NY Greek American Atlas Astoria, commonly known as New York Greek American, is an American
soccer team from
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...
that currently plays in the
Eastern Premier Soccer League
The Eastern Premier Soccer League (EPSL) is a United States Adult Soccer Association and a National Independent Soccer Association affiliated Amateur Elite League that includes teams from the Eastern United States. Currently the league has member ...
and in the
Cosmopolitan Soccer League
The Cosmopolitan Soccer League is a regional soccer league consisting of semi-pro and amateur teams based in and around New York City. Established in 1923, it is one of the oldest soccer leagues in the United States and has contributed greatly ...
. The club was formed in 1946 by Thomas Laris and is one of the most successful clubs in America's annual national soccer tournament, the
U.S. Open Cup, winning four times, in 1967, 1968, 1969 and 1974. The team is one of the oldest American soccer clubs in existence and plays its games at the
Metropolitan Oval
The Metropolitan Oval, also known as Met Oval, is a soccer complex located in Maspeth, Queens in New York City. ''Village Voice'' named the complex, which takes up , the "Best full soccer field in the middle of a residential neighborhood" in ...
in
Maspeth, Queens
Maspeth is a residential and commercial community in the borough of Queens in New York City. It was founded in the early 17th century by Dutch and English settlers. Neighborhoods sharing borders with Maspeth are Woodside to the north; Sunnyside ...
.
History
Greek American Atlas Astoria, formally New York Greek American Atlas Astoria Soccer Club, was formed in 1941. The club was founded by
Greek-American
Greek Americans ( el, Ελληνοαμερικανοί ''Ellinoamerikanoí'' ''Ellinoamerikánoi'' ) are Americans of full or partial Greek ancestry. The lowest estimate is that 1.2 million Americans are of Greek descent while the highest es ...
Tom Laris and would go on to become one of the most successful and longest continually operating teams in American soccer history. The club has a long-standing rivalry with New York's
Cypriot
Cypriot (in older sources often "Cypriote") refers to someone or something of, from, or related to the country of Cyprus.
* Cypriot people, or of Cypriot descent; this includes:
**Armenian Cypriots
**Greek Cypriots
**Maronite Cypriots
**Turkish C ...
team and fellow multiple National Cup champion, the
Pancyprian Freedoms.
The team currently plays in the 5th tier of the
American soccer pyramid, under the
USASA
The United States Adult Soccer Association (USASA) is a national organization for amateur soccer in the United States. It consists of 55 state organizations as well as national, regional and state leagues.
The National Premier Soccer League, NI ...
in the
Cosmopolitan Soccer League
The Cosmopolitan Soccer League is a regional soccer league consisting of semi-pro and amateur teams based in and around New York City. Established in 1923, it is one of the oldest soccer leagues in the United States and has contributed greatly ...
. The club plays out of the
Metropolitan Oval
The Metropolitan Oval, also known as Met Oval, is a soccer complex located in Maspeth, Queens in New York City. ''Village Voice'' named the complex, which takes up , the "Best full soccer field in the middle of a residential neighborhood" in ...
in
Maspeth, Queens
Maspeth is a residential and commercial community in the borough of Queens in New York City. It was founded in the early 17th century by Dutch and English settlers. Neighborhoods sharing borders with Maspeth are Woodside to the north; Sunnyside ...
and has been a perennial contender in the league, winning five of eleven Eastern New York Championships between 2001 and 2012.
National Cup success
The Greek Americans have won America's nationwide domestic soccer tournament, the
Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup
The Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, commonly known as the U.S. Open Cup (USOC), is a knockout cup competition in men's soccer in the United States of America. It is the oldest ongoing national soccer competition in that country.
The 2023 U.S. O ...
, formerly the ''National Challenge Cup'', four times in its history, from 1967 to 1969 and in 1974. The club is one of only two teams, alongside the
Seattle Sounders FC, to have won the annual tournament on three consecutive occasions.
While the club had not qualified for the Open Cup since 2005, it returned to the tournament in
2012
File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gat ...
but lost in the first round to
Reading United of the
USL's Premier Development League (PDL), by a score of 2–1.
The Greeks won re-entry to the Open Cup again in 2014 thanks to their USASA Amateur Cup regional championship, being
seeded in the second round. They won their first game against PDL opponents,
Ocean City Nor'easters
Ocean City Nor'easters is an American soccer team based in Ocean City, New Jersey. Founded in 1996, the team currently plays in USL League Two, the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid.
The team plays their home games at Carey Stadium wh ...
, 2–0. before falling to
Richmond Kickers in the 3rd round. In 2014, after appearing in three consecutive
National Cup The English National Cup is an annual basketball knock-out competition held between professional, semi-professional and amateur teams from the various divisions of the National Basketball League. For most of the competition's history, the draw has ...
finals, Atlas would finally lift the trophy for the first time in their history after defeating Guadalajara FC 4–2 in the final.
Honors
*National Challenge Cup winners: 4
:: 1967, 1968, 1969, 1974
*National Challenge Cup runners-up: 1
:: 1989
*US National Cup Champions: 1
:: 2013–14
*
Cosmopolitan Soccer League
The Cosmopolitan Soccer League is a regional soccer league consisting of semi-pro and amateur teams based in and around New York City. Established in 1923, it is one of the oldest soccer leagues in the United States and has contributed greatly ...
Champions: 5
:: 2004–05, 2007–08, 2008–09, 2010–11, 2016-17
*Participations in
CONCACAF Champions' Cup (4):
1968
The year was highlighted by protests and other unrests that occurred worldwide.
Events January–February
* January 5 – " Prague Spring": Alexander Dubček is chosen as leader of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia.
* Janu ...
,
1970
Events
January
* January 1 – Unix time epoch reached at 00:00:00 UTC.
* January 5 – The 7.1 Tonghai earthquake shakes Tonghai County, Yunnan province, China, with a maximum Mercalli intensity of X (''Extreme''). Between 10,000 and ...
,
1990
File:1990 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1990 FIFA World Cup is played in Italy; The Human Genome Project is launched; Voyager I takes the famous Pale Blue Dot image- speaking on the fragility of humanity on Earth, astrophysicist ...
*Participations in
CONCACAF Cup Winners Cup
The CONCACAF Cup Winners Cup was an international association football
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball ...
:
1995
File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The Great Hanshin earthquake str ...
(withdrew)
U.S. Open Cup finals
*1967: Greek American Atlas Astoria -
Orange County Soccer Club 4-2 (John Kosmides 2, Denis Nanos, Peter Tsalouhidis - George Rabus, Larry Radulski), Stadium: Eintracht Oval, Astoria, Queens, Att: 2,500
*1968: Greek American Atlas Astoria -
Chicago Olympic 1-1 (Denis Nanos 48΄, Alex Naltanis 89΄) & 1-0 (Bob Hatzos 50΄), Stadiums: Hanson Stadium, Chicago and Eintracht Oval, Astoria, Queens
*1969: Greek American Atlas Astoria -
Montabello Armenians 1-0, in Los Angeles
*1974: Greek American Atlas Astoria -
Chicago Croatian
Chicago Croatian was an American Soccer Club based in Chicago, Illinois.
The club competed professionally in the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup (National Challenge Cup), the CONCACAF Champions League (CONCACAF Champions Cup) and the National Soccer Leag ...
2-0, Stadium: Eintracht Oval, Astoria, Queens
*1989:
St. Petersburg Kickers - Greek American Atlas Astoria 2-1 (
Garth Pollonais
Garth Pollonais is a retired Trinidad and Tobago football (soccer) forward who played professionally in both Trinidad and the United States.
Early career
Pollonais grew up in Trinidad. He attended St. Augustine Senior Secondary High School whe ...
46΄, Gordon Singleton 119΄-
John Lignos 80΄), Stadium:
World Wide Technology Soccer Park
World Wide Technology Soccer Park is a soccer complex which includes four soccer-specific stadiums, with the main field, West Community Stadium, holding 5,500 seats. Located in Fenton, Missouri, a suburb southwest of downtown St. Louis, it is ope ...
, St.Louis, Att: 6,200
References
{{USSoccer
Men's soccer clubs in New York (state)
Cosmopolitan Soccer League
German-American Soccer League
1946 establishments in New York City
Greek-American culture in New York City
Association football clubs established in 1946
Diaspora soccer clubs in the United States
U.S. clubs in CONCACAF Champions' Cup
U.S. clubs in CONCACAF Cup Winners' Cup
U.S. Open Cup winners