Stony Brook Soccer Club hits new heights in pursuit of State glory.

The Stony Brook Soccer Club set some groundbreaking records this weekend when four of it's travel teams advanced to the finals of the Eastern New York State Championships this weekend, along with another advancing to the final of the Arch Cup. All the finals will be played on the weekend of June 3rd & 4th at Stringham Park in LaGrangeville.

Travel Director Mike Brunken said of the achievement. "Stony Brook Soccer Club is extremely excited to have five teams qualify for State Cup finals in their respective age groups and competition. It is a reflection of the hard work that the players put into their training, the quality and dedication of the coaching staff and the support of the parents. We have taken a lot of steps over the last year to improve our programs and to see a result like this on the fields is a very proud moment for the entire club".

The first to qualify on Thursday evening was the Girls U12 Stony Brook Arsenal team who currently play in the Long Island Junior Soccer League Premier Division, in a pulsating 3-2 win at Smithtown, with the deciding goal coming deep into the second period of overtime. After racing into a two-goal lead, the Arsenal team were pegged back to 2-2 by the end of normal time. In overtime, both teams created opportunities to win the match, however in the end, a Grace Justiniano corner found it's way to Emma Ward in the penalty box and she swept it home from 12 yards to give Stony Brook their first ENY State Finalist in over a decade.

The following evening, Boys U12 Stony Brook Red Star won their tie with a Jackson Weber free-kick in the second half of their game at Huntington Boys Club. After taking the lead, the boys put on a fantastic defensive rearguard, to ensure that they could also book their ticket to the finals. At the final whistle, and roared on by the families of many players in the club who were there to offer feverish support. The Red Star boys celebrated loudly and proudly !!!

On Saturday Stony Brook confirmed three more finalists. The Boys U12 Spartak team, playing in the ENY Arch Cup competition squeezed out a 1-0 win at Harborfields, with Dominic Lollo grabbing the vital goal in the second half, making it a double celebration for the Boys U12's.

The Girls U15 Stony Brook Crew also won their tie with a comfortable 5-1 win at Great Neck. Although going behind to an early goal. The girls kept their composure and equalized when Julia Ragone turned in a corner on the half volley. Despite Stony Brook controlling the game for the remainder of the first half, they failed to capitalize on their dominance and went in at the break 1-1. However the tide became a tsunami when Ragone hit two great shots from distance in the 50th and 54 th minute that cannoned in off the post both times to give Crew a 3-1 lead and competing her hat-trick in the process, Summer Agostino added two more goals as the home team pushed forward and the Crew were home and dry.

One on the team captains, who has come through the club's Intramural and Travel program, Katherine Cosenza commented. "A lot of the success that we have achieved is based on the fact that we have had a core group of committed, hardworking girls that have been playing together for 4 years. We are a very close group that are great friends and have a lot of chemistry on the field. Another big part of our success is that we all buy into the philosophy that our coach teaches which is that we will be successful if everyone plays together as a unified group not a bunch of individuals all looking to be the star".

Finally, the Girls U17 team, which resides under the name Suffolk Surf (Stony Brook), were awarded a bye to the finals when their opponents failed to field a team. Their reward is a game vs the nationally ranked HBC Impact in the final, which promises to be an exciting and intriguing contest.

Director of Coaching Mark Nash said "Having been at the club for over 15 years, I cannot remember a weekend where we have enjoyed so much success in 72 hours in State related competitions. That said, everything that has happened hasn't occurred by accident, it's been achieved by the incredible hard-work of our players and coaches over the last few years, and of course the parents being supportive of the process and entrusting the development of these youth athletes to us. The fact over 80% of our travel team players have a 11790 zip code would suggest that the time we are investing in our local players is paying dividends, when many clubs & organizations are heavily recruiting from outside their programs to accelerate success and in turn, not having the patience to give players time to develop which leads many to turn away from the game at a young age."

He continued, "It is encouraging that we have U12, U15 and U17 Girls all making the finals and shows that we have consistency right across our Girls Travel program from the youngest to the oldest age groups, and for the Boys, not only have the U12 exceeded expectations, we still have our U11 and U14 teams in their respective semi-finals next week, so are making real progress at the younger ages on the boys side."

The Schedule for the Finals are as follows;

June 3rd 1.00pm - BU12 Stony Brook Spartak vs Rockville Center Extreme

June 4th 9.00am - BU12 Stony Brook Red Star vs Cedar Stars

June 4th 9.00am - GU17 Suffolk Surf Stony Brook vs HBC Impact

June 4th 9.15am - GU15 Stony Brook Crew vs Levittown Wildcats

June 4th 11.00am - BU12 Stony Brook Arsenal vs Coliseum Inferno

Want to play travel soccer for a Stony Brook team? Please visit www.stonybrooksoccer.com to register for tryouts or visit our Facebook, Instagram or Twitter pages. All tryouts will take place at the Stony Brook University P Lot.