In previous years, Nanuet Soccer had not been a team of discussion for Nanuet Athletics. Senior captain Adam Speidel reports last year the team only won a single “game, against a junior varsity team, and [was] gifted 2 wins due to disqualifications.”
However, one thing was for sure in the fall 2025 season: This would never happen again.
This season, the team took on a new shape with 80% of the team being underclassmen. In other words, fresh and trainable talent. Speidel says there were “multiple freshmen starting on varsity and even an eighth grader who regularly got playing time.”
Interestingly, many of the underclassmen did not view themselves as too young but instead “ready to come back next season even stronger, ready for whatever is in front of [them],” says sophomore Tae-Rang Lee.
This confidence is a result of the support from the team’s senior leaders. Senior Jae-Rang Lee returned from Spain this season to play for his hometown Nanuet one last time. He reports he led the underclassmen who “constantly ask[ed] him questions.” This shows how close knit the team became this season as walls between grades were broken.
The ultimate turnaround for Nanuet Soccer this year was the use of the word “team.” Only a select few were interviewed but each one constantly referred to being part of something bigger than oneself.
Speidel recounts the time when the team earned their first victory and “before all three whistle blows even happened the entire bench exploded with excitement. [He] remember[s] Jae coming up holding the Nanuet badge on his uniform. It was then that [they] started being a real team.”
In another instance senior captain Ryan Darcy speaks on taking his position to heart as he wanted his team to “have someone to rely on.” He never wanted them to feel alone on or off the field.
Jae stated his “teammates motivated [him] because [he] saw how much they wanted to win and felt the need to step up and lead.” Beautifully said, Tae-Rang reinforces this, saying he “gave it all not just for [him] but for the whole team.”
Each part of this system affected the other and primarily had this team functioning as a complete unit. This team was brand new.
Many returners changed their stations and found new angles to benefit the team. Darcy reports his goal “going into [the] season was to achieve greatness in [his] new position.” Darcy dominated as the team’s starting keeper.
Loqman Znaide also wore the highlighter uniform for Nanuet. It became a season of stepping out of comfort zones. Darcy explained how his “connection with God, [allowed him to push through battles and physical pain] with confidence.”
Attending games myself, I could see the desperation on each player’s face throughout the game. I don’t know why, but they finished empty every time. It was more than a game to all of them.
Finally, the team truly existed when they were not playing. It was the “bus rides home after a win” says Tae and the practices where “Loqman [barely] saved penalties,” says Jae.
The team existed when people were taking the blame instead of shifting it onto someone else. And being part of this team included was making videos at Chipotle and having someone to laugh with in the hallway.
As a spectator, I always felt the heat and passion of the team, even on frosty October nights. Attending the Senior game, I knew I had to document the progress of the team this year to be compared with the success undoubtedly following next season.
At the close of the senior game, the opposing team had scored a penalty goal leading the game by one point. All I heard was Jae-Rang Lee shouting from the field “it cannot end like this.” It was 10 minutes of watching the team frantically shooting trying to score as this was the game determining entrance to sections. The buzzer went off and the defeat was insurmountable. Teenage boys rarely show emotion, let alone cry. It was then I knew, the underclassmen would train as they never had before to have that moment be a testimony of what hard work can do. I am excited to see where this team will go next year and beyond.
The Nanuet Soccer season of 2025 will be crowned as a Renaissance. Behaving as a team on and off the field, selflessness, and looking to the future has reignited the energy of this team. The seniors pass it on to the leaders of tomorrow and the future of this team is churning talent and potential into victory. It is my prediction that many more positive articles will be written about this team.