NYMISOA Celebrates the Conclusion of Another Successful Season
The New York Metro Intercollegiate Soccer Officials Association (NYMISOA) membership includes nearly 100 intercollegiate soccer officials in the New York City boroughs of Manhattan, Bronx, Queens, Brooklyn and Staten Island plus Nassau, Suffolk and Westchester counties. Its major social event of the year is the annual NYMISOA Awards Dinner, held on Monday night, November 9 at the Sterling in Bethpage, where soccer coaches and referees who particularly made a difference during the college and junior college season were honored from balloting by NYMISOA members.
NYU swept the Sportsmanship Awards on both the men’s and women’s side of four-year college programs. NYU men’s coach Kim Wyant and NYU women’s coach Michele Canning were to be honored by NYMISOA but Canning could not make it as her team was in the ECAC playoffs so Wyant, a former assistant coach with the NYU women, accepted the awards for both programs.
“At NYU, from pre-season on, we tell the players that the referee does not decide the game but the players do,” Wyant said. “We coaches want our team captains to speak to the officials during the game as well rather than us doing it. These sportsmanship awards mean a great deal to our program.”
Suffolk Community College men’s soccer coach Frank Vertullo received the 2-Year College Sportsmanship Award for the second time, matching the number of national championships his team has won. Suffolk won the national title in 2010 and 2014 and the NYMISOA Sportsmanship Award in 2008 and 2015.
A coach honored with a Certificate of Appreciation was Joe Lee, who coached the St. Joseph’s Long Island women from 2002 to 2014 and is the only coach ever to win the NYMISOA Sportsmanship Award three times. The certificate read, “Presented to Joe Lee in recognition for teaching generations of soccer players at all levels the values of sportsmanship.”
Seven referees were honored as well. Mike Godi was selected as the 2015 Official of the Year, Jiye Zhang was tabbed as Assistant Referee of the Year, Harlan Grossman was named New Official of the Year and Jim Memos received the Dennis Botsaris Service Award.
Three officials who have done professional games were also honored for their services to college soccer refereeing. Mark Passiatore received the 35-Year Service Award, Randy Vogt took home the 30-Year Service Award and Alberto Giordano, a ref in MLS’s early days, received the 25-Year Service Award.
