BROOKLYN , NY --- The Long Island Rough Riders defeated the Brooklyn Knights 1-0 on an 83^rd minute penalty kick by Rough Rider Tadeu Terra. Terra tied the team in goals with four on the season and tied with team lead in point with 12. 

In the first half both teams returned to the locker room after 45 minutes scoreless and only credited shots were taken Knights captain Jeff Matteo and Rough Rider Dan Kramer.  Brooklyn had two corner kicks and both easily missed the net; a shot from Tarik Smith missed the lower right post by inches and the other was a shot by Matteo.

In the second half the lone goal was scored by Terra, after a foul was called by the referee inside the box granting Long Island the penalty shot.  Moments after the penalty shot Knights coach Joe Balsamo was ejected when knight striker Tarik Smith was taken down inside the box and no call was made.

In the net Long Island Goalie Hasely Thorne Holder made 9 saves in the shut-out. Brooklyn Goalie Chris Antonino made 8 saves in his first home loss of the season

The Brooklyn Knights maintained its four-point lead in the Northeast Division by recording a 4-0 victory over the host New Jersey Rangers in a Premier Development League Saturday night.

Hemir Niebles scored one goal and set up another for the Knights (6-1-2, 20 points), who lead the Westchester Flames (5-2-1, 16). The expansion Rangers (four) fell to 1-8-1.

 At the next knights home game Saturday June 14th 7:30 pm at Aviator Field , Brooklyn, NY .

The Brooklyn Knights  will Honor Brooklyn Born Paul Malignaggi IBF Jr. Welterweight World Champion with the game kick off ceremony

Paul Malignaggi  was born in Brooklyn, New York, but moved to Syracuse, Sicily in Italy, and then to Palazzolo Acreide, Sicily when he was a few months old and lived there until he was six years of age.

When his family moved back to the United States, Malignaggi only spoke Italian and Sicilian, but picked up the English language quickly.

His father left and his mother soon remarried. When he was 16, Malignaggi was thrown out of high school. He was living with his maternal grandparents at the time, and his grandfather Umberto Vinci and his uncle Dario Vinci took him to a boxing gym to see if it would keep Paulie out of trouble.

"I ended up loving the gym and have been there ever since." Malignaggi said. "I still remember my first day there. It was June 26, 1997. I remember training with my old trainer, Willie Badillo. He was teaching me a jab and right hand in front of the mirror, but throwing them really slowly to get the form down correctly. I started with a good foundation. I wrapped my hands and thought it looked so cool."

www.bigapplesoccer.com

Ocean City, N.J. -- Thve Brooklyn Knights still have won only once at Carey Stadium in the five years they have played here, but they did manage to come away away with a point in a tie with the Ocean City Barons Saturday night.

The Knights and Barons played to a 1-1 draw in a Premier Development game.

Brooklyn (5-1-2, 17 points), which is 1-6-2 at Carey, remained in first place in the Northeast Division. The Barons (3-0-4, 13) stayed unbeaten

After Barons defender Tyler Bellamy was sent off in the 38th minute for pulling down Tarik Smith from behind in the penalty area, Jeff Matteo converted a penalty kick in the 38th minute, his fifth goal of the season.

Five minutes later, the Knights returned the favor, clipping Brad Franks just inside the right side of the box, giving Ocean City a spot kick of their own. Defender John Fletcher tied the game with his second goal this season.

The Knights' next game is out of the league -- as they visit the Carolina RailHawks in a Lamar Hunt/U.S. Open Cup first-round match Tuesday night.

by Gary Tim

Brooklyn, NY (June 4^th, 2008) - For the third time, the rain gods came out to boogie on the day of a Brooklyn Knights’ home game.  And, for the third time, their divine dance characterized the celebration of a win by the homesters.

But it was no waltz in the park on a wet and dicey Aviator Field turf. The Knights had to segue deep into their reserves to sashay a 2-0 shutout in their soggy soccer salsa with the Newark IronBound Express on Wednesday, June 4^th.

From the opening whistle, the test on the teams’ technical skills in controlling the slippery ball was evident. A misjudged tackle by the Knights in the 2^nd minute gave the Express’ a threatening free-kick on the fringes of the box. The kick by Teddy Niziolek, who came in on the back of a hattrick against the Ottawa Fury four days before, was overshot high and wide of the mark.

Manchester, N.H. -- A draw turned into a major victory for the Brooklyn Knight Sunday.

The Knights clinched a berth in the Lamar Hunt/U.S. Open Cup with a 1-1 tie with the New Hampshire Phantoms in a Premier Development Legaue encounter at Manchester Memorial High School.

Gaolie Chris Antonino savors USL Team of the Week selection

by Gary Tim

Chris Antonino’s first momentous honor in his competitive career has him agog with gratitude, but the Brooklyn Knights’ goalie wants to use his USL-PDL Team-of-the-Week award to steer his team’s drive to the 2008 crown.

Antonino joins ten other players from the country-wide, 67-team league on the Week-4 honor roll that was named on May 14. He got the nod for his stifling saves in his team’s 1-nil season opener at home to Westchester Flames in rainy weather on May 9. The Knights’ starting goalie had 10 saves to prop the shut-out, including back-to-back close quarter ‘put-aways’ late in the game.

Brooklyn, NY (May 5, 2008) -- The Brooklyn Knights has today announced the provision of audio broadcast, via the internet, of its home games in the 2008 USL-PDL regular season. The first official relay will be on Friday May 9^th, with a launch just before the Knights’ regular season opener against Westchester Flames

by Gary Tim   

Brooklyn, NY (May, 13, 2008) -- The Long Island Rough Riders rode into town high on their two game, four point joint Division leading stats, and got a jolting dismount from the Brooklyn Knights who pulled them back to earth by 3 goals to 1 in a bruising battle on Tuesday, May 13^th. The two Eastern Conference - Northeast Division powerhouses locked sabers on a dry, but cool night at the Avaitor Field in the eagerly anticipated rivalry.

Brooklyn, N.Y. -- The Brooklyn Knights grabbed a 2-0 lead in the first half and never looked back as they went   on  to register a 3-1 win over the Long Island Rough Riders in a Premier Development League game at Aviator Field Tuesday night.The victory, which also counted toward Lamar Hunt/U.S. Open Cup qualifying, boosted the Knights to 2-0 while the Rough Riders dropped to 1-1.

TWICE AS NICE
Knights win opener, Open Cup qualifier

Brooklyn, N.Y. -- In the Premier Development League, it’s never too early to play a critical match and that was the case for both the Brooklyn Knights and the Westchester Flames when they took to the rain-soaked turf at Aviator Complex Friday night.
Photo by Linda Cuttone/SportsVue Images

The rain gods came to Brooklyn for an all-day stay on Friday, May 9^th. And, the Westchester Flames also paid a visit for their 2008 PDL match-up against the Brooklyn Knights.

In the end, it seemed like the Knights used the conditions brought by the unsolicited all-day visit to drench the blaze of their latter guest, dousing them with a 1 goal to nil triumph on a sodden Aviator Field. 

Consuming your own gourmet setting is, often times, sweet and satisfying.  And, so it was for a select Brooklyn Knights squad that bit into a sugar-coated mini triangular tourney it hosted on Friday, May 2^nd, and won without any hiccups for its ‘goalie’.

Like expert chefs, the Brooklyn Knights are cooking-up their strategy for the imminent 2008 USL Premiere Development League (PDL) soccer season, and have spiced that up with two pre-season engagements that will ensure the club adds the perfect ingredients to their high performance pot.

By Gary H. Tim

 The 2008 PDL season of the United Soccer Leagues is within sight. And, with eyes focused on the championship crown, the Brooklyn Knights have officially announced the initial signing of thirteen (13) players to make up its ‘firing squad’.

Like the other 66 teams in this year’s expanded league, the Brooklyn-based franchise is aiming for the ultimate prize, and the preliminary list is geared to trigger its shot at the target.

After his team sipped from the PDL’s Eastern Conference champion’s ‘cup’ last year, Brooklyn Knights’ stalwart midfielder Matia Damiani (MAH-tee-uh DAHM-ee-ahn-ee) is thirsty for the taste of overall national glory.  He is optimistic that the Knights’ preparations, so far this year, are on tap to realize “an even better season” that will be an eruption of pride for its fans and the wider boro of Brooklyn.

Thursday, March 20^th, 2008

 Coming off of their terrific run last season, the Brooklyn Knights are leaving no stone unturned in their quest to drink from the champions’ cup in the 2008 USL Premiere Development League (PDL).  And, already a glut of ballweavers are hoping to impress the coaching staff to be on the 2007 Eastern Conference – Northeast Division champions’ final squad.