New York Pancyprian-Freedoms is an American amateur soccer team based in Astoria, New York,

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

. Founded in 1974, the team 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 ...

, a league at the fifth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid. The team plays its home games at

Belson Stadium Belson Stadium is a 2,168-seat soccer-specific stadium located at Utopia Parkway and Union Turnpike in Queens, New York City, on the campus of St. John's University. It is the home of the St. John's Red Storm men's and women's soccer teams. T ...

on the campus of at St. John's University. The team's colors are white and blue.

History

LEAGUE PLAY (C.S.L. - Cosmopolitan Soccer League) The Pancyprian-Freedoms were founded in 1974, and have competed in New York City’s

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 ...

, a well-respected league which dates back to the 1920s and which is a member of the

United States Adult Soccer Association 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 ...

Region I group of leagues, since that inaugural season. The Freedoms have won eight Cosmopolitan League titles in their history, in 1979, 1980, 1982, 2003, 2004, 2008, 2010, 2011, and 2019. U.S. OPEN CUP (Lamar Hunt Trophy) The Pancyprian-Freedoms are also one of the all-time great National Challenge Cup clubs, and have qualified, or have attempted to qualify, for the Open Cup every year of their existence. They won the cup three times in the pre- Major League Soccer era, in 1980, 1982 and 1983, and following their triumph in 1983 they reached the semi-finals of the CONCACAF Champions' Cup in 1984, beating Mexican powerhouse Puebla on penalties, and overcoming Honduran champions Vida, before they and their semi-final opponents

CD Guadalajara Club Deportivo Guadalajara (); often simply known as Guadalajara () and their nickname ''Chivas'' (), is a Mexican professional football club based in Zapopan, Jalisco. Guadalajara is one of the ten founding members of the Mexican First Divisi ...

were disqualified after failing to agree on the dates of the matches. The Pancyprian-Freedoms have qualified for the final stages of the Lamar Hunt US Open Cups in the MLS era on several occasions. They lost 3–2 in extra time to the

Real Maryland Monarchs Real Maryland F.C., commonly known as the Real Maryland Monarchs, was an American soccer team based in Rockville, Maryland, United States. Founded in 2007, the team played in the USL Premier Development League (PDL), the fourth tier of the Amer ...

in the first round in

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

, and lost 2–0 in the first round to

USL Premier Development League USL League Two (USL2), formerly the Premier Development League (PDL), is a semi-professional developmental soccer league sponsored by United Soccer Leagues in the United States and Canada, forming part of the United States soccer league syst ...

team

Long Island Rough Riders The Long Island Rough Riders are an American association football, soccer team based in South Huntington, New York, United States. Founded in 1994, the team plays in USL League Two, the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid. The team plays i ...

in 2010. In 2011 for the Lamar Hunt Cup they lost to FC New York (NPSL) 4–3 in PK's after extra time of a 0–0 regulation time tie after defeating the Brooklyn Italians (NPSL) 2–0 in the first round. In 2016 they advanced to the 2nd Round after beating the Red Bulls U23 (PDL) 2-1 at Belson Stadium (Round 1). In Round 2 they lost to Jersey Express (PDL) 1-0. USASA - Region I (United States Adult Soccer Association) In addition to their CSL and USOC exploits, the Pancyprian-Freedoms won the 2008 USASA Open Cup, beating the

Arizona Sahuaros Sporting Arizona FC is an American soccer team based in Arizona. Founded in 1989, Sporting Arizona FC is Arizona's professional development club. The foundation of Sporting's development model is to bring international talent to play in Arizona, ...

2–1 after extra time in the final in

Seattle, Washington Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest region ...

. They also won the 2010 USASA Open Cup in Philadelphia, PA beating the Brooklyn Italians (NPSL) 3–1 in the final after besting Detroit FC (MI) 3–0 in the semifinals and the 2011 USASA Open Cup besting AAC Eagles (ILL) 6–0 in the semifinals and Doxa Italia (CA) in the final 5–4 in pk's following 2–2 tie after regulation and 2OT's in Bowling Green, KY. The current men's team is composed primarily of players that came up through the Eleftheria-Pancyprian Youth teams, the youth soccer division of the Pancyprian Association of New York.Newyorkroversfc
/ref> The majority of players have played NCAA Division I

college soccer College soccer is played by teams composed of soccer players who are enrolled in colleges and universities. It is very prominent in United States, Japan, South Korea, Canada, and as well as in South Africa and the Philippines. The United K ...

, and are now young business professionals or attending graduate school in various fields of study.

New York Freedom

After years of competing in the Cosmopolitan League and the US Open Cup, the Freedoms branched out and created a second team – called the New York Freedom – which joined the

in 1999. The Freedom won the Northeast Division title and advancing to the PDL national semifinals in their inaugural season, and qualified for the US Open Cup, where they upset the

Cape Cod Crusaders Cape Cod Crusaders were an American soccer team based in Buzzards Bay, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1994, the team played in the USL Premier Development League (PDL), the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid, until 2008, when ...

of the

USL D3 Pro League The USL Second Division (commonly referred to as USL-2) was a professional men's soccer league in the United States, operated by United Soccer Leagues (USL). It was at the third tier of soccer in the United States, behind Major League Soccer ...

in the first round and nearly eliminated the A-League’s

Rochester Raging Rhinos Rochester New York FC, formerly known as the Rochester Rhinos, are an American professional soccer team based in Rochester, New York, United States. Founded in 1996, as the Rochester Raging Rhinos, they changed their name to Rochester Rhinos to ...

, eventually falling 2–1 in extra time to the eventual champions. The Freedoms left the USL in 2003.

Players

2015–2016 roster

Year-by-year

Head coaches

* Marios Laoutas (1978–1981) *

Mimis Papaioannou Dimitrios "Mimis" Papaioannou ( el, Δημήτριος "Μίμης" Παπαϊωάννου; born 23 August 1942) is a Greek former professional football player, who played as a forward, mostly for AEK Athens and a former manager. His nickname w ...

(1982–1984) * Nikos Exarhidis (1986–1988) * Lambros Lambrou (1989–1994) * Luka Luković (2005–2011) *

George Halkidis George Halkidis (born June 18, 1982 in Newmarket, Ontario) is a former Canadian professional ice hockey player. He is currently a Portfolio Manager at Richardson Wealth. Playing career The defencemen played in the Ontario Hockey League for the ...

(2011–2012) *

Stratis Mastrokyriakos Stratis Mastrokyriakos (Greek: Στρατής Μαστροκυριάκος, born 24 August 1967) is a professional soccer manager - Football coach and former Greek football player, and one of the first Greeks to become a UEFA Pro Licence hol ...

(2012–present)

Honors

(9): 1979, 1980, 1982, 2003, 2004, 2008, 2010, 2011, 2019 *National Challenge Cup (3): 1980, 1982, 1983 *Participations in CONCACAF Champions' Cup: 1982,

1983 The year 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call. Events January * January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to TCP/IP is officially completed (this is considered to be the beginning ...

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...

Stadium

at St. John's University;

Jamaica, New York Jamaica is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Queens. It is mainly composed of a large commercial and retail area, though part of the neighborhood is also residential. Jamaica is bordered by Hollis to the east; St. Albans, Springf ...

(2005–present)

References

External links

Official website
{{USSoccer Pan Soccer clubs in the New York metropolitan area Cosmopolitan Soccer League 1974 establishments in New York City Greek-American culture in New York City Sports in Queens, New York Association football clubs established in 1974 Diaspora soccer clubs in the United States U.S. clubs in CONCACAF Champions' Cup U.S. Open Cup winners