Thursday, October 1, 2026
Hewlett’s girls’ soccer team is off to as fast a start as any coach and player could hope for, as it sits at 4-2-1 overall and 3-1-1 in conference play with the Bulldogs’ most recent match ending in a 2-2 draw against Clarke last Friday.
Through Hewlett’s first seven games, two freshmen center midfielders are top five in Nassau County in points. Isabella Hercules has recorded 8 goals and 3 assists while Ella Giordano has notched 7 goals and 3 assists.
“They’re two freshmen with great skill, speed and understanding of the game,” Coach Gil Kreiss said. “I’m happy that there’s multiple scoring threats. It’s nice to see that the scoring is getting spread around. I didn’t expect the grit that they have which has made such a difference.”
Grit has been the word Kreiss used to describe his team. Even though the Bulldogs are dominating a lot of opponents, even in the games they’ve lost, they’ve shown they can hang with anybody in the conference.
“They’re grit,” Kreiss said regarding what he’s liked from his team thus far. “There’s no quit in them, which is really something that you could impress upon, but it’s not easily taught and learned. There’s some true grit to the team and it’s shown in some tough games and tough spots.”
The Bulldogs aren’t made up of just two All-County honorable mention freshmen, they’re loaded with veteran leadership and other scoring threats. Senior forward Olivia Brown, who has 4 goals and senior central midfielder Giuliana Oliviero are Hewlett’s captains.
“They’ve shown great competency and leadership,” Kreiss said. “How to connect with the girls and meld everybody together and they’re just calm. They have a friendly way about them, but the girls also respect them so they get the team to respond to what they’re looking for, which is really nice.”
Even though Kreiss’ squad has scored 28 goals in seven games, it allowed just 16 with one shutout against Hicksville Sept. 4, 5-0. Sophomore goalkeeper Alyssa Reich has been lights out in net. “She’s been on the team and starting since eighth grade and she has a really nice progression,” Kreiss said. There’s been numerous breakaways this season and she’s shut everybody down. She has a knack for making a play. Now, she’s developing that leadership in the back.”
Sophomore defenseman Shai Cohen, senior outside midfielder Rebecca Sult, junior outside midfielder Alexa Lapaglia, senior defenseman Ella Fay, sophomore outside midfield Hailey Haber, junior outside midfielder Melaina Magliaro, outside defensemen junior Ella Yamen, sophomore Angelina Batista, senior Zarina Wadiwala and junior forward Daniella Koltyar all play important roles.
Even with all the scoring, Kreiss and the Bulldogs pay strict attention to defense.
“[Fay] got in the game and turned it on – her play demanded more,” Kreiss said. “I started to figure out how to keep her on the field more, kind of like a fifth defender in the middle and it just calmed everything down.”
Major tests are on the horizon with Great Neck North and South at home Oct. 7 and 9, respectively, both at 6:30 p.m.
