2010 Meet the USASA: New York Pancyprian Freedoms

Posted on 15. Jun, 2010 by Josh Hakala in History

The New York Pancyprian Freedoms, one of the all-time great US Open Cup clubs, are back in the tournament again in 2010. The USASA Region I club are a storied club with origins dating back to the mid 1970s and have qualified, or have attempted to qualify for the Open Cup every year of their existence, according to general manager George Halkidis.

The Freedoms hold the distinction as the last team to win back-to-back Open Cup titles when they won it all in 1982 and ’83. They have lifted the Dewar Trophy three times in all, capturing their first championship in 1980.

The Queens-based club has been a part of New York City’s famed Cosmopolitan League since their inaugural season in 1974. They have captured five Cosmopolitan championships (1978-79, 1979-80, 1981-82, 2002-03, 2003-04) and over the years, have been one of the more consistent teams in the league. In fact, the last two years they have lost in the championship game of the league playoffs.

“The CSL, in my opinion, is the premier amateur league in the country,” said Halkidis. “The quality and history of some of the teams is second to none. As a whole, the first division teams could hold their own against any amateur side in the country. We have traveled enough and seen most of the top teams in the country to make such a bold statement. But again if you look at the history, personnel and results of these teams from top to bottom you’ll agree.

They will open the 2010 edition of the tournament against fellow amateur club Long Island Rough Riders of the USL’s Premier Development League on June 15. Long Island will host the match at Cy Donnelly Stadium in South Huntington, NY at 7:30 p.m.

The Freedoms had a difficult path through Open Cup qualifying, beginning with state qualifying in the Eastern New York Soccer Association. Tasso Polydefkis and Puerto Rican international Chris Megaloudis scored to lead the club to a 2-0 win over Barstonworth Rovers in the opening round. In the semifinals, it was another 2-0 victory, this time over New York Athletic club. Megaloudis and veteran Jeff Matteo were responsible for the scoring.

The championship game was a controversial one as the Freedoms found themselves matched up with Fenerbahce USA, a team who had lost their semifinal match 4-1 to the New York Greek American Atlas. Fenerbahce reached the final because they filed a protest because the Greeks had mistakenly written down the name of a player on their roster who had left the club weeks earlier to play professionally overseas.

Freedoms general manager George Halkidis was not pleased with the controversial decision to disqualify the Greek Americans by the Eastern New York cup commissioner, Gus Xikis, the father of Fenerbahce goalkeeper EJ Xikis.

“It’s a shame what happened to [Atlas]. Games are decided on the field and not on paper,” said Halkidis. “It’s OK though because I promise that this team, [Fenerbahce USA], will not advance. Not on the field nor on paper.  Pancyprians will take care of business.”

And they did just that, dispatching Fenerbahce 4-1 on goals by Matteo, Megaloudis, Polydefkis and Julio Cesar Dos Santos.

Dos Santos, one of the best players in USL history according to USLSoccer.com, continued to play well into the USASA Region I tournament. After falling behind 2-0 to Phoenix SC of Eastern Pennsylvania in the first half, Dos Santos scored two goals and assisted on another to lead the Freedoms to a 3-2 victory.

Dos Santos rescued New York again in the quarterfinals, scoring the game-winning goal in overtime to eliminate the Dulles Sportsplex Aegean Hawks from Washington D.C., 2-1. In the semifinals, a win would send the Freedoms to the US Open Cup, and they needed penalty kicks to get past the United German Hungarians of Eastern Pennsylvania. After a scoreless draw through regulation and extra time, and playing a man short from the 43rd minute on, New York would qualify for the US Open Cup for the fourth time in the Professional Era (1995-present) with a 3-0 shootout victory over UGH.

“We feel that the teams we have to play in order to qualify [in Eastern New York] are of high quality,” said Halkidis. “Having to play six games to get in has prepared us for what’s ahead.”

What’s ahead is the Long Island Rough Riders of the PDL who have yet to lose a game in their first six league contests (4-0-2). If the Freedoms are able to advance, they will play the winner of fellow New York club Brooklyn Italians and the Harrisburg City Islanders of the USL Second Division. Potentially, all the Freedoms would have to do is defeat a PDL team on Tuesday, then turn around and beat either a fellow amateur club or a last place USL-2 club to earn a date with a Major League Soccer team.

After years of competing in the Cosmopolitan League and the US Open Cup, the Freedoms branched out and created a second team in 1999 (called simply, the “New York Freedoms”) that joined the USL Premier Development League. They wasted no time in carrying over their success to the new league, winning the Northeast Division title and advancing to the PDL national semifinals in their inaugural season. They also 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 falling 2-1 in extra time to the eventual champions.

They spent two more years in the PDL before taking the club to the next level to play in the D3 Pro League. Their best year in the third division was in 2002 when current New England Revolution star Shalrie Joseph helped them advance to the league quarterfinals and qualify for the Open Cup. They defeated Chicago’s AAC Eagles from USASA Region II in the first round before losing to the A-League’s Milwaukee Rampage.

After the 2003 season, the club left the USL to focus on the Cosmopolitan League team.

The last time New York qualified for the Open Cup was in 2008 and they nearly pulled off an upset on the road against the Real Maryland Monarchs of the USL Second Division.

“The game was originally scheduled for a Tuesday night but because of lightning, the match was re-scheduled for Friday,” said Halkidis. “So within four days we traveled back and forth to Maryland. The match was very competitive, but we lost in overtime after going down a man during regulation [around the 75th minute]. We felt that if we did not lose a man we could of left with the win.”

Dos Santos and Matia Damiani both scored for New York that night, while George Halkidis’ son Panagoitis was the man sent off.

The core of the team from that 2008 season are still with the club this year, led by veterans who have been with the club for a number of seasons like Dos Santos, Matteo, Megaloudis, Damiani, Chris Zisimatos, Panagiotis Halkidis and goalkeeper Chad Calderone.

After earned All-American honors at St. John’s University, where he played home games at Belson Stadium (where the Freedoms call home), Matteo graduated and signed with Major League Soccer’s Columbus Crew in 2002. After that, his path through the pros saw him play for the New York Red Bulls, Minnesota Thunder (USL-1) and the Charleston Battery (USL-1). Now he is an assistant coach for his alma mater and is entering his ninth season with the Freedoms.

Another player that the Freedoms will be counting on will be one of the club’s all-time greats, Dos Santos. The Brazilian, who grew up playing with World Cup winner Bebeto, has scored 248 goals in 211 matches over the last nine seasons for New York.

His first club was the legendary Rio de Janeiro club Vasco da Gama, and his first professional team was American, where he was tasked with helping create chances for a young striker named Ronaldo.

Dos Santos moved to the U.S. and joined the New Jersey Stallions where he scored 115 goals in 111 games for the professional side. He then hooked on with the Freedoms in 2003 when they were a professional team. He finished third in the league in scoring with 11 goals, two assists and 24 points.

The club takes a lot of pride in the young talent that they develop and help them move on to professional careers.

Another youth team product is Chris Megaloudis, who has four caps for the Puerto Rican national team and spent time with the New York Red Bulls. Megaloudis graduated from Stony Brook and also spent time with the same club they Freedoms will face on Tuesday, the Long Island Rough Riders and the Westchester Flames.

A couple of new additions with significant play are Joel Gustafsson (former St John’s Univ.), John Koutsounadis (Adelphi University), Andreas Paphitis (Fordham Univ.) and Gabe Ortega (Loyolla Maryland).

The team is lead by head coach Luka Lukovic, who knows a thing or two about the U.S. Open Cup, too. He was the starting goalkeeper for New York-based A.O. Krete when it won the 1984 US Open Cup title. His professional career during the 1970s and ’80s included stops in his home country of Yugoslavia and Greece before he moved to the United States.

“We are looking forward to our first round game against the Long Island Rough Riders,” said Halkidis. “We feel confident that we can get by our opponent. I think we match up well against them.

New York Pancyprian Freedoms
1999 (as New York Freedoms in the PDL)
1r – v. Cape Cod Crusaders (D3), 3-1
2r – v. Rochester Raging Rhinos (A-Lg), 1-2 (aet)
2002 (as New York Freedoms in the USL D3 Pro League)
1r – v. AAC Eagles (USASA), 1-0 (aet)
2r – v. Milwaukee Rampage (A-Lg), 0-4
2008
1r – v. Real Maryland Monarchs (USL2), 2-3 (aet)

Tags: Meet the USASA, NY Pancyprian Freedoms, USASA