Sports

SPORTS A Field Desperate For Repair

By William Meija

York College men’s and women’s soccer teams have no athletic field for home games. As a result, York soccer teams are forced to play their home games at Aviator Field in Brookyln’s Floyd Bennett Park. This has been an ongoing situation for the past 20 years.

“It would feel more at home if the field was closer, so fans can come to support the team,” said Stanley Sanchez, a men’s soccer team member. “Having a bigger support from school fans would definitely boost player confidence.”

As reported initially by Pandora’s Box in 2014, the problems with the field went back almost 12 years since then. Now it’s been 20 years, and nothing has changed. The athletic field – located at 160th Street and Liberty Avenue behind the Health and Physical Education building has had numerous problems, such as sinkholes, electrical issues and other damage.

More recently, “CUNY, on behalf of York College, entered an agreement” with the Queensborough Football Club (QBFC) to build a “temporary modular stadium” on the athletic field. This further prevented the teams from practicing on what was already a damaged field.

“There were some talks about fixing the field,” said Taylor Bellmon of the york’s women’s soccer team. “It was originally planned to be built in 2022 but plans changed to 2023,” Bellmon added.

In April of 2021, it was announced by York and QBFC, an expansion club of the United Soccer League (USL), that the stadium at York would be the site of its home games for the inaugural season in spring 2022. It was planned to be the first-ever stadium built by a professional team in New York City. According to a public statement on the York College website, the announcement has been a long time coming for many fans, who have been highly anticipating the news and are eager to welcome a home soccer stadium to Queens.

CUNY awarded QBFC the contract in the Summer of 2020 to build the new stadium. Their goal was to support the university’s academic and athletic mission to enhance the college experience for students, create local jobs and grow neighborhood businesses, according to York’s website.

QBFC also launched The 1909 Club, where fans could purchase seasonal tickets and place deposits to be lifelong club members.

“The City University of New York is proud to partner with Queensboro FC in bringing a professional soccer stadium to York College in Queens, a place world-renowned for its cultural and linguistic diversity, and for its love of el fútbol,” said CUNY Chancellor Félix V. Matos Rodriguez on the York College website. “This new stadium is a great addition to the York College campus and will benefit not only CUNY students and the local community, but all New Yorkers and fans of soccer.”

But the announcement of the Willets Point soccer stadium between New York City and the New York City Football Club called into question whether or not the stadium on the York campus would be built. This is because the same day, York received a “7.5 million transformation gift from the New York City Football Club.” Additionally, QBFC was acquired by the NYCFC, according to Charles Bozian, Interim Vice President of Finance and Administration, at a Senate meeting in Sept.

“At this time, that agreement is in effect. We are aware of the changing environment in New York City for its professional soccer teams, as well as QBFC’s recent statement that it is reviewing its plans following the announcement by NYCFC that it will be building a soccer stadium at Willets Point,” said Kathryn Cousins, Vice President of Institutional Advancement and Communications at York College. “We remain in regular communication with QBFC and should there be a change in its plans moving forward, we will keep our community informed as we ourselves receive this information.”

Aviator Field where York’s soccer teams’ home games are played. Photo by Niko Balkaran

Stanley Sanchez Leads York Men’s Soccer Into Victory

By William Meija

NEW YORK-- York College men’s soccer finished the season with a win from a game-winning goal by Stanley Sanchez in a non-conference match against the City College of New York Beavers. York earned their third shutout of the season with a 1-0 win in Randall’s Island Field, ending the season with a 3-9-1 record.

The Cardinals challenged CCNY goalkeeper Carlos Garcia in the first half as Emre Sahin landed a shot on target for the first attempt of the game at 2:12. Stanley Sanchez launched a corner kick before Doston Abdigaffrov executed a header at Garcia for the save. York held a 6-2 shots advantage during the first half as neither team did not score. It was a competitive game going into the second half before 2022 CUNYAC All-Star Stanley Sanchez scored the game-winning goal at 49:48 of the second half – assisted by Kervin Mondesir.

This marked Sanchez’s third goal of the season. York added three more shots on target but was unable to score. York men’s soccer goalkeeper Ricardo Dorcil – stopped three shots to secure his second clean sheet of the season.

York held the advantage in shots (12-4), shots on target (9-3) and corner kicks (6-2).

The Cardinals are expected to bring back players ready for next season. Meanwhile, York seniors such as Abdigaffarov, Dorcil and Djelili Okoro are graduating and leaving the program.

Per York Athletics, York men’s soccer head coach Courtney Boothe feels great about next season. “We have a good core to build on for next year and it starts in the spring. Our offseason workouts will set the tone for Fall 2023.”

“It felt amazing to score the game-winning goal on our last game of the season,” said Stanley Sanchez. “It was a great way to close off all of the hard work my teammates, coaches and I put towards the team,” Sanchez added.

The biggest thing that Sanchez learned throughout the season is to work collectively and stay consistent despite external factors that lead to distraction.

York’s Newest Women’s Volleyball Member: A Nitaye Riley Profile

By Alejandra Hernandez

While growing up, Nitaye Riley said she always weighed more than the other kids. Because of this, she wanted to join a sports team to prove that she was more than just a heavy kid. But because she was so out of shape, Riley was intimidated by being surrounded by athletic kids, which caused her to never try out for any sports team.

Riley says it wasn’t until one of her cousins, who was also overweight, joined the volleyball team in high school that she was motivated to join as well. Seeing her cousin on the court encouraged her to join a team. She’s been interested in volleyball ever since.

Born and raised in Queens, Riley is a York College freshman and part of the women’s volleyball team.

“I had the absolute best time with my team this semester. I had never done college sports before and was nervous about not being good enough to make the cut,” said Riley. “The coaches and the team were very open to newcomers that didn’t have much skill. They took me in with open arms and helped me develop my skills. I wouldn’t change anything about it.”

Being on the women’s volleyball team has pushed Riley to work hard on herself. She always wanted to be fit and play sports so that she’ll look good to others. But, getting on the team, practicing hard, and playing harder, made her realize that she loved the feeling. It became more about making herself feel good than looking good to others. This new mindset has helped her work on her self-esteem and work to improve other aspects of her life as well.

As a social work major, Riley’s career goal after graduation is to become a licensed clinical social worker.

“I honestly have never thought about a connection between my interest in volleyball and social work. However, I would say that social work is all about self-improvement. There are so many ways that people can start to feel overwhelmed with the things going on and there’s always room for someone to be there to help with the burden. I want to be a social worker because I want to be able to help people, but that starts with being able to help myself and volleyball helps me to work towards that,” said Riley.

She expressed she never really had any serious sports role models but respects her coaches. They are the ones who have encouraged her to push herself and watching them push her teammates has resulted in gratitude for their hard work and dedication to the team.

“Even if I never play for them again,” says Riley. “I will always remember them as my first coaches and the beginning of a new part of my life.”

While talking about sports and teammates, Riley said she knows everyone wants to win. “Yet, if winning is all you care about, then you won’t enjoy the sport to the fullest,” according to Riley.

She said that the main goal for every game should be to play their hardest and do the best they can. Riley emphasized that no matter the result of winning or losing, student-athletes should leave every game feeling great about the work they’ve put in next to their team and know they should aspire to practice and play harder than they did for the next game. According to Riley, you should work hard, play harder and enjoy it all.

“Practice like you’ve never won; play like you’ve never lost.”

Riley’s greatest accomplishment is getting points for her team solely based on what she does. It’s not always the big plays that are the most acknowledged moment in a match. She loves being a part of her team and helping. But knowing she can score points for her team makes her feel great.

As Riley talked about her team, she recalled a special moment.

“We’ve lost every game this season. A team has to win three sets to win the game. We usually lost every set of every game. However, in one of our last games of the season, we won a set. That was the first time we ever won anything,” says Riley. “That feeling of excitement and pride and getting to scream and hug my team as we cheered was absolutely amazing. We lost the total game, but that was still the best thing that had happened and I wish I could relive that feeling.”