Two Sundays ago, the Teaneck Stingrays U12 boys team won the prestigious MAPS 2015 Summer Challenge Tournament. Based on this performance and a successful spring 2015 season, the Teaneck Stingrays are now ranked as the eighth best soccer team in the country for their age group and number two in New Jersey. This is an unheard of achievement for a small-town team—one that has been successful competing at the highest levels of soccer against local academy teams as well as teams from New York, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Virginia and even Canada.
During the 2014-2015 season, the Stingrays team finished in first place in the EDP fall 2014 season, and in second place in the spring 2015 season. Other highlights of the year includ the Puma Cup (finalist), the Indoor NJ State Cup (winner) and the NJ Cup (quarterfinalist). Overall, the team had an impressive record of 30 wins, 9 draws and 7 losses in 46 games, placing the team in second place in the State of NJ after PDA Drogba, an academy team drawing players from a much wider geographical area.
At the tournament this past weekend, the Stingrays faced off against teams from NJ, Pennsylvania and Canada. During the group play, the Stingrays finished in first place in Bracket 1, with two wins and one draw against a very strong team from Toronto. The Stingrays played the final against Cherry Hill Scorpions (ranked 5 in NJ). The game was a nail-biter during the first half. The Stingrays scored two goals, including a long-distance shot by defender Kayvon Kiani, who surprised the goalkeeper with a high kick to the right post. Cherry Hill tied the score at 2-2 with a penalty kick after a foul in the last 10 seconds of the first half. The second half felt like a party for the Stingrays, with Tate Poston scoring one goal off, by deflecting a ball from a corner pass right in front of the goal within 20 seconds of the start of the half. Following this strong start, the Stingrays dominated the second half, ending the game with a victory of 8-2.
Deborah Rivel Greenstein, the team’s coach and mother of teammember Noam, delivered the medals to each player while highlighting their individual and team accomplishments during the tournament and a very rewarding and accomplished season. She is looking forward to seeing the team in August for summer training in anticipation of another successful season.
Ian Glover, Director of Player Development at the Teaneck Stingrays, attributes the success of the team to the club’s skill-based training. He explained that many of the boys on the team have been playing together since age 6 or 7, when they joined the Mighty Rays—the Stingrays’ development program. This allowed the team to grow and develop together, creating a sense of camaraderie that is missing from many academy teams which tend to recruit players every year. The Stingrays will start training for the fall season in late summer, and are looking for local children at all skill levels who want to learn and develop their soccer skills. There are teams starting at age 5-6 (the Mighty Rays training program), ranging to 14 years of age.
If you are interested in joining or learning more about the Stingrays, please contact Ian at [email protected].
By Adrian Gulich
