Thursday, October 1, 2026
Uniondale has reason to be optimistic, especially so given its start to the girls’ soccer season.
Coach Kevin Daly credits a dazzling 4-0 beginning as the key reason. The wins went like this: 6-0 over Hempstead, 5-0 over Roosevelt, 7-0 over Westbury, and 7-1 over Sewanhaka. Uniondale netted 25 goals while only conceding one across four games, which Daly called, “by far, the best start we’ve ever had.”
No unit gets more praise than the other as Daly called it an all-around team effort.
“The keeper is doing very well, we’ve got a good goalkeeper, Ashley Bonilla, a couple of good saves,” he said. “She hasn’t had a great deal to do but when she has had to deal with it, she’s got very good feet for a goalkeeper, she hasn’t panicked, positionally she’s been good on her line, so far so good.”
Daly was also quick to credit his defensive unit consisting of Emily Ramos-Turcios and Yolany Rivera, as they have taken a lot of pressure of the goalkeeper with their heavy press, as well as the fact the midfield squad also assists the back four if necessary.
“[Ramos-Turcios] is a senior, she probably plays since eighth grade I believe, she’s now an essential defender,” Daly said. “She’s fast, she’s aggressive, she heads the ball and there’s very little that gets past her. She’s doing a brilliant job, she’s probably the leader on defense this year.
“It’s [Rivera’s] first time playing center of defense, she’s come in and she’s excellent,” he added. “Quick, aggressive, so if Emily gets beaten, Yolany is usually the last line of defense and she’s just done a really good job of clearing everything up.”
In the midfield, standouts like Sarah Chavez and Jazmin Flores have kept the area on point, fortifying the whole team’s offensive output.
“Those two are more on the defensive side of midfield, but Any battle that’s in the midfield, they’ve been winning the ball and then they bring it up to the attacking people,” Daly drew up.
As for the attacking half of the pitch, look no further than Briana Estrada: she alone is responsible for 8 of the 25 goals scored through the first four games. “She’s got a great start, she’s got great feet, so when the two [defensive midfielders] win the ball, they look for those kinds of players, and she has scored some amazing goals,” Daly explained. “She’s very composed in front of the goals, she hits the corners but she also has the ability to hit longer goals.”
As for the other 17 goals, 7 were scored by Brianna Marquez, a hat trick by Emely Orozco, Keishara Tulloch and Chavez each found the back of the net twice, and Jahnia Thompson, Kimberlyn Hernandez and Flores all banked solo shots.
It’s easy to get caught up in one’s success, so Daly is sure to remind the Knights it’s still early and that there’s more work to be done.
“Seeing some of the performances and the all-around improvement in all areas of the team, it has given us a little more confidence but we don’t want to get ahead of ourselves,” Daly cautioned. “We’ve got some good teams to play.”
