Soccer Team Honors Slain Teammate In NY

NEW YORK (AP) - Members of a St. Lucian soccer team remembered a slain teammate as they took the field for the final match of a New York City tournament.

Isidore Phillip Tisson was shot to death while the team was out celebrating the Aug. 30 win that put St. Lucia in the finals of the Digicel Caribbean Cup. Tisson, who went by Phillip, had scored the winning goal that day in the semifinal game, against St. Kitts.

No one has been arrested.

The team forged ahead with a week of practice and mourning, playing for the title against Jamaica on Sunday. Jamaica won, 1-0.

Tisson's father, Phillip Alcee, cheered on his slain son's team in the St. Lucians' locker room, and then wept as the national anthem played and the crowd cheered.

He told The New York Times that his 27-year-old son grew up in Canaries, on the island nation's west coast, and was raised by his mother.

"This was his goal, to be a sportsman," Alcee said, wearing the St. Lucian flag like a cape.

"He died coming here to play sports," Alcee said. "I'm proud of him."

Police detectives mingled in the crowd, looking for suspects in the shooting, the Daily News reported.

The tournament is an annual showcase of Caribbean soccer talent. Tisson's coach said the slain player had an awesome presence on the field.

Tisson and some friends went out to a bar in Brooklyn after the Aug. 30 win. At about 4:30 a.m., he was riding in a car; the driver stopped for him to buy water and fruit from a shop.

When Tisson returned and got into the back seat, a gunman came up, wordlessly pointed a weapon through the window and shot him in the head at point-blank range, police said.