Photos: Cos Lymperopoulos
A Night to Remember
New Jersey Youth Soccer recently hosted its 2025 NJYS Awards Dinner Presented by RWJBarnabas Health, where players, coaches and members of the soccer community attended the annual celebration at the Pines Manor in Edison, New Jersey. This year’s event saw a record-setting audience of more than 1,000 attendees.
“As NJ Youth Soccer offers a full line-up of competitive, recreation and inclusive programs for kids of all ages and levels, RWJBarnabas Health is delighted to serve as a longstanding partner,” said Justin Edelman, Senior Vice President, Corporate Partnerships, RWJBarnabas Health. “The Awards Dinner continues to be a highlight of the soccer calendar, and it is inspiring to see NJYS recognize so many individuals who make a meaningful impact in communities across the state.”
Distinguished Guests and Featured Speakers
Along with hundreds of players, parents, award recipients and scholarship winners, a number of VIPs and special guests were also in attendance to celebrate the evening. Jess Yeager (President of NJ Youth Soccer), Skip Gilbert (CEO of US Youth Soccer) and Alecko Eskandarian (MLS Vice President, Player Relations and Player Development) delivered the opening remarks. Other distinguished guests in attendance included Tab Ramos, National Soccer Hall of Fame and NJYS Hall of Fame Member; Dr. Jason Krystofiak, RWJBarnabas Health Medical Director for Sports Medicine and Rutgers Athletics Team Physician; John Gallucci, CEO of JAG Physical Therapy; Dave Jervis, Senior Director of Youth Programs & Academy Business Operations for the New York Red Bulls; Nan Vogel, former Senior Vice President of Partnerships, Game Day Experience & Community/Social Impact for Gotham FC; Tony Meola, National Soccer Hall of Fame and NJYS Hall of Fame Member; as well as John Harkes, National Soccer Hall of Fame and NJYS Hall of Fame Member.
“This is where we all started, at events like this,” said Meola. “We have always had an affinity for New Jersey and the players who come out of here for obvious reasons. Truth be told, we have developed so many great players over the years, whether it has been college players, youth national team players, full national team players. There is something about the love of the game in this state that other states could only wish that they had.”
Jenna Lemoncelli, the event emcee, also helped to give the crowd an unforgettable evening. A sports and entertainment reporter at the New York Post, Lemoncelli also works as an in-game host for local professional sports teams including the New York Red Bulls, New Jersey Devils and previously the New York Sirens.
NJYS Hall of Fame Honors and Award Winner Tributes
To cap off the evening, Steve Shilling was inducted to the NJYS Hall of Fame. He was joined on stage by close friends, colleagues and fellow NJYS Hall of Fame inductees including Tab Ramos, John Harkes, Tony Meola, Glenn Crooks, Barry Towbin and Kevin Dearman. A special video tribute was created and shared with the crowd as well.
The award winners were also honored with video tributes from notable figures in the soccer community, such as John Harkes; Lauren LaRusso, Co-Chair of the NY/NJ World Cup Host Committee; Sasha Kliesjtan and Bradley Wright Phillips of the whip-around show, MLS 360; Eric LeGrand, New Jersey Hall of Fame member and recipient of many accolades such as The Jimmy V Award; Ash Hammond, CEO of the International Federation for Cerebral Palsy Football and Director of Training for Cerebral Palsy Soccer; Cindy Cone, FIFA World Cup champion and US Soccer President; and Kari Seitz, Vice President of Refereeing at US Soccer.
NJ Youth Soccer also revealed its Goal of the Year Powered by the New York Red Bulls and Save of the Year Powered by Gotham FC. Each of the winners will be invited to a home match at Sports Illustrated Stadium this season where their goal and save videos will be displayed on the arena video board.
“I started being involved in this event 10 years ago, 300 people, a really great event. But here we are now with a capacity crowd of a thousand-plus, and we have to thank RWJBarnabas Health for playing a key role in this event’s growth,” said Evan Dabby, CEO of NJ Youth Soccer. “They got involved several years ago and really helped support us at all levels. This night is just a unique youth experience, and it would not be possible without our partners.”
A Celebration of Champions
Throughout the evening, more than 20 NJYS State Cups Champions, including US Youth Soccer Regional and National Champions, were honored. The Football Academy Black 13U Boys was recognized for their many remarkable achievements. They have won four consecutive State Cup Championships, and they are two-time USYS Eastern Regional Champions who became first-time National Champions last year. Cedar Stars Academy North 19U Boys was also noted for their claim for the oldest trophy in all of youth sports, The McGuire Cup. Each team was recognized with a team parade and photos on stage in front of the crowd, as well as being featured in their own personal Red Carpet Interview.
“Tonight is my first time coming to this event, I am blown away,” said Nan Vogel of Gotham FC on an in-house recording of Greetings From The Garden State Podcast. “The level of energy, how excited the kids are, all the different costumes and outfits and sunglasses, it’s so great to see how much fun they’re having and that they’re all celebrating each other.”
The podcast where Vogel was featured, Greetings From The Garden State, is led by host Mike Ham and was recording throughout the event. The show gave the award-winning players and legendary figures in attendance an opportunity to speak on the evolution of youth soccer in New Jersey.
Red Carpet Interviews
Renee Washington, Sidra Khan, Matthew Olaya and Sydney Rettino led the interview festivities on the Red Carpet during the NJYS Awards Dinner Presented by RWJBarnabas Health. Washington is a former New Jersey ODP player, three-time All American and Soccer Hall of Famer at LaSalle University, and currently co-host of FOS Today, the daily studio flagship show at Front Office Sports in New York. Sidra Khan is a social media and digital content creator for the NBA as well as a Rutgers University graduate student. Matthew Olaya and Sydney Rettino are student journalists from Youth Media Forward, an initiative of the Centre for Sport and Human Rights that works with teenage journalists from FIFA World Cup 2026 host cities, including New York/New Jersey.
Exclusive ODP Meet-And-Greet
The New Jersey Olympic Development Program (ODP) was represented by USYS ODP Interregional players in attendance. These players and parents were treated to a special Meet and Greet with former New Jersey ODP and U.S. Men’s National Team player Alecko Eskandarian, who highlighted meaningful takeaways with respect to his development as a player from youth to professional levels. Eskandarian further emphasized the importance of taking accountability and responsibility for one’s own development and performance as players strive toward reaching their full potential. Following an official announcement being released earlier in the week, there was also a special opportunity to celebrate and recognize Madelyn Conklin and Stevie Ornsby on their selections to the USYS ODP National Team.
Social Media Giveaways and Partner Activation
Players also had the opportunity to win giveaways from many NJYS partners and donors as part of a social media campaign during the event. Attendees posted their best photos and videos from the night on social media for a chance to go home with a free gift from RWJBarnabas Health, New York Red Bulls, JAG Physical Therapy, SCORE, Gotham FC, Crystal Springs Resort, Major League Soccer and US Soccer.
A Team Effort Behind the Scenes
The 2025 NJYS Awards Dinner presented by RWJBarnabas Health was made possible due to the tremendous hard work and enthusiasm from a team of more than 30 NJYS staff, volunteers and student mentors. Their collective effort created an unforgettable night for all attendees.
To find out more about New Jersey Youth Soccer or to contact us directly, please email communications@njyouthsoccer.com. Also make sure to follow us on social media: @NJYouthSoccer