Lansdowne Yonkers FC
Irish American-founded club with a multinational roster and Open Cup history.
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Lansdowne Yonkers FC, originally called Lansdowne Bhoys FC, is a soccer club from Yonkers, New York. Founded in 1997 by Irish American immigrants, the team competes in USASA Region I. Nicknamed the "Bhoys," they share the same colors as Celtic FC. Though the squad includes Irish players, it has a multinational roster featuring athletes from the United States, New Zealand, Ivory Coast, Germany, Jamaica, and Gambia. ESPN soccer analyst Tommy Smyth serves as the club's honorary president.
Honors
Lansdowne Yonkers FC has won the Cosmopolitan Soccer League Division 1 four times: 2013–14, 2014–15, 2015–16, and 2016–17. The club also won the Eastern Premier Soccer League once, in 2020–21. In 2016, Lansdowne Yonkers FC made its way to the 3rd Round proper of the 2016 Lamar Hunt US Open Cup, eliminating the Long Island Rough Riders of the Premier Development League and Pittsburgh Riverhounds of United Soccer League. On August 6, 2017, Lansdowne Yonkers FC won the National Amateur Cup.
After capturing the USASA Region I title, Lansdowne traveled to Milwaukee to compete in the National Amateur Cup. Lansdowne defeated LA Wolves FC 1–0 in the semi-final, and then beat Milwaukee Bavarian SC in the final 9–8 in a penalty shoot out; the winning penalty was scored by Momodou Sawaneh. In 2019 they won their second Werner Fricker Amateur Open Cup title over Texas side ASC New Stars in the final, 1–0. The team reached the final by downing Fort Wayne SC of Indiana, 6–0, two days prior.
Youth system
Lansdowne Yonkers FC had an affiliation with Yonkers United and their 25 youth teams. In 2016, Lansdowne sent teams to compete in the international SuperCupNI (formerly called the Northern Ireland Youth Soccer Tournament) in Derry.
Lansdowne's youth system is run by Jim Kelly, the club's Youth Director of Football and an experienced UEFA 'A Licensed' coach, and Michael Holzer, the club's Technical Director and a former New York Cosmos player. LYFC's youth system consists of 20 teams, ranging from ages 8 to 18. The club's youth teams play in the Westchester Youth Soccer League (WYSL), National Premier League (NPL), and the New York Club Soccer League (NYCSL).
Did You Know?
- The winning penalty in the 2017 National Amateur Cup final was scored by Momodou Sawaneh.
- In 2016, Lansdowne signed an international club partnership with Scottish club Celtic FC.
More in Diaspora Soccer Clubs in the United States
Sources
Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.
- Wikipedia: Lansdowne Yonkers FC (CC BY-SA 4.0).
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