An important component of Greek-American culture in Astoria is playing and watching soccer. From children to adults, Astoria boasts several soccer clubs which promote this indispensable part of Greek-American culture.
Logo courtesy of the Greek American Soccer Club.
Greek-American Atlas
Founded by Greek-American Tom Laris is 1941, the New York Greek American Atlas Astoria Soccer Club has been one of the longest operating and most successful soccer clubs in American history. The Atlas have won the U.S. Open Cup four times, including three consecutive championships from 1967-1969. (Our History: Greek American Soccer)46.
Photo courtesy of the Greek American Soccer Club.
Currently the Atlas compete in Tier 5 of the USASA in the Cosmopolitan Soccer League and play their games in the Metropolitan Oval in Maspeth. While the Atlas have not won the US Open cup since 1974, they have had success in the CSL, winning the Eastern division 5 of the past 11 years. In addition, in 2012 they returned to the U.S. Open Cup following a seven year absence (Our History: Greek American Soccer)46. Finally, in 2014, the Atlas ended their 40 year title drought with a 4-2 victory over Guadalajara FC of Denver in the USASA Men’s Amateur National Cup Championship. The victory was particularly sweet as it followed two straight years of losing in the Final Four of the tournament. Following the victory, Peter Strumf, president of the CSL, expressed pride for the Greek American’s victory, praising the club for its hard work and effort in reaching their achievement.47
Photo courtesy of the Greek American Soccer Club.
In addition to their main squad the Atlas also have a reserve team that plays in the Cosmopolitan League’s Reserve Division and an Over 30 team. These additional squads accommodate a wider diversity of Greek-Americans who wish to continue to play competitive soccer.
Pancyprian Freedoms
The Pancyprian Freedoms were formed by the Pancyprian Association of America in 1974 and spent their first years playing in the Long Island Soccer League. Then In 1979, the Freedoms joined the Cosmopolitan Soccer League and won the championship that same year. In addition to winning the CSL 7 times, the Freedoms have also won the Open Cup 3 times (Stephens 1)48.
Pancyprian Freedoms Logo. Logo courtesy of the Cosmopolitan Soccer League.
Eleftheria Pancyprian Youth Soccer League
Established in 1981, the Astoria based Eleftheria Pancyprian Youth Soccer League been instilling kids between the ages of 6-19 with not only soccer skills, but more importantly life values as well. It’s self stated mission is to “teach discipline, teamwork and sportsmanship on and off the field, and to promote academic excellence.”
Eleftheria U-10 Team. Photo courtesy of the Eleftheria Pancyprian Youth Soccer.
In line with its mission Eleftheria does not consider winning to be the lone measure of its success as a youth soccer program (Eleftheria Pancyprian | Club Philosophy)49. Rather , Eleftheria focuses on individual growth and success with the goal of developing players with positive attitudes and healthy behaviors (Eleftheria Pancyprian | Our Mission)50.
Eleftheria provides a wide array of youth soccer programs including, game simulating training sessions in addition to fundamental skill training camps that teach kids the basics of the game along with proper sportsmanship.
Saint Demetrios Varsity Soccer
The Saint Demetrios School of Astoria, in addition to being a leader in Greek-American education, boasts a competitive varsity soccer team to boot. The Saint Demetrios Varsity Soccer Team as a member of the Private School Athletic Association (PSAA) competes against various other cultural schools in the New York City area. Although, they have are a fairly new addition to the PSA , the Saint Demetrios team, led by their coach, Konstantionos Kontos, have solidified their standing as one of the top teams in the league. In only their second year, 2011, Saint Demetrios defeated the Heschel varsity team to capture the PSAA championship. Moreover in that same season, Saint Demetrios won the regular season championship with 21 points (Saint Demetrios Astoria School)51.
Saint Demetrios Team Huddle. Photo courtesy of Saint Demetrios Astoria School.
The school credits the hard work and determination of its players as the ingredients of Saint Demetrios’s success. The spirit and success of the Saint Demetrios varsity soccer team only adds to the legacy of the Saint Demetrios School, which continues to be a bastion of Greek-American pride and heritage in Astoria.
-Matania Yehounatan
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