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Long Island Rough Riders are an American soccer team, founded in 1994. The team is a member of the United Soccer Leagues Second Division, the third tier of the American Soccer Pyramid. They currently play their home games primarily at the Mitchel Athletic Complex in the city of Uniondale, New York, but have also recently played games at the stadium on the campus of Stony Brook University in nearby Stony Brook, New York. The team's colors are white and blue.
[edit] History
The Rough Riders played their first season in 1994, fielding a team in the USISL that featured future US national team player Chris Armas, who would lead the team in scoring with eight goals and four assists.
For their second season, the Rough Riders added several more players who would go on to excel in Major League Soccer, including national team goalkeeper Tony Meola, Jim Rooney, and Giovanni Savarese, who would be named the USISL regular season and playoff MVP. The Rough Riders finished that season with a 19-1 record, and went on to win the USISL Championship.
The Rough Riders lost several players to the nascent MLS in 1996, but went on to have a successful season nevertheless, finishing with an 11-7 record before losing to the Richmond Kickers in the playoffs.
With the merger of the USISL and the APSL in 1997, the Rough Riders decided to move up and began their first season in the A-League in that year. The Rough Riders played the next five years in the A-League, before moving down to the PSL for the 2002 season.
The Rough Riders struggled in 2004, finishing the season with an 8-11-1 record, and failing to make the playoffs. The season was, however, significant because it marked the return of two old-time Rough Riders, Rooney from the New England Revolution and Savarese from overseas. 2006 was arguably the worst season in the history of team, finishing the year at the bottom of the table with just three wins and fifteen goals to their credit.
[edit] Current squad
| No. |
|
Position |
Player |
| 0 |
 |
GK |
Jack Stefanowski |
| 1 |
|
GK |
Eric Masters |
| 2 |
|
DF |
Rob Fucci |
| 3 |
 |
DF |
Jose Sura |
| 4 |
|
DF |
Richard Bradley |
| 5 |
|
DF |
Gary Sullivan |
| 6 |
|
DF |
Paul Robson |
| 8 |
 |
MF |
Lee Snodin |
| 9 |
 |
FW |
Derrick Etienne |
| 10 |
|
DF |
Darrell Etienne |
| 11 |
 |
MF |
Ishmael Mintah |
| 12 |
 |
FW |
Moussa Sy |
| 13 |
|
FW |
Anthony Barberio |
|
|
| No. |
|
Position |
Player |
| 14 |
 |
MF |
Douglas Narvaez |
| 15 |
|
MF |
Federico Bianchi |
| 16 |
|
MF |
Joshua Allen |
| 17 |
|
FW |
Paul Roderick |
| 18 |
|
MF |
Shaun Higgins |
| 19 |
|
MF |
Fausto Klinger |
| 20 |
 |
MF |
Kyle Jack |
| 22 |
 |
MF |
Ricardo Ordain |
| 26 |
 |
DF |
Ruben Diaz |
| 28 |
|
FW |
Christopher Megaloudis |
| 30 |
|
GK |
Michael Behonick |
| 31 |
|
GK |
Michael Mellis |
|
[edit] Year-by-year
| Year |
Division |
League |
Reg. Season |
Playoffs |
Open Cup |
| 1994 |
3 |
USISL |
1st, Northeast |
Sizzling Nine |
Did not enter |
| 1995 |
3 |
USISL Pro League |
1st, Coastal |
Champion |
Did not qualify |
| 1996 |
3 |
USISL Select League |
1st, North Atlantic |
Semifinals |
Did not qualify |
| 1997 |
2 |
USISL A-League |
3rd, Northeast |
Division Finals |
Quarterfinals |
| 1998 |
2 |
USISL A-League |
4th, Northeast |
Conference Quarterfinals |
Did not qualify |
| 1999 |
2 |
USL A-League |
3rd, Northeast |
Conference Quarterfinals |
Did not qualify |
| 2000 |
2 |
USL A-League |
1st, Northeast |
Conference Quarterfinals |
Did not qualify |
| 2001 |
2 |
USL A-League |
6th, Northern |
Did not qualify |
Did not qualify |
| 2002 |
3 |
USL D3-Pro League |
1st, Atlantic |
Champion |
Did not qualify |
| 2003 |
3 |
USL Pro Select League |
1st, Atlantic |
Regional Finals |
2nd Round |
| 2004 |
3 |
USL Pro Soccer League |
3rd, Atlantic |
Did not qualify |
Did not qualify |
| 2005 |
3 |
USL Second Division |
6th |
Did not qualify |
2nd Round |
| 2006 |
3 |
USL Second Division |
9th |
Did not qualify |
Did not qualify |
[edit] Notable former players
[edit] External link
