For Great Neck South High School alumnus Newton Tsang, there was no other place to play college soccer than at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point.
“I loved everything about it,” said Tsang. “From the people to how nice the facilities are, I just saw it as the whole package.”
Tsang, an incoming freshman who will start at center-midfield on the soccer team, said he already has already set his eyes on helping his team win the Patriot League Conference – and more.
“We hope to win the conference and hopefully the NCAA tournament,” he said.
But, Tsang said, the challenge will get harder with every passing year.
“We have talented players coming into the league every year,” he said. “It will take everything we have to win the league.”
Tsang said he has “always wanted to play” soccer and began participating in youth leagues at five-years old.
But, he said, he didn’t start playing competitively until he joined Albertson Soccer Club, which is a part of the U.S. Soccer Development Academy.
“When I switched over [to Albertson], the level of play really picked up,” he said.
It was at Albertson where Tsang was noticed by Russell Payne, head coach of the Army’s soccer team.
“We’ve watched [Tsang] grow up in the past three years,” Payne said. “He wants to play at a high level.”
Payne, who is entering his fourth year as head coach, said he noticed Tsang’s ability to pass the ball and create chances for other players to score goals.
“He’s a very good passer,” he said. “We were able to see by watching him in Albertson that he has very strong technical attributes.”
Tsang’s soccer career also includes being named the captain of Great Neck South High School’s soccer team last year, and a member of the prep team at South Kent School in South Kent, Conn., which last year won the New England Preparatory School Athletic Council’s Class B New England Championship.
Tsang said that when his time at West Point is over, it will be the last competitive soccer team he plays on.
“I knew that physically, college would be the closest thing to semi-pro that I play in,” he said. “It would be a huge stress to balance out other aspects of my life with soccer.”
Tsang, like most graduates of West Point, will be commissioned into the United States Army as a second lieutenant after his graduation.
“So, I decided that college would be the last step in my [soccer] career,” he said.
Tsang said his only goal before hanging up his cleats is to win the Patriot League Conference, a goal that is shared by his coach.
“We want to be the best teams in the region,” Payne said. “Our goal is never short of that.”
