Islip High School’s current varsity girls soccer coach Mike Reilly and 2007 Islip graduate Jessica Herrmann will be inducted into the NYSSCOGS/New York State High School Girls Soccer Hall of Fame as part of the Class of 2022.
During his career, Reilly has been named New York State Coach of the Year twice, MSG Varsity Tri-State Coach of the Year, and United Soccer Coaches Regional Coach of the Year in 2021, as well as a United Soccer Coaches National Coach of the Year nominee. He has demonstrated his dedication to continue learning and developing as a coach and educator through his work in earning three U.S. Soccer National Diplomas and over 40 other diplomas and certificates in soccer, high school sports, safety, well-being, health and fitness. He is also one of only a few hundred high school sports coaches nationwide who has attained a NFHS Level II Certification.
Reilly will share this honor with Class of 2007 alumna Jessica Herrmann, whose numerous accolades included 2006 New York State Player of the Year, two-time Section XI Player of the Year, Newsday All-Long Island Player of the Year, three-time first team All-State winner, three-time All-Long Island winner, two-time United Soccer Coaches All-American nominee and All-Region selection, four-year Scholar-Athlete and honor roll winner, and a top-50 Soccer Buzz Recruit. In her four years (two as team captain) at Islip High School, Herrmann led the Lady Bucs to a 59-7-2 record, four league championships and two county championships. She played one year at Penn State before transferring to play her final three years at North Carolina State. In her junior year, she was only one of two players to start all 20 games, stabilizing the midfield as a center midfielder for the Wolfpack. Herrmann is the second of Reilly’s players to be inducted, following Class of 2003 graduate Sue Weber, who was inducted into the inaugural Hall of Fame class in 2017.
“The amount of contributions Coach Reilly has dedicated himself to in the name of girls soccer, the importance of school sports and the promotion of the game along with the vast amount of time and sacrifices he has made to the high school girls soccer landscape locally, regionally, and nationally is insurmountable and should be recognized sooner than the later,” said Hall of Fame President Perry Novak, HOF Founder and President.
“It is certainly an honor to be part of the New York State Girls High School Soccer Hall of Fame family,” stated Coach Reilly. “It was certainly unexpected, but obviously unbelievably appreciated. To be nominated, voted and now inducted by state sportswriters, my peers, colleagues and competitors covering all sections in New York State high school sports is incredibly humbling. I am truly grateful for that opportunity presented before me over 20 years ago to have the honor and privilege to be part of the Islip community both in the classroom and on the pitch. It truly takes a community to raise a child – a student-athlete – and no one does that better than Islip. I most certainly share this honor with all the student-athletes, parents, and the Islip educational and local community, for without them, this would not be possible. To my JV coach of 20 years, Kevin Sheehy, and middle school coaches over the past two decades, I am tremendously thankful for. It has never been about just the varsity team or any one team or player, but building a successful program that I am very proud of. The icing on the cake, too, is that I will be sharing this moment with another one of Islip’s greats, Jessica Herrmann.”
Date Added: 5/9/2022