The Garden City Warriors will compete at the Region I tournament. (Photo courtesy of ENYYSA)

For Garden City Warriors coaches Chris Thompson and Joe Esposito, it was déjà vu all over again.

The Warriors team they coach in the Long Island Junior Soccer League shut out the Manhattan Kickers of the Cosmopolitan Junior Soccer League, 5-0, to win the Boys Under-12 State Open Cup in Stringham Park in LaGrange, N.Y. June 2.

Thompson won the State Open Cup as a Boys U-12 player with the Garden City Colts in 1978 and Esposito also earned it as a Boys U-12 player with the Garden City Cougars in 1982.

“Our sons are Travis Thompson and Tommy Esposito and we hope they will be able to continue the tradition,” Thompson said

In the 2018 final, Travis Thompson and Peter DeBusschere (grandson of NBA legend Dave DeBusschere) scored two goals apiece and Andrew Fuoco added one.

Goalkeeper Danny Psaki recorded the shutout.

Garden City will represent the Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association at the Region I tournament in Spotsylvania, Va. June 29 to July 3 as part of the National Championship Series.

Manhattan received the Rocco Amoroso Sportsmanship Award, as determined by the game officials. Amoroso, a U.S. Soccer Life Member who died in 2016, started the LIJSL Sportsmanship Program in 1980. The program 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.