No Island Trees team had ever won the State Cup coming into this year. On June 7, that all changed when the Island Trees Boys U-16 soccer team defeated East Islip by a score of 2-1.

In a mixture of rain and mud, the Island Trees United Jr. Rowdies played in their first State Cup final. For an inexperienced team, these boys showed amazing poise. After allowing an early goal, IT used tremendous teamwork, heart, and communication and truly earned the title of champions.

The defense settled down and brought the team back into the game. Led by goalie Micah Gruber, who allowed an amazing 12 goals in 16 games, and anchored by sweeper Sean Thomson, they prevented East Islip from scoring again. Outside fullbacks Brian Beissel and Rob Rogogna dominated their opponents and cleared everything that came their way.

The boys overcame devastating injuries to Bryan Marksteiner and Captain Sanjay Divakaran. Thirty minutes in, they finally tied the score. Tim Kissane's free kick found Sean Walsh to the right of the goal. Walsh headed it back in front of the net, where TJ Fabis deflected it to Mike Topel. Topel pushed the ball through and Mike Branker knocked it home.

IT rode the momentum into the second half and came out fired up. Approximately 15 minutes in, Brian Beissel's shot was deflected to Tim Kissane. Kissane played it back to Billy Fama, whose shot was blocked at the 18-yard box. Topel gathered it in and blasted it past the keeper for the 2-1 lead. For the next ten minutes, the offense, led by Christian Salvage, Sean Walsh, and Brian Spiess, kept the ball in the East Islip end, creating some great chances.

In a very exciting ending, the J. Rowdies did a tremendous job holding the lead. Captains Pete Cona and Billy Fama, along with Tim Kissane and TJ Fabis did a great job clogging the middle and getting back defensively. Matt Lucia and Jessie Weiner also killed valuable minutes, which is something E. Islip could not afford. After one last save by Gruber, the final whistle was blown, giving long time coach Phil Goldberg his first State Cup Title. The teams extraordinary accomplishments have been complimented by the excellent coaching efforts of Mr. Goldberg, Dorothy Topel and Ray Due. This trip upstate had finally ended with something this classy and hard-working group of players and parents had been waiting for and deserved a long time, and that is a championship.