#Newsflash | New Soccer Team About to Kick Off in Queens
BY QEDC It's In Queens
A top-notch sports organization is coming to Queens.
No, not New York City Football Club, the professional team that plans to leave Yankee Stadium for a brand new, 25,000-seat arena in Willets Point for the 2027 Major League Soccer season. This one is semi-pro, grass roots, and identified with a local bridge.
Whitestone FC is currently holding tryouts in Kissena Corridor Park, an NYC Parks venue that will probably serve as home field. Looking to fill its roster with about 20 players, the next tryout is on Friday, July 14. (Editor’s note: coaches and support staff are needed, too.)
The first official game is scheduled for Saturday, Aug. 12, and the squad will compete in the United Premier Soccer League, which is basically the fourth-tier in the U.S. Soccer hierarchy. Founded in California in 2011, UPSL currently has almost 400 clubs around the country.
Whitestone FC members will put on their powder blue and red uniforms—with the Whitestone Bridge as the logo—and play in UPSL’s Northeast American Conference. Thus, they’ll probably compete against such sides as Philadelphia Lone Star FC, New Jersey Alliance FC, and Lancaster FC.
John Sullivan is spearheading the effort. The lifelong Whitestone resident is a Senior Vice President with MLS who specializes in information technology. He’ll get some help from a recent signee, his son Joe, a midfielder who was captain of the local Auburndale SC youth team during his youth and then played for AC Perugia Academy in Italy and Philadelphia Union in the MLS.
Other local signees are Tyler Tavares, a defender from Flushing, and Nikolaos Matsis, a goalkeeper from Fresh Meadows.
Click here to follow Whitestone FC on Instagram.
Images: Whitestone FC