Voorhees Soccer Association:
Memorial Day Weekend Full of Soccer

Saturday, May 23, 1998

By Art Redd
SJSports Staff Writer

For most families, the Memorial Day weekend would be spent with relatives in their backyard or park. The barbecue grill would be filled with burgers, hot dogs and all their specialties. This weekend for the VSA, there would be hamburgers and hot dogs on the grill for the soccer fans. Each soccer complex would keep that barbecue aroma in the air to remind them of home. Family and friends would participate in the 6th Annual Voorhees Soccer Association Memorial Day Classic Tournament for boys and girls of various age groups. Most of the teams were from cities up and down the East Coast who came to enjoy soccer.

Let's meet Beth Rizopatrone and her friends and family from Lawrence, New Jersey. She has been attending soccer tournaments for quite some time and has the proof to show it. At each tournament the teams pass out patches, representing their club, to the opposing players at the end of the game. Beth has put together a memorabilia banner representing all the games in which her son, Noah, has participated. "Most of the patches have been from New Jersey tournaments," said Beth. She did mention that they have made several trips across the Delaware River into Pennsylvania. The team that she was representing is the Mercer United team from Mercer County. There would be three teams participating in this weekend's tournament for Mercer United, all coached by Rich Leedom.

Another person taking time out for the kids was Coach Yanni Katrisiosis. He brought his Delran Olympiakos to the tournament and strongly believes that soccer is a great sport for boys and girls. Katrisiosis has a great deal of experience because he played professional soccer in Germany. He started playing the sport at a young age and believes that if his team concentrates on the fundamentals of the game, the Olympiakos would finish first. The previews and prognostications by the "Legal Eagle" states that they bring an impressive resume to the tournament.

With all the games played over the weekend, it would be safe to say that new friendships have been made and many new experiences will be remembered. The Voorhees Soccer Association put together a well-planned tournament to accomadate the teams over the Memorial Day Weekend.

Click Here for tournament schedules, scores, and other information.