Team Grassroot Soccer after winning the NYFEST Cup. Front row (l to r): Mark Consuelos, Alex Elias, Nick Colacchio, Andrew Germansky, Dave Larocca, Kellan Florio / Back row (l to r): Jimmy Conrad, Scott Schachter, Taylor Downs , Brian Bush, Eban Howell
For the second consecutive year, a team fielded by Grassroot Soccer emerged with the win at the annual NYFEST. NYFEST (which stands for New York Film and Entertainment Soccer Tournament) was designed to mesh the worlds of entertainment, soccer, and New York City in conjunction with the Tribeca Film Festival. The all-day event took place Saturday, April 21st at Pier 40 in Manhattan, and consisted of an industry tournament, a youth showcase, and a celebrity soccer match.
Former US National Team player Jimmy Conrad and Actor Mark Consuelos played on Team GRS and also in the celebrity match.
In the 5-a-side industry tournament, Grassroot Soccer beat out 23 other teams to claim the title. After winning the semifinal 5-3, they won the final decisively over Kicking and Screening. The industry quarterfinals, semis, and finals were played just after the celebrity match. Participants in the celebrity match included former U.S. National Team soccer players Claudio Reyna, Eddie Lewis, Jimmy Conrad (who also played on Team GRS), Jeff Agoos and Tony Sanneh, Detroit Lions’ Ndamukong Suh, former Bayern Munich goalkeeper Bobby DeKeyser, actors Alessandro Nivola, Isaach de Bankole, Devon Gummersall and Marc Consuelos (who also played on on Team GRS), and Icelandic film director Frikrik Thor Fridricksson. In addition to Conrad and Consuelos, the GRS squad included former interns Nick Colacchio, Taylor Down, Alex Elias, and David LaRocca, former volunteer Eban Howell, as well as current supporters Brian Bush and Andrew Germansky. Bush was named tournament MVP. Former GRS intern Kellan Florio and GRS co-founder Ethan Zohn organized the team and provided support.
The event raised over $30,000 for underserved youth in the New York City region.
For more information about NYFEST, click here.
Team GRS players in yellow (from left) Nick Colacchio, Jimmy Conrad and Alex Elias in action while GRS teammates look on (Photo courtesy Pierre Auguste)
GRS player Taylor Downs (in yellow) confuses the competition with a bicycle kick maneuver (Photo courtesy Pierre Auguste)