Polonia SC claims first ever CSL D1 regular season championship
By Noah Zimmerman
Noah@queensledger.com
The New York Pancyprian Freedoms are APSL Metro champions after defeating NY Athletic Club 5-0
It was a big weekend for both the NY Pancyprian Freedoms and Polonia SC, as they each picked up big wins to clinch regular season titles in the APSL Metropolitan Conference and CSL Division 1 respectively. The Pancyprians downed NY Athletic Club on the road at Travers Island while Polonia battled the NY Ukrainians on their shared home field at McCarren Park.
The Pancyprians have enjoyed a phenomenal season that has brought them to the national stage. Just a few weeks ago they clashed with MLS side FC Cincinnati in the US Open Cup, and coming up soon is another match in the National Amateur Cup. They’ve only suffered one loss in the APSL this season, coming to 2nd place side NY Greek Americans.
The Pancyprians have only lost once this APSL season
Against NYAC, the Pancyprians came out on fire. On the edge of 5 minutes played, James Thristino tapped in his first goal of the game, doubling the advantage with a header at the half-hour mark. After the half, Thristino completed his hat trick in the 81st minute, the fourth of five goals for the Pancyprians. The other scorers were Junior Rosero and Nicholas Zielonka.
Goalkeeper Josh Levine was only called into action a few times. He made the one save necessary in the 90th minute to preserve the 11th clean sheet of the year for the Pancyprians.
Shortly after, Polonia SC put the NY Ukrainians to the sword in Brooklyn, picking up a 4-1 win to clinch their first regular season CSL title. Right from the kickoff, Antoine Laurient pressed and won the ball inside the Ukrainians’ half. He squared it across to Alex Goldman for the opening goal just 15 seconds in.
Antoine Laurient won the ball in the opening seconds to help open the scoring for Polonia
Polonia would find a second strike in the 32nd minute and Chouran Camara added the third and fourth goals on either side of halftime. Goalkeeper Carter Dutton-Kneaves was only beaten once, as Ivan Koshurba pulled a consolation goal back for the Ukrainians. He maintained his impressive record, conceding no more than one goal per league match.
Polonia celebrated with bottles of champagne on the field after the win. The club will now weigh their options, as the CSL winners are offered promotion to the APSL. They’ll also look to follow up the title with their third playoff championship after the season ends.
Polonia SC celebrated with champagne on the field at McCarren Park
With the champions decided, all that’s left is to sort out razor-thin playoff and relegation battles. In the APSL the bottom five clubs are separated by just five points with one match to go. In the CSL, all that’s left to decide is the final playoff spot, up in the air between Central Park Rangers’ and Hoboken FC’s second teams.
