Thursday, October 1, 2026
For the Carey girls’ soccer team, winning conference titles has become second nature. Over the past three seasons, the Seahawks have been promoted to three new conferences, with this year’s being AA-2.
In three games thus far, Carey is 1-1-1, with a 2-1 victory over Plainview in the Sept. 6 opener, a 3-3 draw with Long Beach Sept. 9, and a 1-0 loss to Calhoun Sept. 11.
Two of the three captains have put together stellar performances through just three games. Junior center attacking midfielder Gabriella Perna recorded one goal and two assists while junior and All-County center defensive midfielder Amelia Kamalara recorded a goal and an assist. Senior centerback Ava Iori, the third captain was left off the statsheet, but her time may arise as she's leaned on heavily by her teammates.
“They’re [Perna and Iori] people that the girls can go to, they’re always bringing the team together,” Carey coach Chris Posillico said. “They push each other, making sure everyone does the right thing. Those are the type of girls you want to run the team.
“We have a lot of leaders on this team and a lot of girls that shine,” he added. “Amelia is much more mature than her age shows. Even though she’s the best player on the field, she’s always pushing other people, she’ll always be working the hardest in a drill. Sometimes your best players can be the laziest at practice. Her work ethic is just incredible.”
The ‘fearless’ senior goalkeeper in Madison Gonzalez is leaned on by Posillico. Her tall stature and athletic ability gives her team security in the back end. “She’s one of the best goalkeepers in the county,” Posillico said.
Posillico’s roster had five eighth graders in spite of a 7-4-1 record last season. He thinks that experience can only help his team, moving forward.
“They were awesome for us last year, but this year as freshmen they just seem so much older,” Posillico said. “They play at such a high level of travel, bringing that to our team is super helpful because they already know the game and they play at such a high-level. I feel like they’re wiser than the average high school player.”
A player that’s not listed as a captain but acts like one in the way that she leads is sophomore and 2024 All-County award winning striker Laura Maya.
“She sees the game really well, same thing with [right back] Juliana Tonkin, even though she’s a freshman,” Posillico said. “She’s always loud on the field, you know where she is, she’s always calling for the ball. Those are things that are hard to teach, so those two definitely, Ava and Amelia, even though they’re my captains. If something is going on with the team, they’ll be the first ones to say, ‘okay, I’ll pull the girl aside and talk to her.’ I’m lucky to have a really good group.”
Daisy Buja, who earned herself an All-County honorable mention a season ago as a freshman, is poised for a breakout season. “Physically for a 10th grader, she’s tall, has great athleticism and she sees the field really well,” Posillico said. “She’s really calm on the ball which is not something that’s easy to teach. She’s an anchor in the midfield.”
Coming up on the ledger for Carey is a match at Manhasset this Friday at 5 p.m.
