by Stephanie Plaut
Did you miss the party of the year Friday night at Playwright 35th? We hope not! Third Railers from New Jersey to Connecticut turned out in force to celebrate the end of our second season, and it was a blast.
The night started off with the presentation of the first annual Jolty Awards. Our Light Rail U21s were the night's presenters. Accepting the award for Player of the Season was David Villa. After thanking us for our support, he emphasized how much he loves playing soccer in NYC and how much he attributes his success to the hard work of his teammates. Our Unsung Hero winner was Andoni Iraola. He was gratified that we took the time to acknowledge his contributions on the field. Patrick Vieira seemed very happy, too, that Andoni got some love. He said the award perfectly reflects Andoni's selfless behavior on and off the field. Defender of the Season Ronald Matarrita was unable to join us because he was called up to the Costa Rica National Team. Third Railers got an extra treat when RJ Allen showed up as well to mingle with the crowd, sign autographs and take pics. You can imagine the shocked looks of the patrons at Playwright when they saw who we had been partying with upstairs, behind the velvet rope.
Festivities continued even as the USMNT took on Mexico. A fierce FIFA 17 tournament raged on with players wrapped up enough to miss the actual USA goal in the hex. Rox handed out NYCFC swag and we had intense competition during half time with a NYCFC trivia contest, questions by last winner, Kate Reilly. Sean Proctor took home the night's grand prize of a 2015 secondary jersey signed by the entire team. Congratulations, Sean! (New TR tradition born: trivia contest winner provides the questions for the next contest.)
Cupcakes with blue and orange frosting helped to offset the USMNT loss, Mumsi Harrison was her usual charming self and Third Railers partied into the night, happy to celebrate a pretty successful second season on the pitch and in the stands.
Check out some photos below. Photos here courtesy of Cathy Logo (IG: catuxa) For more visit our facebook page:
