Thursday, October 1, 2026
Already a county champion in her first season of varsity girls’ soccer, Ryleigh Nocera was not ready for Seaford’s postseason run to end when it took the field Saturday against Babylon in the Long Island Class B title game.
The freshman striker made sure that Seaford’s historic playoff journey would continue when just 54 seconds into overtime she was able to control a long throw-in from Kayla Hoehn and fire a shot into the upper left corner. The clinching goal of a 1-0 win at nearby Berner Middle School in Massapequa sent Seaford to upstate Cortland for a state semifinal clash with Irvington next Saturday at 3 p.m. where the Vikings will look to write some more history.
“I didn’t think it would go in and then it went in and my whole team rushed to me and it was an amazing feeling,” said Nocera, who nine days earlier had set up Kaylie Conklin for another 1-0 overtime victory against Wheatley that delivered Seaford its first-ever county crown. “I’ve only been here a year and this team feels like family,” Nocera added.
Seaford (14-1-1) had a number of chances to win in regulation including an apparent Conklin goal in the second half wiped out by an offsides call. Kiera Lukas also nearly put Seaford in front with a close-range shot that hit the side of the net in the 69th minute.
The Vikings’ defense stood strong in posting the team’s ninth shutout this season with a backline led by Arianna Garcia, Amanda Williamson, Mia Leggio and Amanda Ettinger. Sophomore goalkeeper Joanna Bello recorded eight saves.
Seaford’s championship season was set in motion when a drop in enrollment caused the Vikings to move to a smaller Class B after tackling a grueling Conference A2 schedule last year. Eighth-year coach Ken Botti, who stressed over the summer the unique opportunity in front of his team for a memorable run, said there is tremendous hunger for the season to extend as far as possible.
“It’s been enjoyable from the first day we met in June and we don’t want the ride to end,” said Botti, moments after the players doused him with water. “At the beginning of overtime we said that we’re coming back Monday and will see them next week and that we are going to Cortland. We weren’t ready to end it.”
The next stop in Seaford’s breakthrough season comes Saturday against Westchester County’s Irvington, which knocked off Chenango Valley 5-0 in a regional final last Friday. A win Saturday would allow the Vikings to compete for a state title Sunday versus the winner of Saturday’s other Class B semifinal between Haverling and Westhill.
“It's historic for the girls, the community and the school and every day we're out here, the longer we're out here the more history we write,” Botti said. “We have a great fan base behind us and we're going to go up to Cortland and bring it home.”
