The Rough Riders have been part of the Long Island soccer landscape since their inception in 1994. In 1995 both the Rough Riders Men’s and Women’s teams won their first United Soccer League (USL) National Championship. Since their initial success, the Rough Riders Men’s team has gone on to win the 2nd Division National Championship in 2002 while the Rough Riders Women’s team qualified for the Eastern Conference Finals in 2008. The Rough Riders are known for developing players including former US National Team members Chris Armas, Tony Meola, and MLS All Star Giovanni Savarese and Jimmy Rooney along with US Olympic Team Member and current Junior Rough Riders Coaching Director, John Diffley. More recently the Rough Riders helped jump start the careers of Mike Grella who is currently playing at Leeds United in England, Mike Palacio at FK Radnicki Obrenovac in Serbia, Gina DiMartino Philadelphia Independence in the Women’s Professional Soccer league and Sue Weber who has just returned to the Rough Riders after being drafted by the Boston Breakers in 2009. The Rough Riders are also comprised of a Junior Rough Riders program, featuring elite level players from 8 to 17 years of age. Junior Rough Riders teams compete in regional and national tournaments while teams from 13 to 17 years old participate in the Super Y-League (SYL), the youth component of the United Soccer Leagues (USL).
