Alexis Re putting up big numbers in final season at Riverhead

Alexis Re had lofty goals for herself and the Riverhead girls soccer team. She wanted to score 40 goals and lead Riverhead to the playoffs. Both of those are rare occurrences in Suffolk County girls soccer and although she’s likely to fall shy of those ultimate goals, there have been plenty of accomplishments along the way in her final varsity season.

Re leads Long Island in goals with 31, which is 10 more than anyone else in varsity girls soccer this year through Monday. She’s just the third girls soccer player to score at least 30 goals in the regular season since 2016, according to Newsday records. Leah Iglesias had 34 goals in the regular season for Carle Place in 2019, the most during that span.

“I’m still kind of mad I’m not going to get to 40,” Re said. “But hitting 31 so far is still a pretty good achievement for me and I’m happy with that. I’d like to reach 35 or as much as I can.”

Re, who is committed to play at West Virginia, has been an imposing force for three years on Riverhead. She lost out on playing her freshman year after Riverhead was forced to eliminate sports for the 2020-21 year due to a budget shortfall amid the pandemic.. Re said some of her teammates transferred out of the school, but she wanted to remain in Riverhead.

She’s been a vital part of a substantial turnaround at Riverhead for a program that had just 19 players and no junior varsity team her sophomore year. The Blue Waves didn’t win a league game last year, but they are 5-8 in Suffolk Division I this year with their final contest on Wednesday against Bay Shore.

“It’s been gradual steps, but I’m happy this year with what we’ve done,” Re said. “It just motivates me more to be on a team with others with the same goals as me to get better every single day. COVID took a toll on me and all the girls on the team, but we’ve always wanted to come back stronger.”

Riverhead coach Kasey Mandery credited Re as a key part of that turnaround.

“They’ve really been through a lot together and I think she knows that she can be a role model to the younger girls,” Mandery said. “The middle school girls see her playing and if they see it on our field, they believe that can be them someday.”

Re has scored in 10 of 14 games this season, despite being guarded by upwards of five players once she touches the ball.

“Sometimes if I’m up top, I won’t have a lot of help, so I know it’s just me trying to get through five people,” Re said. “Every single game I know that’s something that’s going to happen so I just need to stay mentally tough and try to get through it.”

 Re will graduate early to take spring classes and practice with West Virginia for the spring semester.

“Her stats set her apart but the girls have been working really, really hard together,” Mandery said. “And I think she just wants to make sure that she does as much as she can to set us as far ahead as we can possibly be before she leaves.”