Pancyprian-Freedoms
Full nameNew York Pancyprian Freedoms
Founded1974 (1974)
StadiumBelson Stadium
Jamaica, New York
Capacity2,600
General ManagerGreece George Halkidis
Head CoachGreece Stratis Mastrokyriakos
LeagueEastern Premier Soccer League
Cosmopolitan Soccer League
USASA
WebsiteClub website

New York Pancyprian-Freedoms is an American amateur soccer team based in Astoria, New York, United States. Founded in 1974, the team currently plays in the Eastern Premier Soccer League.

The team plays its home games at Belson Stadium on the campus of at St. John's University. The team's colors are white and blue.

History

The Pancyprian-Freedoms were founded in 1974, and have competed in New York City’s Cosmopolitan Soccer League, a well-respected league which dates back to the 1920s and which is a member of the United States Adult Soccer Association Region I group of leagues, since that inaugural season. The Freedoms have won eight Cosmopolitan League titles in their history, in 1979, 1980, 1982, 2003, 2004, 2008, 2010, 2011, and 2019.[1][2][3]

The Pancyprian-Freedoms are also one of the all-time great National Challenge Cup clubs, and have qualified, or have attempted to qualify, for the Open Cup every year of their existence. They won the cup three times in the pre-Major League Soccer era, in 1980, 1982 and 1983, and following their triumph in 1983 they reached the semi-finals of the CONCACAF Champions' Cup in 1984, beating Mexican powerhouse Puebla on penalties, and overcoming Honduran champions Vida, before they and their semi-final opponents CD Guadalajara were disqualified after failing to agree on the dates of the matches.

The Pancyprian-Freedoms have qualified for the final stages of the Lamar Hunt US Open Cups in the MLS era on several occasions. They lost 3–2 in extra time to the Real Maryland Monarchs in the first round in 2008,[4] and lost 2–0 in the first round to USL Premier Development League team Long Island Rough Riders in 2010. In 2011 for the Lamar Hunt Cup they lost to FC New York (NPSL) 4–3 in PK's after extra time of a 0–0 regulation time tie after defeating the Brooklyn Italians (NPSL) 2–0 in the first round. In 2016 they advanced to the 2nd Round after beating the Red Bulls U23 (PDL) 2-1 at Belson Stadium (Round 1). In Round 2 they lost to Jersey Express (PDL) 1-0.

In addition to their CSL and USOC exploits, the Pancyprian-Freedoms won the 2008 USASA Open Cup, beating the Arizona Sahuaros 2–1 after extra time in the final in Seattle, Washington.[5] They also won the 2010 USASA Open Cup in Philadelphia, PA beating the Brooklyn Italians (NPSL) 3–1 in the final after besting Detroit FC (MI) 3–0 in the semifinals and the 2011 USASA Open Cup besting AAC Eagles (ILL) 6–0 in the semifinals and Doxa Italia (CA) in the final 5–4 in pk's following 2–2 tie after regulation and 2OT's in Bowling Green, KY.

The current men's team is composed primarily of players that came up through the Eleftheria-Pancyprian Youth teams, the youth soccer division of the Pancyprian Association of New York.[6] The majority of players have played NCAA Division I college soccer, and are now young business professionals or attending graduate school in various fields of study.

The Freedoms share a long-standing rivalry with the Greek American AA, another major New York Hellenic club.[7]

New York Freedom

After years of competing in the Cosmopolitan League and the US Open Cup, the Freedoms branched out and created a second team – called the New York Freedom – which joined the USL Premier Development League in 1999. The Freedom won the Northeast Division title and advancing to the PDL national semifinals in their inaugural season, and qualified for the US Open Cup, where they upset the Cape Cod Crusaders of the USL D3 Pro League in the first round and nearly eliminated the A-League’s Rochester Raging Rhinos, eventually falling 2–1 in extra time to the eventual champions. The team left the USL in 2003.

Players

2015–2016 roster

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
0 GK United States USA Jordan Stagmiller
1 GK United States USA Nick Tarkany Jr.
2 DF United States USA Jon Simos
3 FW United States USA Franki Spanos
4 DF Greece GRE Nick Katsanos
5 DF Cyprus CYP Billy Antoniou
7 DF Cyprus CYP Stelios Andreou
8 MF Bulgaria BUL Stefan Dimitrov
9 MF Cyprus CYP Taso Polydefkis
10 FW United States USA Chris Megaloudis
14 FW United States USA Keith Detelj
12 MF United States USA Jeff Matteo
3 DF Cyprus CYP Panayiotis Onisiforou
16 DF Greece GRE Tommy Vlahos
17 MF United States USA Michael Palacio
18 FW Greece GRE Adam Mathioudis
19 MF Greece GRE Panagiotis Halkidis
21 MF Greece GRE John Koutsounadis
6 MF Peru PER Daniel Herrera
24 DF Germany GER Yannick Reyering
25 DF United States USA Georgi Spanos
20 FW United States USA Franki Spanos
15 DF United States USA David Morgan
22 MF New Zealand NZL Luis Esteves
11 DF Greece GRE Andreas Chronis
18 FW United States USA Dimitris Vassiliadis

Year-by-year

Year Division League Regular Season Playoffs Open Cup
1980 5 USASA Champions
1982 5 USASA Champions
1983 5 USASA Champions
1993 5 USASA Quarter Finals
2003 5 USASA Champions
2004 5 USASA Champions
2008 5 USASA 1st Round
2009 5 USASA Did not qualify
2010 5 USASA 1st Round
2011 5 USASA 2nd Round
2016 5 USASA 2nd Round
2019 5 USASA Champions

Head coaches

Honors

Stadium

References

  1. ↑ HickokSports.com – Sports History – U. S. National Soccer Champions
  2. ↑ "Cosmopolitan Soccer League". www.cslny.com. Archived from the original on 2010-07-01.
  3. ↑ Battista, Michael (June 14, 2019). "NY Pancyprian Freedoms Win 2018-19 Division 1 Championship over Cedar Star in Penalty Kick Shootout". Cosmopolitan Soccer League.
  4. ↑ "United Soccer Leagues (USL)". Archived from the original on 2008-12-01. Retrieved 2008-06-14.
  5. ↑ "USA History: The US Open Cup (National Challenge Cup)". Archived from the original on 2016-01-04. Retrieved 2010-05-05.
  6. ↑ Newyorkroversfc
  7. ↑ Michael Spanos (12 May 2023). "The Greatest Soccer Rivalries between New York's Hellenic Clubs". The National Herald.
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