VARSITY BASKETBALL LOSE AT HOMECOMING BUT BOUNCE BACK WITH BIG WIN AGAINST TABC

On December 17th, the SAR Varsity Sting faced the Frisch Cougars at their homecoming game in the Bronx. Before the game, both teams had won once against one another, so some pregame tension was clearly there. The game had begun. It was clear that right off the tip, their would be plenty of nerves. That being said, both teams missed shots early, yet SAR managed to come out with a 12-9 lead at the end of the 1st. Thankfully, the nerves subsided, and the game was now moving at a much more reasonable pace. After Ariel Smith hit a layup with 30 seconds left in the half, Scott Levine knocked down a momentum crushing 3 to cut SAR's lead down to only 1 point. The 3rd quarter proved to be the downfall for the Sting. Although Marcus and Friedman hit 2 three's early in the quarter, it seemed as though Frisch's Scott Levine answered every bucket with a 3 of his own. Frisch finished the quarter off strong leading SAR 36-30. At the beginning of the 4th, Marcus missed a 3, and Frisch turned the opportunity into a made basket, extending their lead to 8. From there, the Cougars controlled the rest of the game. While SAR managed to cut the lead back to 6, Frisch never grew worried, as they went on to beat the Sting 53-44. The Sting would look to bounce back against the TABC Storm. 

On Monday night December 21st, the SAR Varsity boys basketball team played against the TABC Storm. SAR was looking to bounce back from their loss against Frisch only a few nights before. The Sting started out strong, allowing them to go up 10-5 at the end of the first. The Sting tallied on another 7 points, and at the half, the score was 17-14. At the end of the 3rd, SAR had its largest lead, 31-23. The 4th quarter is where the action began. TABC put together a fantastic comeback. PG Tai Gerszberg was phenomenal in the 4th. As a result, TABC was almost able to tie the game. However, the Sting were able to pull out the win, with a final score of 45-42. The Sting were lead by Marcus' 19 and Smith's 11. 

3 GAME SUMMARY FOR VARSITY HOCKEY: REVENGE AGAINST FRISCH, A STEAL IN WOODMERE, BUT A CRUCIAL LOSS IN THE WEATHER CENTER

In the Bronx, Solomon Freilich had 2 power play goals in his return from injury, and SAR survived a frantic Frisch rally to move the varsity squad to 6-2. Jonah Halper scored his 1st goal of the season to give SAR a 2-1 1st period lead that they would not relinquish. SAR jumped out to a 6-3 3rd period lead with 3 minutes, but Frisch scored 2 goals in the next to cut it to 6-5. However, throughout the game, Jonah Amron made a few key saves to keep the game in SAR's grasp. Although he faltered late, SAR did not let the Cougars get a shot on goal after the lead was cut to 1. SAR won the game on special teams, scoring 3 power play goals to Frisch's none, with SAR penalty killers Josh Rosenberg, Joey Mogilner and Freilich holding the vaunted Frisch power play in check for over 7 minutes of power play time. The Sting will face undefeated TABC on Sunday in Teaneck.

In Woodmere, Solomon Freilich scored 2 goals, and Josh Rosenberg chipped in 1, and the Varsity Sting improved to 7-2, beating Drs 3-0. The game was scoreless toward the end of the second period, but a power play goal by Freilich gave the sting a 1-0 lead heading into the third. In the 3rd period, things got dicey for the Sting, as Drs had a 4-2 power play with 8 minutes remaining. But, Jason Burian and Azi Lavi did a fantastic job killing off the penalty, with the help of goaltender Jonah Amron. Amron stood on his head all night, and Rosenberg's 4th goal of the year gave SAR a 2-0 lead. Freilich added an empty net goal late, and SAR escaped the wildcats den with a win.

In Teaneck, Calev Minsky scored a power play goal with 5 minutes left to give TABC a 3-2 lead , and the storm avoided an upset at the hands of a red hot Sting team. SAR came out firing early, with Jason Burian scoring a power play goal to give the Sting a 1-0 lead. However, a failed line change led to TABC tying the game at 1 late in the first period, and they tacked on another one to give them a 2-1 lead. Late in the second period, the Sting were awarded a power play, to the dismay of the massive crowd on hand. The Sting would convert on the power play, and tie the game at 2. The game was tied until Minsky's late goal. Following the goal, the Sting were not able to convert a 4-2 power play. TABC's defense held, and the Sting fell to 7-3, losing a crucial game to the undefeated Storm.

By Joseph Mogilner

JV STING TOPS HAFTR IN OPENER OF RUBENSTEIN TOURNEY

Tuesday night, the SAR JV boys beat HAFTR 47-44 in the first game of the annual Rubenstein Memorial Basketball Tournament.The game was a thriller and the Sting came back from down 8 to start the fourth and outscored the Hawks 16-5 in the final quarter. Judah Oppenheimer led all Sting players with 14 points, including 10 in the fourth and the game winning bucket with under a minute to play.

SAR JV BOYS BALL FINISH OFF STRONG AGAINST JEC

SAR JV Boys Basketball beat JEC Dec. 5th, 62-39, to raise its record to 5-0. Led by Jake Schwalbe’s 16 points and Judah Oppenheimer’s 13, including three 3-pointers, SAR was in a close game in the first two and a half quarters before pulling away midway through the third. After being up 5 at the half, Schwalbe took over with 8 points in the third and the team played stifling defense, notably on JEC’s star player Rieser. Nat Waxman hit three 3-pointers off the bench. Noah Gurin had 9 and Sammy Sokol 8.

VARSITY HOCKEY PULL OFF BIG W AGAINST HAFTR

Looking to rebound from a rough stretch, coming off losses to TABC and Frisch, the varsity Sting, playing without leading scorer Solomon Freilich, hosted the Haftr Hawks in a battle in the Bronx. Sting players viewed the game as a must win, and they came out firing immediately. Senior forward Sam Soff placed a wraparound through the legs of Haftr goalie Ryan Gluck to give the Sting a 1-0 lead. That would hold until a Haftr power play in the 3rd period. A Hawks defenseman rifled a shot that went off the leg of offensman Sam shechter, passing SAR goalie Jonah Amron. Just a few minutes later, the Sting would give the Hawks a taste of their own medicine. Sophomore forward Shua Friedman brought the puck around the boards and fired a shot toward the net. The shot glanced off the leg of a bunch of players from both teams in front, and junior forward Joey Mogilner was officially credited with what proved to be the winning goal. SAR's 2-1 win improved them to 5-2, with a big game against Frisch coming next. 

By Joseph Mogilner

VARSITY BOYS BALL HOLD OFF HILLEL HEAT, LOSE IN A HEARTBREAKER TO JEC, AND ARE UPSET BY NSHA

On December 2nd, the Boys Varsity basketball team took on the Hillel Heat. SAR had been coming off a blowout win against Kushner, and looked to continue their groove against the Heat. Right from the tip, SAR captain Ariel Smith went on a role. At the end of the half, the Sting led 33-19, with 16 of those 33 points coming from Smith alone. However, the Heat were not done. With the crowd on their side, Hillel formulated a huge comeback. By the end of the 3rd, SAR only led by 7. Although the Heat were hoping for a huge comeback, the Sting stood strong. When the final buzzer sounded, SAR had won 67-61. The Sting were led by Smith's 25 and Marcus' 13. Next up, JEC!

3 days later, the Sting travelled to Elizabeth, NJ to play the JEC Thunder. SAR hoped to avenge their previous game against JEC, where they lost by only 4. The game was neck and neck. Nobody could really open up a lead. However, through three quarters, the Sting were up by 7. Yet, little did the Sting know, a comeback was in the making. The Thunder were eventually able to tie up the game late in the 4th, but Ariel Smith hit a clutch three, giving SAR some breathing room. Next possession, Raanan Kimmel was fouled. He then went to the line where he split his free-throws. However, the Thunder remained calm, and with a great move to the basket by guard Shemaryahu Shulman, they tied the game up again at 33. Panicking, SAR threw an ill-advised pass, forcing a turnover. JEC had all the momentum, As time was winding down, Shulman chucked up a three, which luckily for the Sting, missed. However, after a miscommunication on the court, forward Jacob Feiler ended up with the ball, and with 1.1 seconds left, hit a put back to take a two point lead. The Sting lost by a score of 35-33. Guard Eli Friedman led the Sting in scoring. 

After a heartbreaking loss against JEC, SAR looked to build off their defeat against the NSHA Stars. However, the Sting never got into what they wanted, and at the end of the half, SAR was down 15-12. The 2nd half was where the action began. Though NSHA built a 10 point, SAR continued to fight. With great defensive plays from guards Eli Friedman and Daniel Wisotsky, the Sting were able to cut the lead down to 6. Then, with about 15 seconds left, forward Dovie Marcus hit an and-1 three, and the lead was now only 2 points. After fouling NSHA's PG, a free-throw was hit, and SAR was now down 3. Following, the Sting drew up a play for a game tying 3, but came up short after Marcus missed the final attempt.  NSHA went on to beat the Sting 33-30. The Sting now look to end their losing streak against division rival Frisch on Thursday night. 

SAR CRUISES PAST KUSHNER COBRAS

On the final night of November, the SAR Varsity basketball teamed squared off with the Kushner Cobras in Livingston, NJ. SAR is coming off a 5th place finish in this years inaugural Steve Glouberman tournament and are now looking to feed off their subpar finish to build on what hopes to be a successful regular season. Although the Sting were without Guards Simon Kofman, Charles Thau, and forward Asaf Gadasi, forward Dovie Marcus hoped to help out with the lack of players, as he himself was coming off a knee injury which sidelined him for nearly 2 and a half months. Right from the get go, the Sting could not miss. With fantastic play from guards Ariel Smith and Daniel Wisotsky, SAR jumped out to an early double digit lead. Following, SAR entered what turned out to be, a never ending groove. At the end of the half, SAR led 45-16 with help from juniors Marcus and Wisotsky, who combined for 25 of SAR's 1st half points. The 2nd half proved to be the same, as SAR kept it's comfortable lead, ending the 3rd with a score of 56-33. The Cobras proved to be no problem, as the Sting went on to win 68-35. Led by Wisotsky's 13 and Marcus' 12, the Sting now look to Wednesday night where they will face fellow conference rivals, the Hillel Heat.

JV BOYS TRAVEL ALL THE WAY TO DEAL TO COOL DOWN THE HEAT

This past Thursday night, the SAR JV boys basketball team travelled all the way to Deal, NJ to take on the Hillel Heat. Led in a balance of scoring by Drew Greenbaum's 14, Sammy Sokol's 14, and Noah Grun's 10, the Sting jumped out to a big lead, and never turned back. To clarify how dominant the Sting were tonight, let's just say they scored 22 points in the 1st and 22 again in the 3rd. The JV boys are now 2-0 in the regular season and hope to continue their elite scoring and dominance in the upcoming games. 

VARSITY GIRL DOMINANCE IS UPON US!!!

The girls Varsity basketball team continues to dominate, standing at 5-0 entering a break before The David Cooper Memorial Tournament hosted at SAR. This past Sunday, November 15th they defeated Hillel at Hillel. The game started off close but after a key defensive switch SAR pulled ahead. Everyone on the court contributed their part, the key being they got the win. Later in the week on Tuesday the girls faced Bruriah. This seemed to be their toughest competition yet. Bruriah took the lead early on and left SAR trailing at the half by 2. After halftime SAR was determined to win. Entering the third quarter they put up 8 straight points leaving Bruriah behind. SAR never slowed down, as they kept the lead for the rest of the game. With great ball movement and spectacular play from standout Freshman Adira Orbach, the Sting were able to finish off the game strong.

By Dahlia Fischer

SAR JV FALL TO THE COUGARS BUT TIE WITH THE STORM IN PAST 2 GAMES

The SAR Sting JV Hockey team traveled to Paramus NJ to face the Frisch Cougars in the first game of a JV- Varsity doubleheader. The game, which featured two of the league’s best players, Frisch’s Benjy Feintuch and SAR’s Gordie Kolb. The game started off with a bang, with Feintuch beating SAR goaltender Jacob Nayowitz two minutes into the game, giving Frisch a 1-0 lead. Feintuch and the Cougars kept piling on the Sting, and opened up a 3-0 lead in the first 7 minutes of action. Nayowitz, after the third Frisch goal, was pulled for freshman goalie Henri Kolb. The move did not help, as Frisch scored 4 goals in the second period, opening up a 7-1 lead. SAR would add two goals late from Ethan Shafer and Jonathan Haims. Netanel Fiorino scored for the Sting in the first period.

Looking to rebound from a 7-3 loss at Frisch, the JV STING hosted the TABC Storm in a very important game Monday night at the hive. TABC took a 1-0 lead in the first period, and the score held until late in the third period. On a power play, freshman Johnny Haims sniped the puck over TABC goalkeeper Refi Minsky, tying the game. The game went to overtime, and neither team was able to score the winner. The game ended tied 1-1

By Joseph Mogilner

VARSITY BOYS SPLIT PAST TWO GAMES

In the second game of the doubleheader, the Varsity Sting looked to write the ship and make up for the JV team’s loss. The game started off promisingly for the Sting, as a powerplay goal from Josh Rosenberg sent the game into the second period with a score of 1-1. Then, Frisch opened the floodgates, scoring 3 goals in the first 2:47 minutes of the 2nd period. SAR was not able to rebound, and Frisch goalie Matthew Reinhart kept SAR at one goal until the game was in blowout mode. Jason Burian scored on a powerplay, and Eli Gelfand added another late goal, and the game ended with a final score of 7-3.

Looking to rebound from a 7-3 loss at Frisch, the Varsity Sting hosted the Kushner Cobras last Saturday Night at the hive. The Sting, playing angry and inspired jumping out to a 5-0 lead in the first two periods, with Azi Lavi scoring a beautiful goal as time expired in the second. The Sting went on to win the game 7-0, with 7 different players scoring. The goal scorers were josh Rosenberg, Solomon Freilich, Shua Friedman, Jason Burian , Joey Mogilner and captain Azi Lavi.

By Joseph Mogilner

GIRLS VARSITY BASKETBALL FIRST 3 GAME SUMMARY

The girls varsity basketball team cannot be off to a better start. In their first game against Westchester, SAR immediately found their groove as they broke the game wide open. Throughout the game their shooting was unstoppable, led by guard Leah Shulman scoring 15 points respectively. In their second game they picked up right where they left off but this time switching their approach to an inside game. Center Jessica Hecht came up big in rebounding as well as points and put up 12. Working with her sister Sophie who fed off of Jessica’s energy and contributed 16 herself. Throughout both games SAR played an incredible trap defense forcing many turnovers leading to many fast breaks, they hope to continue to use this defense throughout the season to not only play a set offense but to show teams that they can run with the ball as well.

In their third game against Maayanot SAR experienced some issues. After a timeout called by SAR in the first quarter they became a little calmer. The game continued to go back and forth leaving the score tied at halftime 21-21. Coming out of the break SAR was determined to win. Point guard Dahlia Fischer hit two threes to jump start SAR’s offense. They gained the lead and slowly broke the game open. SAR never looked back as they continued to play strong defense forcing Maayanot to commit unwanted turnovers. Dahlia Fischer led the team with 21 points, as the SAR girls varsity basketball earned their 3rd win of the season.


By Dahlia Fischer

FIRST THREE GAME SUMMARY FOR VARSITY BOYS BASKETBALL

October 27th-

It was the home opener of the 2015-2016 season for the Varsity Boys Basketball team as they prepared to take on local rival, MTA. After coming up short against DRS in the preseason MDY tournament final, SAR was out for revenge. After the tip, SAR controlled the momentum throughout the quarter as they were up 11-4 at the end of the 1st. This momentum continued into the 2nd, as SAR built a commanding 24-8 lead. Out of the half, SAR could not stop their all out scoring barrage, as they created a commanding 24 point lead as the 3rd quarter came to a close. SAR went on to defeat the Lions 50-33. Led by Kubersky's 18, the Sting looked forward to taking on the JEC Thunder. 

November 3rd- 

Although SAR destroyed MTA for their 1st regular season game of the season, JEC was going to be another story. The Thunder are known for their strong guard play from Senior Shemaryahu Shulman and Junior Raanan Kimmel. This would prove to be quite the challenge. Right off the bat, Kimmel and Shulman came out hot, hitting a few quick threes, quickly switching the momentum to the Thunder's side. While SAR prepared for the potential of a shooting clinic, this game plan proved to be ineffective, as JEC led the Sting 33-18 at the end of the half. However, the Sting never gave up! Even though they were still down 43-30 going into the 4th, a comeback was soon to come... With knockdown shooting from guards Eli Friedman and Daniel Wisotsky, SAR chopped the lead down to only 2 points! But, SAR's comeback came up short after a missed three from Eitan Hain. This would ultimately force free throws in which Kimmel never planned on missing. The Sting went on to lose to JEC 51-47 to pick up their 1st regular season loss of their 2015-2016 campaign. Next up, Ramaz!

November 5th- 

For their 3rd game of the season, SAR looked to face the Ramaz Rams. The Rams are without their strong senior class and are mainly focusing on making this season a rebuilding one. Long story short, they have low expectations *SHOTS FIRED*?. Regardless, SAR felt no challenge and rammed their way through the Rams, going up 32-19 at the end of the 1st half. Then built on their lead, making it 46-23. The Sting defeated the Rams 51-37 led by Eli Friedman's 11 points. They now look forward to their upcoming tournament in Los Angeles, California which includes teams such as Frisch, Yula, Shalhevet and others.

VARSITY HOCKEY SHUTS OUT MTA AGAIN FOR 2ND WIN OF SEASON

Game took place October 26th. 

The SAR Sting Varsity Hockey Team hosted the MTA Lions this past Monday night for their home opener. The Sting, coming off a 6-0 win against the very same MTA team, came out very lethargic. Buoyed by great play from goaltender Jacob Boim, MTA and SAR were tied at zero with around 4 minutes left in the first period. Wanting to shake things up, Coaches Howie and Noah Falkenstein decided to transition to a 3-1 composition, instead of the usual 2-2. With Azi Lavi, Josh Rosenberg and Solomon Freilich all playing offense, the MTA defense had no answer, and Freilich netted the first SAR goal of the night. In the second period, Freilich scored again, giving SAR a 2-0 lead. Around 5 minutes later, Senior Ariel Smith made a great pass to Captain Azi Lavi, who scored his first goal of the year, giving the Sting a 3 goal lead. With time running out in the second period, Sam Soff scored a nifty goal on a backhand, and SAR had a 4-0 lead. In the third period, Solomon Freilich scored again, his third goal of the night adding to his league leading 7th of the year. Jonah Amron and Ben Winter combined for a shutout for the 2-0, first place, SAR Sting. 

Joseph "Mog" Mogilner

WHILE GIRLS JV VOLLEYABLL DOMINATES MAAYANOT, VARSITY GIRLS FALL IN STRAIGHT SETS

Games took place October 26th

From the get-go the JV girls volleyball dominated the match. Although it was the first match of the year for the Sting, they displayed confidence and controlled the pace of the match throughout the night, as a result of converting on both their serves and slams. Led by star player Hayley Yurowitz, the Sting defeated the Rapids in straight sets, starting their season 1-0. 

While the JV squad had no issue with Mayaanot, the Varsity team miserably struggled. Due to the dominant performance from Mayaanot's Talia Kupferman, the Sting could never get in rhythm. Despite efforts from Seniors Sylvia Scheiner and Yael Weitzner, the Sting fell short of a comeback as they were defeated by the Rapids in straight sets. 

VARSITY HOCKEY DESTROYS MTA LIONS 6-0 FOR FIRST WIN OF SEASON

The Sar Sting Varsity hockey team marched into the lions den to face off against the MTA Lions for their first game of the year. The game started off slow for the Sting, as the score was tied at 0-0 with 3 minutes left in the period. However , after killing off an MTA power play , SAR was given a power play off their own . On the power play , SAR junior Solomon Freilich found the net to give the sting a 1-0 lead. Not more than 40 seconds later, Freilich again scored, this time on a nifty set up by senior Josh Rosenberg. With 1 minute left in the first, Freilich struck again, smacking a wrister to the top right corner of the net, giving SAR a 3 goal lead. SAR continued its ambush on MTA, as SAR junior Joey Mogilner scored to give sar a 4-0 lead. SAR would not relinquish the lead, buoyed by strong play from senior goalie Jonah Amron, and lockdown defense from sophomore Jason Burian and captain Azi Lavi. Freilich would score his 4th goal of the game late in the third period, on another beautiful pass from Rosenberg. Senior defenseman Eli best , lifted a shot over mta goalie Jacob Boim for the 6th and final SAR goal of the night. The game was a nice way to start the season for the now undefeated SAR sting.

Written by Joseph "Mog" Mogilner

SAR FALLS TO DRS WILDCATS IN PRESEASON MDY TOURNAMENT

Last Sunday October 18th, the Varsity Boys basketball team played the DRS Wildcats in a quest for the MDY tournament championship. The game was close throughout as Sar only trailed Drs by a few points at the end of the 1st half. However, once the 2nd half began, the Wildcats pulled away with their sharpshooting and stifling defense from Guard Yoav Deutsch and star Forward Gabriel Leifer. The Wildcats went on to defeat the Sting 52-41 and rightfully claimed their title. 

SAR JV BOYS BASKETBALL TEAM BEATS JEC IN OVERTIME OF FIRST EXHIBITION

Last night, the SAR JV Boys Basketball team played an exhibition game at JEC. The matchup was always close and was bound to come down to the wire. Late in the 4^th quarter JEC took a commanding lead but Noah “THE CLUTCH” Gurin hit a straightaway three to send the game into overtime. As the overtime clock was running down, SAR was down 48-46. Rushing the ball up the court SAR looked nowhere but to their knockdown shooter Gurin. As he was wide open in the corner, Gurin lined up for three and just as the great Paul Pierce once said, he called game. “THE CLUTCH” hit it and the bench went wild as the Sting went on to beat the JEC Thunder in stunning fashion 49-48. Led by Jake Schwalbe’s 15 and Noah Gurin’s 10, SAR has three more exhibition games to play.

VARSITY BOYS BASKETBALL UPSET DEFENDING LEAGUE CHAMPION HAFTR IN 2ND ROUND OF MDY TOURNAMENT

Last night, the SAR Varsity Boys Basketball team traveled all the way to Brooklyn, NY to take on the HAFTR Hawks in the 2^nd round of the MDY tournament. Going into the game, nothing but determination and heart were in the eyes of the Sting, as they were hoping to upset the defending league champs. The opponent, being the defending powerhouse they were, assumed the game would be nothing but a joke, however, the Sting had another idea in mind. Right off the tip- off, SAR turned over the ball. Although, they made a quick mistake, the Sting shook it off and prepared for one of the toughest defensive matchups they would face all year. Abie Perlow. Perlow is coming off a spectacular year for the Hawks, winning the league championship along with being named a 1^st team All American. While Perlow was expected to be quite the problem for the Sting, spectacular defense by starting Forward Eitan Hain and Center Rafi Kubersky helped minimize his production. While SAR had a commanding lead for the 1^st three quarters, the Hawks displayed a final effort in order to form a comeback during the 4^th quarter. After shooting some desperation three’s, and receiving an and-1, the Hawks cut SAR’s lead down to only 5 points. Luckily, moments later, Hawks PG Brian Nathan received a costly foul, allowing the Sting to extend their lead to 7. However, the Hawks did not give in, as they cut the lead back to 5. To the shock of the crowd, seconds later, Perlow received a technical foul, which allowed SAR to go back up 7. From there, the Sting controlled the pace for the rest of the game, and upset the HAFTR Hawks 54-43. Led by Smith’s 18 and Hain’s 16, the Sting will now look to take on YDE in the semi- final of the MDY tournament.

VARSITY BOYS BASKETBALL BEATS NSHA IN OPENER OF PERESEASON TOURNAMENT

On Monday evening October 12^th, the SAR Varsity Boys Basketball team squared off with the NSHA stars in the first round of the annual Magen David (MDY) tournament. Being the first preseason game of the year, both teams were expected to come out very slow. That being said, both teams are without last years seniors, creating an even playing field. The game was at a steady pace, as neither team was able to blow open the lead in the 1^st half. Once the 2^nd half picked up, SAR was able to control the pace but also extend their lead. Led by starting center Rafi Kubersky’s 15 points, SAR defeated the stars 33-25, advancing to the next round of the tournament, where they would face off HAFTR.

Boys Varsity Softball @ Hillel

As the SAR varsity Sting Softball team hopped off the bus in Deal, NJ it was clear that not even the hour and a half bus ride would put a damper on the Sting’s opening game Vs. the Hillel Heat.  Through the first three innings it seemed as if the game would be an old fashioned pitchers duel as no team was able to even get two players on base at the same time.  However, it was Hillel that would kneel first giving up six runs to an eager Sting offense led by long time slugger Gil Fortgang and varsity newcomer Andrew Pitkoff.  It would not be two long until Hillel struck back, putting three runs on the board in the bottom of the fourth.  Of course it was the Sting combo of ace Ethan Freilich and backstop Daniel Best who were able to calm down the team’s defense to maintain the lead heading it to the back half of the game.  As the game winded down both the Sting and the Heat added a couple more runs but the Sting would not yield as they held the lead throughout the game.  While the hitting was enough to excite any softball watcher, the fans were kept on their feet by a handful of controversial calls by the umpire.  Sting fans were more than satisfied with the 10-5 opening day win.  The Sting win was as classic as they come, featuring tailor made ground and pound ball, something that Coach Bloom hopes to see again this Sunday against the Maor Mayhem.       

Written By Ben Elias

JV Boys Soccer vs TABC

The JV Boys soccer team defeated TABC 5-4. Solomon frielich had 2 goals and 2 assists. Elie Herszaft had 2 goals. Kai chizzali had 1 goal. David Charendoff played really well in net after giving up a bad goal off a penalty in the 2nd quarter.
Great way to start the season.
#sting

JV Hockey Championship vs Rambam

SAR JV STING DEFEAT RAMBAM RAVENS TO CAPTURE SCHOOL’S FIRST EVER HOCKEY CHAMPIONSHIP!

March 8, 2015 will be a date to remember for the SAR Sting Hockey program.  The stage was set in Lawrence Middle School in Lawrence, NY home of the Yeshiva Hockey League Junior Varsity Championship.  The title game featured a battle between two undefeated teams chasing their respective school’s first ever hockey championship. The Rambam Ravens hailing from the five towns in Long Island, were the experienced team, having played in last years JV final and were a heavily sophomore laden team. On the other side, the SAR Sting from Riverdale, NY were a mostly freshman team with only three sophomores on their roster. 

Rambam jumped out to a quick 1-0 lead on a goal by Daniel Lichter 1:03 into the 1st period. SAR answered back to tie the score at 1-1 with a goal by sophomore sniper Solomon Freilich. Freshman star Gordie Kolb of SAR put his team up 2-1 with a quick snapshot from in front of the net. However, the Ravens responded on a power play goal by star forward and Captain Avi Orlow on a well placed wrist shot to tie the score at 2-2 heading into the 1^st intermission.

Rambam came out strong to start the 2^nd period, but SAR freshman goalie Jacob “Nay Nay” Nayowitz, came up with some big saves to keep the strong Ravens attack at bay. SAR went up 3-2 on Freilich’s 2^nd goal of the day, ripping a top shelf snap shot past the Rambam goalie, off a beautiful feed from Kolb.  With SAR on the power play, Orlow scored a flukey Short Handed Goal on a miscommunication by SAR, tying the game at 3-3.  Orlow scored again, burying a rebound, for the hat trick to put his Ravens up 4-3. SAR’s star defenseman Shua Friedman scored a big goal on the rebound off a Freilich point shot to tie the score at 4-4 midway thru the second period. One minute later, Gordie Kolb scored his second of the game, to give the Sting a 5-4 lead. Kolb’s highlight reel goal was a gorgeous play picking up the puck from his own goaline, splitting the defense and ripping a wrist shot glove side., sending the Sting faithful into a frenzy. With just 2:47 left in the period SAR took it’s first two-goal lead of the game, 6-4. The goal scored by SAR rookie forward Judah Fortgang on a quick shot through the five-hole off a clean faceoff win by fellow freshman Ben Lasher. The wild second period, featuring 6 goals in total ended with SAR up 6-4 heading into the dressing room. 

Between periods, in the SAR locker room, veteran head coach Noah Falkenstein gave an inspirational speech to his team, providing the motivation for the final push they needed heading into the final period.. SAR came out flying in the 3^rd period, controlling play and putting shots on net from all areas. The Sting’s 2^nd line defensive pair of Sophmore Eli Gelfand and Freshman Adam Weiss were particular ly strong in their own end. At 5:44, with SAR on the power play, alternate captain Jason Burian scored a goal off a nice backhand cross pass from Kolb to give the Sting a 7-4 advantage. However, Rambam showed tremendous heart answering only 9 seconds later on a goal by Harry Tannen. At 7-5, and time ticking down, SAR could feel their championship in their grasp. The Ravens, with their goalie pulled made one last effort scoring a goal with just 7 seconds remaining in the 3^rd period to pull within 7-6.  However, it was too little to late as the clock struck zero and the SAR Sting captured their first ever Hockey Championship, capping off a 13-0 undefeated season. The SAR STING ARE THE 2014-2015 JV HOCKEY CHAMPIONS!!!

Congrats to the SAR Sting coaching staff, led by head coach Noah Falkenstein, assistants Zach Fein, Yves Levy and Howie Falkenstein.

3 Stars of the Game:

1.Gordie Kolb –named game MVP 2G, 2A

2. Solomon Freilich-- 2G, 1A

3. Avi Orlow (Rambam)--3G

By Howie Falkenstein