SYL Week 4
The Knights’ U14 & U15 boys kick off SYL season/S-20’s jump at exhibition
 Brooklyn Knights Website - www.metoval.org
Friday, April 4
BROOKLYN, NY – The Brooklyn Knights, a premier club operating on three plains of United Soccer Leagues development ladder (Super Y-League, Super-20 League and Premier Development League), are scheduled to kick off their SYL season this weekend when they host FC Westchester in U14 and U15 boys’ action. The club’s Super-20 team, who opens their 2008 season in a match set for Sunday June 1 with Red Bull New York, is scheduled to play an exhibition match this weekend with another rising New York City based club, FC Harlem.
“FC Harlem is another club who is working to create opportunities for urban kids here in New York,” said Brooklyn Knights Director of Coaching, Carlo Acquista.
“Just as Jim Vogt [Metropolitan Oval Foundation President] and Chuck Jacob [Brooklyn Knights President] established the Brooklyn Knights in an effort to create an environment where players can learn soccer – FC Harlem is working towards the same goal. They have done a lot of work trying to build fields in Harlem with the help of David Beckham and NIKE. It is a lot like when they brought basketball to Harlem.”
When FC Harlem contacted USL regarding playing opportunities for their up-and-coming players, the Brooklyn Knights jumped at the chance to play in a Super-20 League exhibition match.
“A few of our coaches, including Giovanni Savarese, worked hand-in-hand with FC Harlem on their clinic last summer,” said Acquista. “So when the opportunity came up to play an exhibition match with FC Harlem, our Super-20 League Head Coach, Joe Ruberto, thought it sounded like a great idea.”
The Brooklyn Knights Super-20 League team was one of the elite, first-year teams in the league in 2006. They advanced to the semifinals of the U20 North American Finals before bowing out to the eventual champion, Kendall SC but last season the team took a nosedive, finishing the year with a record of 2-5-2.
“Last season the Super-20 League served as a feeder to our PDL team,” said Acquista. “A lot of our Super-20 League players were used in PDL matches and could not be in two places at once. Those players joining our U23 team was the main reason we had such a successful year in 2007. We have built an even stronger relationship between the two this year, but we have also brought in a lot of new players. The Brooklyn Knights will do very well at all levels in 2008.”
The Knights U14 boys will be the first to test Acquista’s prediction this Saturday against FC Westchester. The match is scheduled to begin at 10:00AM EST from the Metropolitan Oval. The club’s U15 boys will play the following day. That match is set to start at 7:00PM in the same venue.
“Both our U14 and U15 boys are very well-coached teams,” said Acquista. “The boys keep getting better and better each year. The Brooklyn Knights name is on a very high note right now due to the commitment and effort we get out of our players, parents, coaches and administrators.”
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