HRT - Hormone Replacement Therapy in Zarephath, NJ

See below for a look at some of the most popular youth soccer tournaments taking place over Memorial Day weekend throughout New Jersey, New York and Connecticut.

+Read: FC DELCO Players Cup set for 17th edition over Memorial Day weekend

Avon Memorial Day Tournament Attending Teams | Schedule / Results May 28-29 Avon, CT

Boys and girls teams from the U-9 through U-14 age groups will play in the 28th Annual Avon Memorial Day Tournament this weekend in Connecticut. The tournament field includes 88 teams representing clubs from New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Vermont and the host state.

Brick Memorial Day Soccer Tournament Attending Teams | Schedule / Results May 28-29 Jersey Shore, Brick, NJ

Brick Soccer Club will play host to 71 teams making the short trip from their neighboring New Jersey clubs in addition to several New York sides in a two-day event held at Drum Point and Pinewood Park. The tournament includes U-8 through U-15 competition, with each team playing a minimum of three games over the course of the weekend.

Cougar Soccer Club Memorial Day Tournament Attending Teams | Schedule / Results May 28-29 Maplewood, NJ

Entering its 35th year of play, the Cougar SC Memorial Day Tournament will feature 83 U-8 through U-14 teams playing at multiple venues around Maplewood and South Orange, NJ. Clubs from around New Jersey and New York will be sending teams to the event which has provided convenient access to local since the early 1980s.

+Read: Potomac Memorial Tournament set to kick off 37th edition

East Fishkill Memorial Day Tournament Attending Teams | Schedule / Results May 28-29 East Fishkill, NY

Closing in on four full decades of hosting Memorial Day competition, East Fishkill Soccer Club continues this weekend with the 37th running of its annual tournament. Nearly 150 teams will take part in the event, hailing from throughout Eastern New York, as well as New Jersey, Connecticut and Pennsylvania.

PDA Girls Showcase / ECNL NJ Showcase Attending Teams | Schedule / Results | College Coaches May 28-30 Zarephath, NJ

In one of the most highly anticipated college showcase events of the year, PDA and the ECNL combine to host premier level girls teams from all over the country. The tournament pairs some of the best ECNL match-ups of the season with the nation’s top non-ECNL squads, providing college coaches with a central destination to watch many of the most coveted recruits.

EDP Cup (U11-U14 Weekend) Attending Teams | Schedule / Results May 28-30 Hammonton, NJ

An eclectic group of teams from New York, Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, Delaware, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Vermont, Canada and the host state of New Jersey will participate in the EDP Cup U-11 through U-14 weekend. Age groups will be as many as nine divisions deep, providing each attending team with evenly-matched opponents.

EDP Memorial Day Classic Attending Teams | Schedule / Results | College Coaches May 28-30 Lakehurst, NJ

More than 260 teams are set to participate in the EDP Memorial Day Classic, another New Jersey-based event which will generate a significant amount of interest from college coaches in the showcase age groups. In addition to drawing talented teams from up and down the East Coast in the older divisions, younger divisions competing in small-sided play will feature as many as four flights per age group.

Manalapan Memorial Day Tournament Attending Teams | Schedule / Results May 27-29 Manalapan, NJ

One of the largest tournaments in the country on the holiday weekend, the 2016 Manalapan Memorial Day Tournament will feature 400 teams representing clubs from New York, Pennsylvania and an overwhelming majority from the host state of New Jersey. The event is one of the most popular in the younger age groups, going as many as four flights deep in the U-9 through U-13 divisions.

Massapequa SC Lincoln Page Tournament Attending Teams | Schedule / Results May 27-29 Massapequa, NY

Massapequa SC, which hosts several high level tournaments throughout the year, continues its Memorial Day tradition with the Lincoln Page Tournament. A total of 273 teams almost exclusively from Eastern New York are set to participate in the 2016 event, which has as many as four flights per age group in the younger divisions.

Oakwood Premier Invitational (OPI) Attending Teams | Schedule / Results | College Coaches May 27-30 Glastonbury, CT

Entering its 25th year of play, the Oakwood Premier Invitational is an annual destination for many of the top teams from throughout the Tri-State area and New England. Teams from around the host state of Connecticut, as well as Maine, Massachusetts, New York, New Hampshire and Vermont make up the 130-team field for the 2016 event, which combines college showcase action with excellent competition for the younger age groups.

Scarsdale Memorial Day Tournament Attending Teams | Schedule / Results May 28 Scarsdale, NY

The 16th edition of the Scarsdale Memorial Day Tournament is coming up this weekend on Saturday, May 28. The successful one-day event will host more than 175 teams ranging from the U-8 to U-14 age groups. The tournament field is predominantly local sides from around Eastern New York, in addition to others from New Jersey and Connecticut.

Voorhees Memorial Day Classic Attending Teams | Schedule / Results May 27-39 Voorhees, NJ

A total of 137 teams are set to compete in the Voorhees Memorial Day Classic, each playing a minimum of four games over the course of the weekend. The tournament field includes a wide range of New Jersey sides, in addition to others from New York, Pennsylvania, Maryland and Delaware. It is a boys and girls event with age groups spanning from U-8 to U-19.

It’s time yet again for the conversation always threatening to break out of any discussion of American soccer: branding.

In recent weeks, rumblings have emerged that Sky Blue FC has been toying with the idea of an overhaul of the team’s look. If rumors are to be believed, the most important aspect of such a rebrand would be an assertive change to the club’s current name, one that currently remains (perhaps intentionally) ambiguous about the location the team represents.

It’s not a story that is without precedent. Anyone who follows local soccer in the Tri-State remembers when Red Bull GmbH acquired the New York/New Jersey Metrostars and changed, along with the club’s nickname, the location-inclusive New York/New Jersey geographic tag to the current “New York” prefix.

It’s likely that the marketing evidence will tell Sky Blue to follow the Red Bull path. It certainly should be easier to brand a team with a definite location, especially when that location is the most recognizable city in America. New York represents a branding dream - millions of potential residents to woo with a slick new design, dozens of unique geographic features and historical references to work into a new name or logo, and several major teams in more popular American sports to partner with to increase exposure.

But despite all those perks, perhaps the team is choosing the wrong Hudson River state with their rumored rebranding. Taking a leaf out of the book of their fellow tenants at Red Bull Arena by following the Red Bull route would disregard something far less tangible but just as important- the team’s identity. It’s unquestionable that, official branding or not, Sky Blue have always been New Jersey’s team. 25% of the club’s current active roster are natives of the Garden State. The college most heavily represented on the roster’s alumnus list is Rutgers. Sky Blue’s all time leader in appearances and longest-serving captain, Christie Pierce, was a Jersey Shore native and a Monmouth University graduate. Three of the club’s four owners are New Jerseyans - most notably current New Jersey governor Phil Murphy and first lady Tammy Murphy.

And it’s worth pointing out that rebranding to a proper “New York” team isn’t an assurance of better marketing results either. As pointed out by Tutul Rahman in this thread, there is tremendous upside to be found in focusing a team’s brand on New Jersey, rather than discarding it. Many of the points regarding attendance and attracting new fans ring especially true when one factors in the fact that women’s soccer as a sport has roots that run deeper in New Jersey than any other state but perhaps California. Some of the game’s most prominent stars through the years have grown up playing in New Jersey (with Tobin Heath being the current example). That history and culture of women’s soccer in the state runs deeper than just the pro game as well. Rutgers is a staple contender in the Big Ten. Several of the academy teams in the state consistently compete for (and have won) national titles at the youth level. These youth clubs have developed clear ties to Sky Blue as well, with current players Kenie Wright and Sabrina Flores both alums of Player Development Academy, a non-profit club based out of Zarephath.

Spurning the club’s home state for the sake of attaching New York to the name would attract more eyeballs on paper due to the raw population difference, but would abandon a much deeper pool of what is presumably a key demographic for the club: young girls interested in soccer. If Sky Blue does decide to rebrand, and does choose to go all in on the New York branding, it wouldn’t be a bad choice at all. They’ll be opening crucial doors to a massive potential market to grow the game.

But it would turn the club’s back away from its identity, past and present, that has always been clear both on the field and in the stands. The club has reached an intriguing crossroads - should they consolidate and embrace their existing passionate support that remains largely based in New Jersey, or do they turn to the greener grass of the big city on the other side the Hudson? There are valid arguments for both sides, but for myself and many other New Jerseyans, Sky Blue will always be our team.

More From Once A Metro

With its foundation firmly rooted in Christianity, Pillar College strives to educate, inspire and equip students with the tools and faith required to lead fulfilling lives of service and leadership while, and after, earning a degree.

Kelvin Thomas, chief communication officer at Pillar College, explains that what separates the school, which maintains campuses in Newark, Paterson and Somerset, from the other institutions of higher learning in the Garden State is its status as the only accredited Evangelical Christian College in New Jersey.

"We uniquely offer a safe and healthy Christ-centered learning environment while maintaining the highest level of accreditation," he said.

A Century-Old Tradition

For more than a century, the school has prepared its students to serve in multiple occupations within Christian ministry organizations and beyond.

Founded in 1908 as a training school for missionaries, preachers and teachers, the school was originally known as Zarephath Bible Institute. In 2001, the school changed its name to Somerset Christian College when the New Jersey Commission on Higher Education approved its license to grant the two-year Associate in Biblical Studies degree. Shortly after, in 2006, the college was permitted to offer four-year Bachelor of Arts degrees. When Hurricane Irene destroyed the campus in 2011, the institution moved its headquarters to Newark, and, later, changed its name to Pillar College in 2012.

Bachelor of Arts degrees can be obtained in the following fields: Business Administration and Management, Psychology and Counseling, Biblical Studies, Intercultural Communication and Elementary Education.

"While our Psychology and Counseling major is our most popular, based on student enrollment, all programs are unique because of the Christ-centered environment we offer," Thomas notes. "As a college, rooted in Christian faith and love, we believe that spirituality is not peripheral to intellectual growth, but is a foundational aspect of our curricula and essentially contributes to the holistic development of our students."

Endeavoring to accommodate as many students as possible, Pillar features innovative programs for bilingual students as well as ones that serve working parents who wish to earn accelerated degrees. Depending on the area of study, online classes are available as well.

Thinking of the Future

Once it's time to spread their wings in the "real world," students find they have ready advocates among Pillar's administration.

"Pillar College offers an extensive Career Services department, providing advisement to our student body, which includes the resources necessary for assessing strengths, identifying interests, developing career plans, identifying graduate schools, and finding full- time employment," Thomas said. "Moreover, Pillar is pleased to provide resources, support and encouragement as students make decisions about their future direction and professional lives."

While Pillar College operates on a rolling admissions basis, prospective students should return their completed admission packets 15 days prior to the beginning of each term. Financial aid, grants and scholarships are available for qualifying students. The Office of Admissions is open Monday through Thursday from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m., Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and by appointment after-hours and Saturday.

For more information, visit Pillar College's website, or call (800) 234-9305.

-- Elizabeth Alterman

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NEWARK — Ribbons and fanfare won't grace the storied grounds of Military Park for another month, but the fences that have kept out passersby started coming down last week.

The developers call it a soft opening. And if not for an unexpectedly harsh winter, the nearly 350-year-old park would have opened in late April.

For the past four years the park has been in the hands of developer Dan Biederman, whose résumé includes Manhattan's Bryant Park and Herald Square and Philadelphia's Rittenhouse Square. Now the 6-acre plot at the heart of Newark that endured wars, riots and blight has reached the end of its $3 million face-lift. If Biederman's past projects are any indication, Military Park's revival could have a dramatic impact on real estate values surrounding the space.

There's already plenty of activity surrounding the park. In November construction crews worked back-to-back shifts to start building Prudential's 20-story, $144 million office tower before the bitter cold arrived. Whole Foods announced plans to open an outlet in the old Hahne and Company department store, which sits opposite the park along Broad Street.

This past week Pillar College, formerly known as Somerset Christian College, announced it signed a five-year lease to rent 23,000 square feet of space in the Military Park Building, near the corner of East Park Street and Park Place.

In 2011 floodwaters from Tropical Storm Irene forced the small, private college out of its campus in the Zarephath section of Franklin Township in Somerset.

Louis Tapia, the real estate agent who brokered the deal between the college and the Berger Organization, which acquired the building in 2007, said the renovated park will be a valuable amenity when it's up and running.

"The park will definitely be an influence on the entire neighborhood. That part of Newark has always been nice because of the New Jersey Performing Arts Center, but as far as Pillar is concerned, the park will become a place for students to relax and grab a bite to eat between classes," he said. "It gives them a nice place to get some air and it enhances the atmosphere."

There wasn't always a flurry of activity of development surrounding Military Park. In fact, at the onset, people said Biederman's plans would do little to effect real change on the city.

"Some have said you need to be in affluent areas to do this kind of work and it's affluent people who have more use for public spaces than non-affluent people," Biederman said. "We think Newark will be a good city for this public space."

Plans for reinventing the park were set in motion a decade ago. In 2004 Essex County approved a $295,000 grant to help pay for the park's renovation on the condition it be matched with private funds. When the matching funds still had not materialized in 2009, the grant was rescinded.

The following year Biederman, well-known for his ability to create thriving public spaces using private money, was brought in to handle the project.

Ben Donsky, project manager at Biederman Redevelopment Ventures, said they were still working with a limited budget.

"We did not have a ton of money to redo the park. We did not completely rethink the design and, frankly, there were a few design problems," he said. "But the major problems with Military Park were that it was dull and neglected. There was a lot of deferred maintenance and things were broken."

That shifted their focus to what Donsky calls strategic design interventions.

Trees were moved closer to the street on either side of the triangular park to create more open space. Permanent benches were replaced with movable outdoor furniture and fences around the monuments, including the Wars of America statue by Mount Rushmore sculptor Gutzon Borglum, were taken down.

Changing the aesthetics of the once run-down park is one thing, but for Biederman the key to creating successful, self-sustaining urban parks extends beyond design.

"We really are against parks programming themselves once a day or twice a week," he said, "because then the odds of someone stumbling upon some event in progress is very small."

To that end, Donsky said they have already packed Military Park's calendar to make sure it's hard to miss the fact that it has reopened.

"We're already working with literally dozens of different organizations to do programming here in the park," he said. "We're going to have fitness classes. Right now we have three yoga classes a week on the calendar, plus tai chi, zumba and dance classes. We'll also have our reading room available"

There's one more important way in which the new Military Park will resemble its sibling across the Hudson River: The restaurant, the name of which has not been made public, will have a liquor license.

Gemma Giantomasi, a partner at Newark law firm Genova Burns Giantomasi Webster, said the easing of city regulations that would have prohibited the park's restaurant serving alcohol has been a boon for Newark's downtown neighborhood.

Usually establishments with liquor licenses are not allowed to be within 1,000 feet of one another. Those rules were relaxed in Newark's downtown, but included some extra stipulations: No more than 49 percent of the park's restaurant's sales can come from alcohol. It will also need to include at least 30 seats for diners and very few stools at the bar.

For establishments that followed the rules, it has been a game changer, said Giantomasi.

"Without this you would not have Joe's Crab Shack or Dinosaur Bar-B-Que on Market Street, and you would not have the growth we've seen on Edison Place with Brick City Bar and Grill and Loft 47," she said. "By doing this the city has really made it possible to turn this area into a destination. Families can come to NJPAC, walk around the park and have a nice meal at a family establishment."

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• VIDEO: 'America's Got Talent' - and a human cannonball - shoot at Newark's Military Park

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Election Day is Tuesday in New Jersey. Polls will be open 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. to return your mail-in ballot. There will be no machine voting.

SOMERSET COUNTY, NJ — Election Day is Tuesday. Here is a look at who is on the ballot, where to vote and how to vote in Somerset County.

In Somerset County that includes voting at a polling location, using a secure dropbox, mailing your ballot back or hand-delivering it to your local board of elections.

The Rundown

Who and What Am I Voting For?

How And Where To Vote:

There are three ways to vote either before or on Election Day on Nov. 3.

1. Ballots can be mailed through the US Postal Service.

2. Ballots can be dropped in the designated Drop Boxes throughout Somerset County.

The dropbox will be emptied each day by employees of Somerset County. Ballots must be received by the Board of Elections by the close of polls on Election Day at 8 p.m. Ballots that are postmarked by Nov. 3 can be counted if they are received no later than 8 p.m. on Nov. 9. In addition, for this election, ballots received from the United States Postal Service within 48 hours after Nov. 3rd without a postmark can also be counted.

Here are the locations of other dropboxes in Somerset County (All boxes will be under video surveillance at all times):

3. Ballots can be dropped off in-person on Election Day. Completed/voted mail-in ballots can be delivered to your respective polling location and handed in there. (There will be no machine voting in NJ)

Polls will be open from 6 a.m.to 8 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 3.

Here are the polling locations available in Somerset County:

Bedminster Township

Bernards Township

Bernardsville

Bound Brook

Branchburg Township

Bridgewater Township

Far Hills Borough

Franklin Township

Green Brook Township

Hillsborough Township

Manville Borough

Millstone Borough

Montgomery Township

North Plainfield Borough

Peapack Gladstone Borough

Raritan Borough

Rocky Hill Borough

Somerville Borough

South Bound Brook Borough

Warren Township

Watchung Borough

For full coverage of the 2020 election in New Jersey, click here.

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