Goalkeeper Billy Gatti

The Baldwin resident was raised in Pigue, Argentina.

His very impressive college résumé includes playing for Ulster Community
College in 1995, Concordia College in 1996 and Southern Connecticut State
University from 1997 to 1999. He was named All-American at both Concordia and Southern Connecticut.

Besides winning a national championship with Southern Connecticut in 1998, he won one as well with the 2002 Long Island Rough Riders, coached by Paul Riley, the Academy's coach.

"Billy is a first-class goalkeeper with superb reflexes, great feet,
fantastic organization skills and soft, talented, hands. He truly is the real deal and we are ecstatic to have him as the Academy's first-ever goalkeeper," commented Coach Riley, "He knows how to win and his experience will be invaluable when the heat gets turned up."

Billy describes his best moment ever on a soccer field was playing in a reserve match for Racing vs. Boca Juniors in front of 60,000 fans.