Thursday, October 1, 2026
The Long Beach girls’ soccer team entered the postseason with momentum on its side.
The Marines wrapped up the regular season (7-4-3) going unbeaten in their final four matches to earn the No. 6 seed in the Class AA playoffs. Long Beach then continued that winning feeling Monday with a 2-1 first-round playoff win to advance to the Class AA quarterfinals.
“I’m proud of how we stepped up the second half of the season, especially because we had some injured players that didn't play in that middle portion of our season,” said coach Ashley Gervasi. “The girls stepped up to keep us in the fight and get us in position for playoffs.”
The playoff victory over Roslyn featured first-half goals from Maya Kallelis and Kaitlyn Kelly, both off assists from Ava Kolb. Senior goalie Vanessa Leddy recorded nine saves.
Long Beach closed the regular season with a 4-2 home win against Bethpage last Friday on goals from Kelly, Julia Russo, Jaymes Lin and Kolb. Natalie Claros and Alex Backlin also tallied one assist each in the combined effort.
The regular-season finale was the first time Long Beach was at full strength in quite some time with senior captain Alex Backlin and Kolb back in the lineup after battling injuries for around a month. The duo, who have been on varsity since eighth grade, provided the team a lift as instrumental leaders on and off the field, according to Gervasi.
The Bethpage triumph followed another offensive explosion two days earlier in a 3-2 win at Calhoun in which Claros registered a goal and assist. Kelly and Kolb also struck for goals in the victory, which helped the Marines maintain momentum after a 1-1 non-league tie with Oceanside the previous match.
Senior goalie Vanessa Leddy stepped up big for Long Beach in the home stretch of the regular season recording 13 saves in the Oceanside tie and eight stops in the Calhoun win. Leddy also made eight saves in a 2-0 shutout at Plainview-Old Bethpage JFK on Oct. 7 that jump-started the Marines’ late season unbeaten stretch.
“She’s really solid and it's always good to have a good senior back there in goal,” said Gervasi of Leddy, who was second in saves in Conference II. “She has come up with some big time saves in big time moments.”
The defense was also anchored by Lind, a junior center back who has committed to play collegiate soccer at Loyola, Md. The backline has limited opponents to a goal or less in eight matches with three shutouts.
Gervasi said her team’s tenacity this season was particularly evident during the Oceanside tie on Oct. 9 when Long Beach played without any subs when six starters were out. The Marines are now healthy in the playoffs and will look to continue the run Friday against MacArthur.
“II feel like we're at the perfect place at the perfect time,” Gervasi said. “You want to be playing your best soccer at the end of the year.”
