Local Soccer Enthusiasts Look to Compete in Iceland Tournament
The members of the Stateline Strikers team are raising funds to compete in a tournament in Iceland this November.
This November, the small team of soccer enthusiasts are aiming to compete in "Wurth Iceland," a six-on-six tournament that bills itself as "fun and football" and brings teams from around the world to the Land of Fire and Ice.
"I've actually been part of this adventure previously," Yessica Soriano of Lanesborough, Mass., said recently. "I played in the tournament six or seven years ago.
"It was lovely. I had never had the opportunity to travel internationally to play soccer until this came about. It was a great experience going there with other women who enjoyed playing the sport — not just women but soccer moms."
For about a year, Soriano has been enjoying the beautiful game with a different group of like-minded women who get together on Tuesdays and Thursdays as part of the Columbia County Women's Soccer League.
The group plays on Tuesdays at the Fieldhouse in Canaan and on Thursdays at Crellin Community Park in Chatham.
The league was founded in the summer of 2023 by Melanie Snyder, a resident of the eastern New York county who founded Tri-State Psychotherapy Group in Pittsfield, Mass.
"I started it as a way to have a community resource," Snyder said recently. "There was a men's league and a co-ed league but not a women's league. I put a Google form out there asking whether anyone would be interested in this, and there were a lot of responses. I'm pretty sure we have about 110 people on the Facebook group now.
"Once that came alive, I was excited."
Amy Tedesco is part of the CCWSL cohort, dubbed the Stateline Strikers, hoping to make the trek to Iceland later this year. She said the league Snyder started provides a needed outlet for players like herself.
"A good portion of us are working moms," said Tedesco, who moved to the Berkshires from Central Massachusetts. "It's tough to find time for ourselves to begin with. The whole work/home/life/self-care balance is difficult for people.
"It's tough, but I think there's a good core group of us who make it work when we get there."
And not everyone can get to every CCWSL session. Tedesco explained that while the league may have dozens of active members, on any given night, it might have a dozen or so on the field.
"It doesn't always work with kids and their sports schedules and stuff like that," Tedesco said. "This past Tuesday, we had 11.
"We have a committed number of people who can play the session and pay whatever it costs to rent the field for 10 weeks. Then we also have a drop-in fee."
The league's vibe is more fun and fitness than fierce competition, Snyder said.
"I've seen my sister, who played in college, lose complete interest in the sport because it's so hostile when it gets competitive," Snyder said. "That can take the joy out of it. I wish there was more space for sports that are truly recreational for fun. Competition adds a level of hostility that is hard to be around all the time.
"I've played for teams that I don't enjoy as much because the members are so competitive. They're there to win. I barely pay attention to the score. Some people [in the CCWSL] are competitive, but they're not annoying about it."
The Wurth tournament in Iceland, likewise, pitches itself as "The most fun tournament in Europe every year," on its Facebook page.
For a team like the Strikers, it may be as much about seeing the world as seeing who can score the most goals.
"The Iceland trip is a once in a lifetime opportunity," Tedesco said. I never anticipated my love for soccer would take me to Iceland to play people from all over the world."
The group is hoping to connect with sponsors who could help defray the cost of travel to Iceland and participation in the tournament. The Fieldhouse already is donating practice time in its facility. Bella Baby Photography is sponsoring the team's uniforms, where additional sponsors' logos will be displayed.
Ideally, the team hopes to raise enough money to allow players to take full advantage of the trip and see a little of the country before and after the competition.
"We did that last time," Soriano said, referring to her trip to Iceland with a different team. "We saw the Northern Lights. We saw some of the waterfalls they have. It was just beautiful.
"We're soccer moms. Most of us are. Even being away for that period of time from our kids is another commitment we're putting out, but not everyone has this opportunity. I feel it's awesome to have a group that's willing to make that commitment and be ready to go."
If you would like to sponsor the Stateline Strikers in their trip to Iceland for an international soccer tournament this fall, email the team at statelinestrikers@gmail.com.
Tags: soccer, tournament, women's soccer,
