After a positive offseason, East Meadow girls soccer is ready to get back into action, says coach Nicolette Tortorici.
“Getting back into the swing of things, getting our feet wet; getting to see the girls play together has been really great so far,” he said
Coming off a 2025 season, where the Jets went 7-4-7 and missed last year’s playoffs. Therefore, the goal for this fall is clear: make it to the postseason.
It’s been done before quite recently, back in 2024, when Jets was crowned the conference champions.
“It was a great experience, and we hope to get there another time,” Tortorici said.
With the playoffs as the end goal, Tortorici named Ella Giordano, a senior center-midfielder, as one of the returnees to watch as she was one of last year’s leading goal scorers. She had a goal and an assist in a season-opening 4-1 victory at Baldwin Sept. 1.
“She’s very skilled, she has a lot of experience, and she makes a huge impact for us on the team throughout the four years she’s been a part of the program,” Tortorici said.
There’s also goalkeeper Ava Matthews, a returning senior starter, and Tortorici voiced how she’s hoping to see Matthews become an even more prominent voice in the defense.
“She has a lot of experience, she’s been a part of the program for the past four years and she’s looking to have a big senior year so we’re looking forward to having her in the back on the net,” Tortorici explained.
To support Matthews, the Jets have returning senior defender Peyton Chester, noted as a reliably strong defender.
There are some younger returners too, like sophomore Jayden Padgett. “As a ninth grader, she really made a statement, she was one of our best players, really a playmaker who knows the game very well, so we’re looking forward to having her back now with a year of varsity high school experience under her belt,” Tortorici said.
Another player to keep an eye on is Charli Tesoriere, another sophomore; she was among Nassau County’s leading goal scorers two years ago and has now blossomed into an even further skilled player, Tortorici said.
“She plays up top for us. she’s fast, she’s quick, she’s tiny, and we are looking forward to her putting points up,” she said. Tortorici added Tesoriere, even at her young age, is the go-to in the offense.
The youngest in this year’s squad is Madison Padgett, an eighth grader.
“We saw how skillful she was at our clinic last year and then by recommendations we invited her to our summer workouts, and she fit in with the girls seamlessly,” Tortorici gleamed about East Meadow’s youngest player, adding that she plays with a lot of grit and intensity. “She is definitely young but she plays like she has a lot of experience already so we’re looking forward to utilizing her in our starting lineup.”
Tortorici has her coaching eye on sophomore Isabella Oliveira, a “super-athlete” by her own words. “So coachable and such a great asset no matter where we put her on the field,” Tortorici said.
Without giving away too much, that’s part of the strategy for East Meadow: having so many threats.