April 24, 2013-To play pro soccer, Allie Long has travelled a long and winding road from three cities on the East Coast to Paris and now to Portland.

The 25-year-old midfielder from East Northport played for the Long Island Fury of the Women’s Premier Soccer League summers when she was a college student, then played for the Washington Freedom in 2009 and 2010 plus Sky Blue FC in 2011 before Women’s Professional Soccer folded. With no pro league in the United States to play in, Allie went to France and competed for Paris Saint-Germain during the 2011-12 season, then for the New York Fury last summer.

The prospects for the new National Women’s Soccer League are brighter and Allie’s team, the Portland Thorns, have over 7,000 season ticket holders. Wearing the #10 shirt, Allie played in the NWSL’s inaugural game on April 13 at FC Kansas City which wound up as a 1-1 tie.

“I feel very blessed that I am able to play in the National Women’s Soccer League,” she stated. “I love the game and I hope to inspire and encourage young players to follow their dreams.”

She started playing soccer for the Northport/Cow Harbor Mustangs of the Long Island Junior Soccer League (LIJSL). She completed her youth career playing for the Oceanside Express and the Albertson Express of the LIJSL, winning four consecutive State Open Cup titles with the Express.

Paul Riley coached her on the Long Island Fury plus New York Fury and said, “Allie is one of the top midfield talents in the country. She won four State Open Cups at Albertson and her game has developed considerably since then.”

Allie used being a member of the Olympic Development Program of the Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association (ENYYSA) for five years and Region 1 ODP for four years as a springboard to representing the United States internationally with the U.S. Women’s National Team and Under-23 Team.

“Great vision, top level range of passing and a work ethic second to none,” Coach Riley added. “She has a million dollar ball and can unlock any defense. We are extremely proud of her career, I believe she deserves to play again with the full Women’s National Team and I hope to see her one day at the Women’s World Cup.”

At Northport High School, she played varsity soccer for four years and was honored as All-State three years and Newsday’s Player of the Year for two years. She played two years for Penn State, where her great uncle John Pinezich had once starred for the Nittany Lions, then transferred to the University of North Carolina and won the NCAA national championship her senior year.

“My favorite moment so far is probably winning a national championship with UNC but this is a new year and it will be the best yet,” she concluded.

With 123,843 youth soccer players––68,587 boys and 55,256 girls––and more than 25,000 volunteers, the non-profit Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association (ENYYSA) stretches from Montauk Point, Long Island to the Canadian border. Members are affiliated with 12 leagues throughout the association, which covers the entire state of New York east of Route 81. Eastern New York exists to promote and enhance the game of soccer for children and teenagers between the ages of 5 and 19 years old, and to encourage the healthy development of youth players, coaches, referees and administrators. All levels of soccer are offered––from intramural, travel team and premier players as well as Special Children. No child who wants to play soccer is turned away. Eastern New York is a proud member of the United States Soccer Federation and United States Youth Soccer Association. For more information, please log on to http://www.enysoccer.com/, which receives nearly 300,000 hits annually from the growing soccer community.