Photo by Denae Brewer/Horizon
The Roughnecks soccer team finished in second place in their first season playing for the Housing Authority league.

In first season, kickers get to championship

By Tanya Heyward
Contributing writer

The Highbridge Gardens Roughnecks Soccer Team last month finished their first season as the neighborhood’s only city youth soccer league, making it all the way to the championship and making history for the community.

“It felt good because we really tried our hardest to get this far,” said Roughnecks fullback Joseph Baptiste of his team’s second place finish in the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) Bronx Borough Soccer League South Division.

The Roughnecks first came together last October under the leadership of Luis Poveda, once a midfielder for the New York Cosmos professional soccer team. Now the Bronx Soccer League commissioner and manager of the Highbridge Gardens Community Center on University Avenue, he recruited 15 9- to 12-year old residents of Highbridge Gardens to join the team. The roster included: Lindon Love, Giovanni Velasquez, Joseph Baptiste, Letrell McGill, Andy, William and David Matilda, Marvin Gallardo, Fredrick McClanny, Marquie Dawson, Harold Volquez, Christopher Machicote, Devon Kerr, Daniel Torres, and Glenn Givens Jr.

“In this development…there’s not that many kids that play soccer, that’s why it was my idea to implement this sport to these kids,” Poveda said.

None of Poveda’s recruits, including the team’s coach Antonio Little, had any experience playing soccer. They all underwent a four-week training camp in Macombs Park, and started out the season strong. They won 14 of their first 16 games.

With an exceptional record, the Roughnecks nervously anticipated winning a championship trophy for Highbridge. The final game of the NYCHA tournament against a mixed team of 13 to 15-year-olds from the Bronxdale, Sackwern and Soundview housing developments was tense: With the score tied 0-0, an interference play caused Roughnecks fullback Lindon Love to kick the ball into his own team’s goal—scoring for their opponents. Love later bashfully laughed off this incident as an honest mistake. “The goalie was coming to the ball and it hit my leg,” he said.

Reflecting on the tournament, Poveda said, “Seeing how they played throughout the tournament, they showed me that they are the real champions.”

And they are already looking ahead to next season. “Now that they had this experience, everybody knows what they have to do,” coach Little said.

While all of this year’s players are eligible to return in the fall, Poveda says he still plans to recruit new players. He is also looking to form an all-female soccer team, and is looking for sponsors.

Any 9 to 12 year olds interested in joining Highbridge Gardens Roughnecks Soccer Team should call Luis Poveda at 718-992-7797.