The Wildcats all fall to the turf after scoring. Bill Landon photo
Mia Mangano shoots for the Wildcats. Bill Landon photo
Senior Chloe Bergen heads the ball for the Wildcats. Bill Landon photo
The Mangano – Gengler duo. Photo by Bill Landon
Wildcat nation. Bill Landon photo
Shoreham-Wading River 8th grader Tessa Cooke clears the ball in the LIC game against Wantagh. Bill Landon photo
Shoreham-Wading River 8th grader Ella Nowaski battles mid-field in the LIC game against Wantagh. Bill Landon photo
Shoreham-Wading River goalie Morgan Lesiewicz with another save in the LIC game against Wantagh. Bill Landon photo
Shoreham-Wading River sophomore Shealyn Varbero heads the ball in the LIC game against Wantagh. Bill Landon photo
Mia Mangano redirects the ball for the Wildcats. Bill Landon photo
Senior Chloe Bergen heads the ball for the Wildcats. Bill Landon photo
Senior Chloe Bergen heads the ball for the Wildcats. Bill Landon photo
Long Island Champions. Photo by Bill Landon
Long Island Champions. Photo by Bill Landon
By Bill Landon
The Shoreham-Wading River Wildcats, unafraid to shoot, rifled five shots on goal that were near misses before Mia Mangano broke the ice with a shot to the corner of the net 11 minutes into the second half in the Long Island Class A championship game Sunday afternoon at Farmingdale State College.
Ten minutes later, Olivia Pesso dished the ball to Shealyn Varbero, who headed it to the back of the net for a 2-0 lead over Wantagh, the Nassau County champion — a score that would stand until the final horn. Senior goalie Morgan Lesiewicz had a quiet day in net with two saves.
The win propels the Wildcats to their second consecutive New York State championship appearance in the semifinals Saturday, Nov. 16, at Cortland High School. The Wildcats will face Pittsford Mendon with hopes of advancing to the final round the following day.
Olivia Pesso heads the ball for the Wildcats in the Suffolk County Class A final. Photo by Bill Landon
Mia Mangano attacks the ball for the Wildcats in the Suffolk County Class A final. Photo by Bill Landon
Jocelyn Natasi settles the ball for the Wildcats. Photo by Bill Landon
Mia Mangano scores for the Wildcats in the Suffolk County Class A final. Photo by Bill Landon
Senior Ava Gengler settles the ball for the Wildcats. Photo by Bill Landon
Senior goal keeper Morgan Lesiewicz with a save for the Wildcats. Photo by Bill Landon
Senior Ava Gengler pushes the ball up-field for the Wildcats. Photo by Bill Landon
Senior Chloe Bergen crosses the ball for the Wildcats. Photo by Bill Landon
Senior Chloe Bergen heads the ball for the Wildcats. Photo by Bill Landon
Wildcats win. Photo by Bill Landon
Wildcats win. Photo by Bill Landon
By Bill Landon
It was a twist of fate that the Thomas Cutinella Memorial Field was selected as the venue for the girls soccer finals before the season began. As a result, the Shoreham-Wading River girls soccer team had a home field advantage in the Suffolk County Class A soccer final Tuesday night, Nov. 5.
Mia Mangano had a shot on goal that just missed eight minutes into the second half, but the Shoreham-Wading River junior capitalized on the rebound courtesy of an assist from sophomore Stamatia Almiroudis to put the Wildcats ahead 1-0 against Sayville.
It would be all the Wildcats needed to punch their ticket to the Long Island championship round Sunday, Nov. 10, at Farmingdale State College.
It was the Wildcats third straight county championship and their goal is to return to the New York State finals.
Shoreham-Wading River will face the Nassau winner of the North Shore vs. Wantagh final.
Shoreham-Wading River’s Chloe Bergen clears the ball for the Wildcats. Photo by Bill Landon
Shoreham-Wading River junior Mia Mangano shoots for the Wildcats. Photo by Bill Landon
Shoreham-Wading River girls soccer vs. Elwood-John Glenn on 9/21/24. Photo by Bill Landon
Sophomore Shealyn Varbero battles for possession in a road game against John Glenn. Photo by Bill Landon
Shoreham-Wading River girls soccer vs. Elwood-John Glenn on 9/21/24. Photo by Bill Landon
Shoreham-Wading River girls soccer vs. Elwood-John Glenn on 9/21/24. Photo by Bill Landon
Senior Morgan Lesiewicz makes a save for the Wildcats. Photo by Bill Landon
Shoreham-Wading River girls soccer vs. Elwood-John Glenn on 9/21/24. Photo by Bill Landon
Shoreham-Wading River girls soccer vs. Elwood-John Glenn on 9/21/24. Photo by Bill Landon
Shoreham-Wading River girls soccer vs. Elwood-John Glenn on 9/21/24. Photo by Bill Landon
By Bill Landon
The reigning Long Island champion and New York State semifinalist, the Lady Wildcats of Shoreham-Wading River, made it four in a row Saturday morning, Sept. 21, with a road game against Elwood-John Glenn with a 2-0 shutout in a League VII matchup.
Olivia Pesso, a junior who took up soccer just last season scored the icebreaker at the 22-minute mark of the second half to put the Wildcats ahead. Mia Mangano’s foot spoke two minutes later when the junior drove the ball into the back of the net on a penalty kick for the insurance goal.
Shoreham-Wading River goalie Morgan Lesiewicz made 10 stops in net.
The Wildcats traveled to Southampton Tuesday, Sept. 24, and continued their winning streak by easily beating the Mariners, 5-0.
Mount Sinai’s Caiya Schuster makes a save against Shoreham-Wading River’s Nicky Constant. Photo by Desirée Keegan
By Desirée Keegan
All Lydia Kessel was thinking in the final seconds of overtime is that she couldn’t let Mount Sinai score.
The Shoreham-Wading River junior goalkeeper wanted action, but received almost more than she could handle. A cluster of frenzied girls squeezed between the six and 18-yard line, and that made it difficult to get a hand on the ball.
Mount Sinai’s Victoria Johnson and Shoreham-Wading River’s Haley Rose battle for the ball. Photo by Desirée Keegan
“It was like a game of Pong,” she said of the final frantic moments of the Sept. 27 match. “It was just touches — the ball was going back and forth and the only thing going through my head is that I had to get the ball. If I could get the ball, I could get it out and we can get through the last 10 seconds. I did not want to lose in the last 10 seconds.”
Kessel eventually muscled her way to the ball, although she missed it on the first grab and left a Mount Sinai player with an open net. She threw herself on top of the loose ball, scooped it up and tossed it away to escape with the 0-0 draw for her Wildcats and the Mustangs after two 10-minute overtime sessions.
“They’re a much more physical team,” Shoreham-Wading River head coach Adrian Gilmore said of Mount Sinai. “But we played a hard game. [Mount Sinai] plays a lot in the air, which is different from the way we play, since we play more to feet. I feel like any time we play them, anything could happen, because they’re so physical.”
Mount Sinai controlled the game for the first few minutes and showed that toughness, but Shoreham-Wading River pushed right back, and came up with back-to-back chances at a goal, the first of which went off the right post.
After the two teams tied 2-2 Sept. 8, Mount Sinai head coach Courtney Leonard expected much of the same the second time around.
“I thought something like this would occur,” she said. “Shoreham — their personnel, our personnel are very evenly matched. They had chances and we had them. They had an unfortunate post in the beginning of the game that could’ve gone in and we had some opportunities in the middle of the net with nobody there that we should’ve gotten. But I thought we did a great job.”
Lydia Kessel sends the ball into play after making a stop. Photo by Desirée Keegan
Shoreham-Wading River senior outside midfielder Alex Kuhnle had several opportunities to help her team put one away in the second half. First, she attempted a fake from 25 yards out, but Mount Sinai’s junior goalkeeper Caiya Schuster saved her shot. Later, sophomore striker Nicky Constant, took a pass from senior midfielder Sarah Stietzle, but the touch was too soft. Kuhnle also tried to set up Constant twice, but Schuster saved the first, and although the second attempt went in, an offside call waved off the goal. Another shot went in within a five-minute span, but offside was called again. Schuster made 10 big saves on the evening to keep her team in the game.
“Mount Sinai is always a tough team to go up against,” Kuhnle said. “They always come out strong, and I think that we reacted well. We were just unlucky with our shots. We had a lot of opportunities, so that’s a good thing, but moving on, we need to work on finishing.”
Despite junior sweeper Samantha Higgins being forced to leave the game with a foot injury, Shoreham-Wading River’s defense held its own. Kessel made a save with 5:54 left in regulation, one of her five for the game.
“It was a tough battle, but we all helped,” Mount Sinai sophomore midfielder and forward Brooke Cergol said. “We focused on covering their top players, attacking and looking outside; we just really wanted to score and win this game.”
Mount Sinai’s Brooke Cergol and Shoreham-Wading River’s Alex Kuhnle race for the ball. Photo by Desirée Keegan
Gilmore said having Kessel, a three-year varsity starter, in goal helped her feel more comfortable about the matchup.
“I think having her in the back is such a dangerous weapon,” she said. “My assistant coach [Brian Ferguson] thinks it was one of the best games he’s seen her play. I expect her to do what she does, and it’s a nice feeling.”
With the draw, both teams move to 4-1-2 in League VI. It is the last time the two rivals — that are just miles from each other down Route 25A — are scheduled to battle this season, but it certainly may not be the last time they face off.
Kuhnle said if they see each other again in the postseason, her team will be ready.
“There’s a ton of talent on this team and we can go as far as we want to go if everyone comes together and plays hard,” she said. “This will help fuel a fire for playoffs and show us what we have to work on, so maybe we’ll focus a little more in practice to improve. I’m not disappointed with our performance though; we just got unlucky.”
