A season ago, Hewlett girls soccer captured a conference championship. Last year, the conference had just six teams, but this year, the conference has expanded to twelve teams and that meant some tougher competition to start the season.
So far, the Bulldogs are off to a 1-3 start including back-to-back 6-1 losses to Kennedy and Plainview to start the season as well as a 6-2 loss to Manhasset.
“Our first two games were really difficult but we weren’t non-competitive,” head coach Gil Kreiss said.
Hewlett notched its first win of the season on Sept. 15, a 3-2 come-from-behind road win at Division. Trailing 2-1, the Bulldogs rallied as sophomore forward/midfielder Ella Giordano scored the game-winning goal.
Giordano has scored six of Hewlett’s seven goals as she follows up an incredible freshman campaign that saw her hit the back of the net 22 times on her way to Conference Player of the Year honors.
“She’s a high-level talent,” Kreiss said. “She’s one of those people who has a knack to score goals.”
While Giordano tallied the game-winning goal, another Bulldog came up with a critical defensive play to preserve the victory.
Senior defensive midfielder and captain Daniella Kotlyar, a starter since she was a freshman and an All-Conference selection last year, came up with a bicycle kick off the goal line to clear the ball.
Not bad for someone who has helped out the team this year by switching from forward to a more defensive role.
“She brings this spark of energy and determination to the team,” Kreiss said.
Aside from Giordano, the only other Bulldog to score this season is sophomore defender/midfielder Isabel Hercules, an All-County selection last year and a member of the All-Conference team as an eighth grader.
“She brings a great sense of the game, reads the play really well and has the ability to score,” Kreiss said.
Hewlett has a rock as the last line of defense in junior goaltender Alyssa Reich, a four-year starter. Reich, who is also the starting shortstop on the Bulldogs softball team, was named Honorable Mention All-County last year.
“She has just gotten better and better each year with more confidence,” Kreiss said. “The team has confidence around her. She just makes save after save.”
Other key players for the Bulldogs include senior defenders and captains Alexa Lapaglia and Ella Yamen, junior defender Angelina Batista, and junior midfielders Hailey Haber and Melaina Magliaro.
As the season continues to evolve, there is a clear objective on what Hewlett has to do to be playoff-ready and to repeat as conference champions.
It has to be better in its own half of the field.
“We keep working on our defense,” Kreiss said. “Closing that up and making sure that we’re getting tighter with everything.”
Next up for the Bulldogs is Homecoming this Friday against Mepham at 7 p.m.
