Home Grown Roosevelt Island Players Competing In The Zum Schneider FC '03 Soccer Derby For Gotham Soccer League Division 1 Title At Octagon Field Thursday Night June 16 - Come Out And Watch The Exciting Action

Roosevelt Island resident and Soccer Player Andrew Giacalone reports:

The 2016 Zum Schneider FC '03 Roosevelt Island Derby is Here!

Two of Roosevelt Island's winningest soccer teams will meet in a head-to-head clash on Roosevelt Island this week as they battle it out for the Gotham Soccer League Division 1 title in what will be the Island's first-ever soccer derby.

The two teams - Zum Schneider Blau and Zum Schneider Gelb - are satellite squads of the larger Zum Schneider FC '03 - a club whose spiritual home is at the Zum Schneider beer hall in the East Village but which has found numerous enthusiastic players and supporters among Roosevelt Island soccer aficionados.

Led by Roosevelt Island resident Robert Manukyan, Zum Schneider Blau is fresh off a successful season in the semi-professional Cosmopolitan Soccer League winning both promotion to the League's First Division and the League Cup - a historic double for any Roosevelt Island soccer team. I manage the Gelb Team which recently competed in its fourth Gotham Soccer League final.

This is a unique event for Roosevelt Island. I've lived on Roosevelt Island since 1989 and won a State Cup with the Roosevelt Island Strikers, but never has the Island produced so much home-grown talent and never would I have thought that two Island teams would be playing against each other in a competitive New York league.

Mr. Manukyan, who played his college soccer at Vassar, also praised the Island's development of talented players and voiced hope that the club would receive greater support and more enthusiasm from Island residents and businesses. To this day, only the Roosevelt Island Cleaners have offered any material support, washing, drying and folding the teams' home and away kits week in and week out.

“We obviously want to build a local and loyal fan-base and develop a soccer architecture here on the island under the Zum Schneider brand for generations to come,” confirmed Mr. Manukyan. "As a result, we're also actively recruiting and would love to welcome more Roosevelt Islanders into Zum Schneider FC '03 to play in one of our many teams."

The 2016 Zum Schneider FC '03 Roosevelt Island Derby kicks off at 9:00 PM on Thursday, June 16 at the Octagon Field.

Come out and watch some high-level soccer, follow us on Facebook and join the Zum Schneider Roosevelt Island Football Club family!