SWR soccer team devotes season to beloved coach Gilmore
On the surface, to the unknowing eye, the matchup between Miller Place and Shoreham-Wading River on Tuesday afternoon was just a regular girls high school soccer game at Thomas Cutinella Memorial Field. But for those on the field and in the stands, it was as emotional and heart-wrenching as it gets — anything but normal.
For the last 13 years, Adrian Gilmore was a compelling fixture on the sidelines for the Shoreham-Wading River girls soccer team. The beloved coach, who impacted every girl that ever stepped foot in the program, won multiple Suffolk County and Long Island championships and one New York State title. She built the soccer program from the ground up to one of the most elite and feared teams on Long Island. Her passion and intensity for the game she loved bled through every minute she spent with the girls.
And for the first home game in a very long time, Gilmore was only there in spirit. A sign with her picture, honoring her memory, was displayed along the fenceline.
On April 22, while coaching lacrosse, Gilmore, 42, suffered a medical emergency and later died, leaving the Wildcat community grieving.
“We all were in shock,” SWR assistant coach Brian Ferguson said, who coached alongside Gilmore since 2016. “It took me a very long time to process what happened. She was one of my closest friends. I still haven’t come to terms with it but being on the field again brings a sense of normalcy to my life and it’s what she would’ve wanted me to do. That’s why I decided to come back and continue to coach. I want to keep building what she left behind.”
A month earlier, Lydia Kessel, a former SWR goalkeeper under Gilmore, who went on to star at the University of Vermont, was at the high school preparing a presentation for a job opening and ran into Ferguson by chance.
“I instantly texted Adrian,” Ferguson said. “I wrote, ‘You wouldn’t believe who I just ran into at the school.’ She instantly texted me back with ‘Who’ with a million exclamation marks. When I told her it was Lydia, we both started brainstorming and thought she’d be a perfect candidate for JV coach.”
“I couldn’t say no,” Kessel said, with a tear rushing down her face. “I never could say no. Adrian was the type of coach you would do anything for. I accepted.”
With Gilmore’s unexpected passing, Kessel was asked to take over the program to continue to honor her legacy. It’s a position she doesn’t take lightly.
“I just want to make her proud,” Kessel said. “She was a major influence on my life, starting as a little freshman. She taught me not only how to be a great athlete but also a great teammate and person. I want to continue her legacy here. She is Shoreham-Wading River soccer.”
A week into preseason camp this season, Ferguson opened up his facebook and a memory came across his screen. It was an article of Lydia making the game-winning save at the University of Vermont, and Gilmore had tagged him in it and said, “’That’s our girl!’ To me that was like her way of saying that she’s watching,” Ferguson said. “Shoreham-Wading River Soccer was always about being a family. That’s what she always placed the biggest emphasis on. And Lydia taking over the program is like keeping it in the family.”
With Gilmore’s brother and father in the stands for the home opener, the Wildcats, who debuted new jerseys featuring a memorial patch of Gilmore, blanked Miller Place, 4-0. Shoreham-Wading River got goals from Olivia Pesso, Shaelyn Varbero, Cali Greco and Mia Mangano.
“We’re playing for Coach Gilmore this season,” Mangano, a senior striker and captain, said. “It’s bigger than just a game for us. It’s everything. She always wanted us to leave everything on the field each game we played, and that’s the mentality we’re going to continue to bring the rest of the season. The sky is the limit for this group. We want to make it back to the states.”
Shoreham-Wading River went to back-to-back New York State final fours the past two seasons under Gilmore’s leadership. They have the talent to do it again. Gilmore will just have to be cheering from up above — following the journey of the girls she taught, coached and mentored.
