Riverhead girls soccer is still learning, not ready to depart developmental league

The phrase “developmental league” may have a negative connotation, but Riverhead girls soccer head coach Kasey Mandery doesn’t care. She wants her team to be ready before they rejoin Suffolk County’s League I.

When Mandery took over the girls soccer program four years ago, they could compete with one of Long Island’s best strikers, Alexis Re, who later went on to attend Division I West Virginia to continue her soccer career. But they finished 5-9 and out of the playoffs.

The following year, with Re gone, the team went 0-15.

“It was clear to me then,” Mandery said. “We needed to develop. There was no pipeline here; there was no program. I wanted to build it from the ground up, and the only way to do that was to join the developmental league with other like-minded teams.”

Riverhead committed to two years in the developmental league, and those two years just came to an end this season. The first year, the Blue Waves won nine games. This year, they won five.

“Being in the developmental league is not a bad thing,” Mandery said. “Losing by five or six goals every game in League I makes a program so much worse. Here, we’re building confidence. We’re working on things and getting better. We go into games with the mentality that we could win instead of waiting for the inevitable loss.”

When asked where the state of the program was after these two years, Mandery replied: “Still developing. I don’t think we’re ready yet, and I think another two years here would help us get to the other League I schools’ level.”

If the Blue Waves were winning every game with ease, Mandery would have a change of thought. But even against the smaller schools, Riverhead is still struggling, but the light at the end of the tunnel is there.

“Our numbers are growing at every level,” Mandery said. “When we have program workouts, we have six goalies training. That’s huge. The more girls that come out, the more of a chance we can build something sustainable here.”

To close out the home schedule, Riverhead defeated Wyandanch 4-0 on Monday. Beibhinn Purcell, Ashley Valle, Maggie Morgan and Gabriella Re all found the back of the net. Purcell’s goal was her eighth of the season to lead the team.

It was another notch in the belt of confidence. 

Riverhead’s defeated teams like Copiague, Amityville, and Central Islip this season, but they’ve also lost or tied them on the other end of the season. The teams in the developmental league are pretty balanced.

Games are expected to be tight. It gives you opportunities to play in a tense game and test your skill and heart. It’s a much different atmosphere than what they would face playing polished, heavily trained teams.

“We want the girls to enjoy the experience of playing soccer for Riverhead,” Mandery said. “It does us and the other teams in League I no good having us there. We’re getting better, though. I see it every day. We’re going to build this thing the right way so that every girl that comes through the ranks can enjoy the experience, too.”