Girls Soccer: SWR ‘Kicks for Kylie’, clinches league title

The Shoreham-Wading River girls soccer team made “Kicks for Kylie” and kicked itself to a league championship to boot.

SWR clinched the Suffolk County League IV championship Monday with a 2-0 victory in a showdown with second-place Eastport-South Manor. SWR’s last league title came in 2019, when the Wildcats won their first state crown.

Making Monday’s match at Thomas Cutinella Memorial Field in Shoreham more meaningful was the fact that it was played in conjunction with a fundraiser for Kylie Knight, a 3-year-old who was diagnosed with cancer. She is the daughter of former SWR soccer player Lauren (Warner) Knight.

Speaking of the league title, coach Michael Gengler said, “That’s extra special on a very special day, you know, for Kylie.”

Senior forward GraceAnn Leonard said: “I don’t personally know her, but we’re all obviously playing for her. We know that her mother was an [alumna] here and she’s tied in with us.”

For the occasion, the Wildcats marched onto the field holding hands with youth players before lining up for the national anthem. They played in bright pink shirts with “KICKS FOR KYLIE” printed on the back of them, with matching pink socks.

“I love it,” senior forward Kya Condon said of the look.

The Wildcats (12-2-1, 12-0 entering Wednesday’s regular-season finale at Mount Sinai) liked the way they played, too. What was there not to like?

SWR’s offense produced two nice second-half goals — a brilliant strike from a free kick by Condon and a clinical finish by Bella Sweet. The flat-four defense of Mia Gengler, 2021 All-State player Grace Hillis, Jessica Nastasi and Annie Sheehan was “outstanding,” said Michael Gengler, a former SWR baseball and soccer player in his first head coaching post in girls varsity soccer.

Because of the way that defense clamped down on ESM (10-3-2, 10-2), goalkeeper Morgan Lesiewicz wasn’t bothered to make more than two saves for the team’s 11th shutout. SWR, winner of 11 straight, has outscored opponents, 68-6.

“We learned a lot from the beginning of them getting to learn from me and me getting to learn from them,” Michael Gengler said of his players. “They’re eager to learn, and I’m not surprised. The late night training sessions, the early morning sessions always come to mean something this time of year, so I think the girls, they’re a special group led by nine incredible seniors and they’re paving the way for underclassmen to come.”

What makes SWR so good?

“Just the amount of love we have for each other,” Condon said. “We’re just really connected as a family. We do so [many] team events and we hang out outside. Like, we’re just connected. We’re all on the same wavelength.”

That chemistry shows with a team that features nine seniors. Among them are Abigail Beran, Madison Bergen, Katie Coster, Lindsay Langella, Jilliana Luck and Annie Sheehan.

Leonard has 15 goals and 16 assists while Condon (10 goals, 12 assists), Ava Gengler (10 goals, nine assists) and Beran (11 goals, three assists) have also led the SWR offense, according to Newsday’s statistics.

Condon’s latest goal came following a handball call against ESM. She drilled a low 20-yard free kick off the right goalpost and into the net 5 minutes, 44 seconds into the second half.

“It was like nerve-wracking,” Condon said. “I didn’t want to accidentally blast it over, but we practice that a lot.”

Just a minute earlier, Beran had cut the ball back on the left flank before firing a dangerous right-footer off the inside of the right post, only to see the ball cleared.

Sweet sealed things with 1:42 to go. Mia Mangano delivered a nice long ball for Hillis, who centered it for Sweet to apply the finishing touch.

“We knew on the schedule that ESM was going to be our strongest contender,” Michael Gengler said. “We were grateful it was towards the end of the season and prior to playoffs because it certainly kept our girls accountable today. You could see that in the score line. No, the girls absolutely knew the importance of the game on a day where we were, you know, raising money for a great cause and for a great family and some might see that as a distraction. They were able to lock it in and we were able to come out on top.”

Said Leonard, “I love how close we are, and I don’t think I’ve ever been on a team that is this loving.”

Correction: A photo caption incorrectly identified SWR’s Jessica Nastasi, who was the player making a tackle.