Girls soccer: Wildcats continue win streak with shutout
When Newsday’s list of the best 100 girls soccer players on Long Island came out during the summer, Shoreham-Wading River’s Mia Mangano looked up and down the list — and found she wasn’t on it.
“She definitely felt snubbed,” SWR head coach Adrian Gilmore said. “But we’ve told her that she’s number 101. My daughter was left off of the Top 100 for basketball and then won All-Long Island. It’s not how you start, it’s how you finish.”
Mangano is doing her best to prove that she belongs on that list. After being an integral part of last year’s team that made it all the way to the New York State championship, scoring 11 goals and six assists along the way, Mangano is leaving no doubt behind in her junior campaign. The forward scored three goals against Center Moriches Tuesday afternoon in a 4-0 victory at Center Moriches High School.
Her hat-trick adds to her team-leading total of 11 goals on the season with six regular season games left to play, already equaling what she had all of last season. She’s been a menace up front for the Wildcats — and when presented an opportunity to score, she rarely comes up empty.
“Mangano is a great player,” Gilmore said. “She’s smart and she’s got a nose for the goal. When she has the ball at her feet I know she’s going to make big things happen.”
“I’m happy and I’m super proud of what I’ve been able to accomplish so far this year,” Mangano said. “I’ve been putting in a lot of work this year and growing the bond with my teammates. We have to keep it going. We have so much to accomplish this year and we can’t let up.”
As much as Mangano has been scoring up front, Ava Gengler has been a rock on the other side of the field, creating opportunities and scoring goals. Gengler has scored three times this year but she’s a major part of any ball going forward, whether she starts the break or finishes it. The senior co-captain scored the team’s fourth goal on Tuesday.
“When we’re all on the same page we have such a dominant attack,” Gengler said. “I love that we’re winning every game but we need to keep working at continuing to grow as a team.”
The Wildcats have now won six straight games in the league to start the season and they’ve outscored their opponents 18-0 over that stretch. The Wildcat defense has been so stout, their opponents rarely even get a shot at goal. Five-year varsity goalkeeper Morgan Lesiewicz had to make only three saves against Center Moriches. It’s a testament to their defensive intensity.
It’s hard to believe that the Wildcats have three eighth-graders along the back line. Ella Nowaski, Tessa Cooke and Alexis Cordano should be on a middle school soccer team based on their age but their ability was instantly evident to Gilmore during the summer league.
“They don’t look like eighth-graders out there,” Gilmore said. “If I didn’t think they could handle it, they wouldn’t be out there. They proved they belong out there in the summer and continue to prove it throughout the season.”
It definitely helps to have two seniors to assist in the back. Johanna Ochsenfeld, who played left back last year, has shifted to center back and has dominated the center. Chloe Bergen, who played right back last year, has now taken over Grace Hillis’ spot from last year as the central defending midfielder. Between the two seniors, nothing really gets by, but if something happens to trickle out, the athleticism of the young girls around them cleans up the rest. It’s a perfect combination for success.
The Achilles’ heel for the team thus far has been slow starts. The Wildcats didn’t score against Center Moriches until only three minutes remained in the first half.
“If we’re playing against a good team, they can take advantage of that,” Gilmore said. “We need to come out how we did in that second half today, right at the start of the game every time. We need to be dominant from the opening whistle. I think when everything clicks, we’ll prove why we’re one of the best teams in Suffolk County.”