Welcome to our continuing series of Meet the USASA features where we annually profile the clubs representing the United States Adult Soccer Association in the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup. Advancing from the four regional tournaments, these often unknown clubs have great stories to tell and each year, our goal is to allow fans to get to know them as they attempt to become this year’s Cinderella story. Click here for more Meet the USASA stories.
While the New York Pancyprian Freedoms may not have won a match in their two previous Open Cup appearances (2008 & 2010), the proper way to judge the credentials of the club is to look at their accomplishments outside of those two matches. The team from Jamaica, Queens, New York has been one of the top amateur clubs in the nation over the past four years. Since 2008, the Freedoms have two Cosmopolitan Soccer League championships (2010 & 2011), four Dr. Manning Cup victories (Eastern NY state cup, 2006-2008, 2010), and two USASA National Cup trophies (2008 & 2010). It is no coincidence then that they have won, or could win, all of those championships again in 2011 as they prepare for another U.S. Open Cup First Round match.
A short but rich history
The Pancyprian Freedoms got their start in 1975 when the Pancyprian Association of America was founded in the aftermath of the Turkish invasion and annexation of northern Cyprus in 1974. The soccer team was started as a way to better enlighten the general public about what was happening in Cyprus. Freedoms General Manager George Halkidis says that all of the players on the current roster are aware of the meaning of the club’s name, and that their players of Greek ethnicity have traveled to Cyprus either as part of the club’s youth program or on vacation to visit their parents’ homeland.
The club spent their first two years in the Long Island Soccer League, and in 1977 paid $5,000 to join the Cosmopolitan Soccer League in 1979. By 1982 they had won the CSL title three times. While the current Freedoms have a more diverse roster, during their run of three Open Cup championships in four years from 1980-1983 the core of the team was made up of a mix of former Greek professional players and Cypriot players attending college in the U.S. through scholarships set up by the Pancyprian Association. Many of those college players returned to Cyprus and Greece after graduating, and maintained long careers with some of the top teams in those countries.
The former Greek pros that wore the Freedoms’ blue shirts were not your ordinary run of the mill imports. Two such players were considered to be two of the greatest players in Greek soccer history. Papaioannou spent 19 seasons with AEK Athens, scoring 234 goals, a mark that stood as a Greek record until 1989. Domazos played with Panathinaikos for 20 seasons and is widely considered the greatest player ever from Greece.
Rivalry with the Italians
Their first round opponents, the NPSL’s Brooklyn Italians, were recent CSL rivals of the Freedoms before the Italians decided to concentrate on NPSL play over fielding a team in the Cosmopolitan Soccer League. However, in the late 1970s and early 80s, the two clubs were constantly battling for the top spot in the CSL standings. Between 1977 and 1982 the Freedoms and Italians (then known as the Brooklyn Dodgers) were the only clubs to win the Cosmopolitan Soccer League championship. Each club took home three titles in that period, often at the expense of the other.
From 1977 to 1981 the teams would take turns knocking each other out of the Open Cup. The first meeting of the clubs in Open Cup play came in the a Southern New York second round qualifying match on November 28, 1976, when the Italians won 2-1. The next year the Freedoms got revenge with a 4-1 win in the SNY First Round.
In 1979, the teams met in the Southern New York semifinals, and the Italians prevailed 5-3 on their way to winning the Open Cup championship. In 1980 and 1981, the Freedoms and Italians met in the Southern New York Final. The Freedoms won 4-1 in the first meeting, while the Italians came away with a 1-0 win in 1981. The 1981 victory by the Italians not only pushed them closer to an appearance in the Open Cup Final, but it also prevented the Freedoms from capturing what would have been a record four straight Open Cup titles. From 1979-1983 either the Italians or Freedoms represented the Eastern side of the bracket in the Open Cup Finals.
While the rivalry may have been heated in the early 80s, Halkidis insists the teams are friendly rivals today, and he speaks to Italians GM Joe Barone on a weekly basis while also being close friends with Italians manager Tony Noto.
When reminded that it was the Italians who interrupted his teams Open cup title run in the early 80s, Halkidis joked that “maybe it’s a good time for payback,” but acknowledged their real goal is to win the USASA Open Cup. The Freedoms have won the USASA title two out of the last three years, and will have a chance this year if they can defeat Phoenix SC in the USASA Region I Final on June 19. A win will pit the Freedoms against fellow Open Cup qualifiers ASC New Stars, Doxa Italia, and the winner of the Region II Final between AAC Eagles and Iowa Menace (Bowling Green, Kentucky on July 15-17) for the right to wear the USASA crown.
The June 19 game will mark the end of a 16-day period of important games for the club. On June 5 the Freedoms defeated the New York Athletic Club via penalties for the Cosmopolitan League championship. The Freedoms came back from a 2-0 halftime deficit to end regulation 2-2 on goals from Stefan Dimitrov (55’) and the ageless Julio Cesar Dos Santos (71’). Just two days before their Open Cup game against the Italians, the Freedoms will face Mineola Portuguese of the Long Island Soccer Football League in the Dr. Manning Cup Final, which is the top tournament for the Eastern New York State Soccer Association.
Brooklyn Italians vs. New York Pancyprian Freedoms
In the US Open Cup 1977-1981
1977 Southern New York Second Round
Nov. 27, 1976 – Brooklyn Italians 2:1 Pancyprian Freedoms
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1978 Southern New York First Round
Nov. 20, 1977 – Pancyprian Freedoms 4:1 Brooklyn Italians
Downing Stadium – Randalls Island, NY
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1979 Southern New York Semifinals
Apr. 1, 1979 – Brooklyn Dodgers 5:3 Pancyprian Freedoms
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1980 Southern New York Final
Mar. 29, 1980 – Brooklyn Dodgers 1:4 Pancyprian Freedoms
Metropolitan Oval – Queens, New York
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1981 Southern New York Final
Mar. 28, 1981 – Pancyprian Freedoms 0:1 Brooklyn Dodgers
Metropolitan Oval – Queens, New York