Kevin Maldonado of the HBC B05 Fire was crowned the champion of the Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association XBox Tournament.

Maldonado, who plays for a Long Island Junior Soccer League team, won all five of his matches, capturing the final on May 15.

Forty-four players took part in the competition as 63 games were played in the elimination tournament.

“Kevin is a very hard worker and someone that our team depends upon. He is very good working with another of his teammates and we call them the ‘twins’ because they are interchangeable, switching between center back and center midfield based on the flow of the game,” Fire coach Jim Neuberger said. “He is a great teammate and is a quiet leader on the team who sets the tone, especially when we are faced with a tough situation.

“Kevin can score, defend and be counted on to take a penalty kick when needed. It does not surprise me that he won this XBox competition as he is able to contain his emotions and just play. I wish that he would have told me that he won but that’s part of his low key personality!”

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.