Cedar Stars Brooklyn will represent ENYYSA at the Region I championships later this month and next. (Photo courtesy of ENYYSA)

LAGRANGE, N.Y. — Cedar Stars Brooklyn dominated the Boys Under-12 State Open Cup championship game played at Stringham Park Sunday, June 4.

The Cosmopolitan Junior Soccer League team defeated Stony Brook Red Star of the Long Island Junior Soccer League, 7-0, to win the state championship.

Cedar Stars will represent the Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association at the Region I championships in Spotsylvania, Va. from June 30-July 4.

Roberth Padillapuma recorded a hat-trick for Cedar Stars while Angel Campos added two goal. Adam Ahmed and Enoch Rivera each tallied a goal. Cedar Stars goalkeeper Stephen Sanchez registered the shutout.

“I think our overall speed of play led us to victory,” Cedar Stars coach Thomas McNiff said.

Stony Brook did not leave the Hudson Valley empty-handed, however, as it received the Rocco Amoroso Sportsmanship Award as determined by the game officials. Amoroso, a U.S. Soccer Life Member who died last year, started the LIJSL sportsmanship program in 1980 and it spread to Eastern New York, nationally and then to China and Ireland.

Front Row Soccer editor Michael Lewis has covered 13 World Cups (eight men, five women), seven Olympics and 25 MLS Cups. He has written about New York City FC, New York Cosmos, the New York Red Bulls and both U.S. national teams for Newsday and has penned a soccer history column for the Guardian.com. Lewis, who has been honored by the Press Club of Long Island and National Soccer Coaches Association of America, is the former editor of BigAppleSoccer.com. He has written seven books about the beautiful game and has published ALIVE AND KICKING The incredible but true story of the Rochester Lancers. It is available at Amazon.com.