June 16, 2002
Greeks
United:
Local
Soccer Team Finds Success
Through a
Grecian Formula
Half a world away and more than enough time zones
ahead, the World Cup is taking place in South Korea and Japan keeping
millions of soccer fans glued to their televisions all this month.
Closer to home, in Fairfax, VA, a local club team, Greeks United,
is taking the field on Sunday mornings, providing fans with an
opportunity to see a group of local Greeks coming together to take on
the twelve other teams in the second division of the Northern Virginia
Soccer League.
We were tipped off to this team after being
contacted by a few of its members. Greeks
United boasts a 19-man roster of local Greek-American players, mostly from
Northern Virginia, who have competed in top club leagues, Division I NCAA,
and even at the professional level. They're
currently near the top of the table in their league. Two players,
Tasos Vatikiotis and Mike Papadopoulos, are ranked among the
league's top scorers with Vatikiotis being listed in the Top 100 scorers
across the Hotstat Soccer Network's affiliation of leagues. |
Photo courtesy of Greeks United.
|
Greeks United recently launched a website
for fans of the team to keep up with team.
On the site, fans find the team's roster, stats and schedules and
pictures. The team has two
regular season games left on Sunday, June 16th and Sunday June 23rd, both
at 9:00 A.M. at Grist Mill field in
Mt. Vernon, VA. So
if you have a chance this Sunday morning or next, take a short drive and
cheer on a team of your fellow Greek-Americans in their quest for the
league championship. |
Read
past feature articles.