Girls soccer: Wildcats gear up for another run at state title

Fresh off an appearance in the New York State final last year, the Shoreham-Wading River Wildcats girls soccer team is gearing up to make another run this year, and the early results of the preseason games show that they haven’t lost a step. The Wildcats participate in the Town of Islip Summer League and have posted a flawless 5-0 record thus far, knocking off the likes of big schools such as Smithtown East, Smithtown West, and Bay Shore – teams that play in Division I. They’ve played five games and have only allowed one goal.

“We look so good,” SWR head coach Adrian Gilmore said. “After the first game of the preseason Coach Ferguson and I, and we’ve been coaching together a very long time, we always call each other on the way home. After the first game we didn’t even wait for that phone call, we stayed at the field for 45 minutes after the game with smiles on our faces about how good we looked. The returning girls looked so good and so did the younger kids coming up.”

Photos by Bill Landon

The coaches see part of the keys to success to be how to replace the heart and soul of last year’s team in Grace Hillis. The All-State midfielder did it all for the Wildcats, scoring crucial goals when they mattered most and also trekked back to play a suffocating defense, refusing to let anyone pass easily. Hillis will suit up for Division I Old Dominion University this fall, and the Wildcats will surely miss her contributions. 

“Grace is one of those players that is like once in a lifetime,” Gilmore said. “We’re not going to be able to replace her. We’re going to have to switch some things and play a little differently this year. We hope to be more offensive.”

Ava Gengler, who was supposed to be a major part of last year’s team, ended up tearing her ACL and missed the entire campaign. A pure goal-scorer at heart, Gengler will be a focal point in her final season as a Wildcat. She already scored a hat-trick in one of the summer games. She’s picked up right where she left off.

“Ava was our missing piece to winning the state championship last year,” Gilmore said. “She’s a phenomenal player. She has great vision and controls the pace very well. With her back in the mix, we’re looking to score more goals this year. The goals that Grace scored I’m sure Ava will tally those up for us.”

Between Gengler and Olivia Pesso, who came on the soccer scene last year after spending the majority of her fall seasons being a part of the cross country team, the middle of the pitch will be a dangerous spot for any team that comes up against the Wildcats. Pesso drew praise all season long from coaches all over the league after she seemingly came out of nowhere.

“Liv has got a nasty shot and we’re trying to get her to trust in herself more,” Gilmore said. “For whatever reason it just seems like she holds back a little bit. Last year was her first year playing school soccer so she’s still getting used to everyone and the system. We expect a lot more goal scoring from her this year.”

Mia Mangano will also be a major part of the offensive mix after scoring 11 goals and assisting on six others last year.

Through the summer, Gilmore only fields one team, combining varsity and junior varsity players. She even brings up a few select eighth graders that she feels will benefit from playing against varsity competition. This allows her to figure out who should come up to varsity and who should stay in JV.

“We have such a strong soccer talent pool always coming through our system so I like to take a look at the program from top to bottom,” Gilmore said. “Some of these  eighth graders are playing amazing right now, and you can’t even tell that they’re so young.”

There’s only one spot that seems to be open for the taking, and Gilmore is rotating players to try to fill it. Whether it be a more experienced player or someone new coming up, there is plenty to choose from. Twenty-six players are on the roster during the summer and each of them get significant playing time.

One position that isn’t up for grabs is goalkeeper. Morgan Lesiewicz has been a rock at the back of the varsity defense since  eighth grade. More often than not, she was able to stop oncoming attacks, even at point blank range. She was a major piece of last year’s success and now she’s entering her senior season.

“She’s been in goal for us for so long and she’s a terrific player and leader for us,” Gilmore said. “She’s definitely the glue to keep everyone together with her communication and how hard she works.”

Shoreham-Wading River will begin their season with two non-league games against Commack and West Islip the first week of September. They are both figured to be top teams in the higher divisions heading into the season.

“We want to schedule the toughest opponents from the start,” Gilmore said. “It shows us what we got and it’s a good way to gauge what we need to do coming into our league season. If we’re able to beat these larger schools, that says a lot about our program here.”