Plainview, NY (July 27, 2010) – The Long Island Rough Riders Men’s team finished the season in fourth place in the Northeast Division with a 8-4-4 record, missing the playoffs by six points.
Long Island started the season 4-0-2, the highlight being a 6-1 home victory over the Vermont Voltage in which six different players scored. Their record put them in first place as of June 12. This qualified the team for the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, the country’s premier club tournament.
In their first round matchup on June 15, the Rough Riders defeated the New York Pancyprian Freedoms 2-0 at home thanks to goals from Danny Kramer and Alex Grendi.
This led to an away matchup with the Harrisburg City Islanders, a USL Second Division team. On June 22, the Rough Riders succumbed to the City Islanders 1-0. A win would have led to a matchup against the New York Red Bulls of Major League Soccer.
“It was an unfortunate end to our cup run,” President Peter Zaratin said. “It would have been good for the team to test themselves against an MLS side, but I think this group of players has a good chance of making an even further run next year.”
Despite the strong start, the Rough Riders were unable to make the playoffs, finishing the season on a 4-4-2 run. Injuries and college commitments prevented the team from establishing a consistent starting lineup at the tail end of the season.
Dominick Sarle led the team with 13 points (six goals and one assist) in only 11 games. Ben Arikian played 15 games, notching 12 points (five goals and two assists). Sam Craven was a rock at the back, playing 14 games and contributing four points (one goal and two assists). Billy Gatti allowed .74 goals a game, recording 49 saves in the ten games he started.
It was Paul Roderick’s first season as head coach.
“We made good progress as a team this year,” Roderick said. “We understand that it is a rebuilding process right now, and this team has a good chance of a deep playoff and Open Cup run next year as we grow as a team.”
The team would like to thank its fans for all the support it received this season, and looks forward to playing in front of passionate crowds again when it starts the 2011 season in May.
By Jeff Gordon
