenal, this is their second trip to the national tournament in the last three years. They qualified for this year’s championships by winning the Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association’s State Cup competition and US Soccer’s Region I championship tournament. The Elite qualified by way of a second place finish in US Youth Soccer National League play.
The Long Island Junior Soccer League is a 501c3 not for profit organization focused on increasing services and programs designed to benefit children, and promoting and growing the sport of soccer on Long Island. The LIJSL currently serves over 60,000 youth soccer players on 101 clubs across Long Island. It is the mission of the league to foster the growth and development of youth through the sport of soccer to individuals under the age of nineteen at all levels of competition.
