New York Surf SC Tuesday was named the amateur reserve team of Sky Blue FC.
The team will play in United Women’s Soccer this season.
“We are very excited to add this level to the developmental pyramid of our club,” Sky Blue FC head coach Christy Holly said in a statement. “The addition of an amateur reserve team presents an incredible opportunity for players who aspire to compete at the professional level. The alignment and shared philosophy between Sky Blue FC and NY Surf also allows a consistent learning curriculum for all of the players who are developed within this system.”
UWS will open its second season of play in May, with NY Surf competing in its first match against the Western New York Flash at at Reinhart Field on the campus of SUNY Maritime in the Bronx Sunday, May 14.
“We are honored that Sky Blue FC has selected the NY Surf UWS program as one of its amateur reserve teams,” NY Surf founder and president Matt Popli said. “In order to ensure that our UWS team trains and plays at the highest level, we have assembled one of the finest coaching staffs in United Women’s Soccer.”
The Surf is directed by head coach Michele Canning, who will be joined by assistant coaches Selma Tarik, Jen Leaverton, Scott Waddell and goalkeeper coach Emily Morphitis.
Canning is also the head coach of the women’s soccer program at New York University, where she directed the Violets to their first appearance in the NCAA College Cup tournament in 2015. She spent six years as an assistant coach at St. John’s University. Canning played at Seton Hall University in South Orange, N.J.
New York Surf Soccer Club is a non-profit premier soccer club based in metro New York and operates as the East Coast affiliate of San Diego Surf.
Sky Blue FC will play its National Women’s Soccer League home opener when it hosts FC Kansas City at Yurcak Field on the campus of Rutgers University in Piscataway, N.J. Sunday at 6 p.m.
