Massapequa Girls Soccer's Championship Season: A Look Back

There are few words needed to describe the success that followed the Massapequa girls’ soccer team throughout their 2010 Class AA New York State Championship run.

The Chiefs collected their fourth overall state title (1997, 2003, 2005, and 2010) with a pair of wins over Baldwinsville in the semifinals and Webster-Thomas in the finals at SUNY Cortlandt.  

“This was definitely the team where we had the best chemistry,” Massapequa head coach Bruce Stegner said. “There was a really good bond between the girls. Up at states, we were able to convert chances as opposed to some past games.”  

Led by a mix of experienced midfielders, promising talent up front, and a dominant senior defensive line, Stegner was able to be a part of his third championship-winning team with the Chiefs.  

“The defensive front, who were all seniors, did a great job back there and they really shut people down in the playoffs along with Emmalee Meyer doing a nice job in goal,” Stegner said. “On top of that, you’ve got Amanda Reverberi at midfield and she was just outstanding as well. We had a couple players step up and score some big goals like Rosie DiMartino and Taylor Kugler.”  

Reverberi, who as a senior captain served as the rock of her team at midfield all year, received the honors of MVP at states. She also found the back of the net for the game-winning goal against Smithtown East in the Long Island Championship.

“Winning the MVP was amazing. It was a great feeling to end my senior year that way,” Reverberi said. “The team was so close, like one big family. Winning states was a great way to end the year and the last four years with them has been great.”

The Chiefs finished the season with an undefeated 19-0-1 record, all the while only conceding four goals while putting in 87 of their own.  

“We pretty much outplayed every team we’ve played, but it always comes down to converting chances,” Stegner said. “We scored two goals in each of our last three games, and against these teams, that is great stuff. With the defense that we had, that was all we needed.”  

The road to the title wasn’t necessarily smooth sailing for Stegner and the Chiefs. In their quarterfinal match up against Bellmore JFK, Massapequa was pushed to the end by the Cougars, narrowly escaping multiple scoring opportunities with the help of Meyer and senior Tori Lander. That was quickly forgotten about when DiMartino put in a goal with just minutes remaining.  

“JFK had us on the ropes in the quarterfinals having it be a tied game up until about 15 minutes left,” Stegner said. “They surprised us a little bit, so that was probably the hardest battle for us.”  

There is no question that the senior group, led Reverberi, Lander, and Jamie Strumwasser, were largely responsible for the Chiefs’ tremendous achievements, but with talented underclassmen set to return, Massapequa figures to be in the mix for back-to-back titles.  

“We are losing 13 seniors, but have a really good core group of sophomores and juniors who got a lot of significant time in the playoffs,” Stegner added. “They all will play in a bigger role next year.”  

Congratulations again to the 2010 New York State Champion Massapequa Lady Chiefs!