Immaculata building successful girls soccer program with culture, high-level training

If you look around at high school sports teams throughout New Jersey, you’d be hard-pressed to find a greater transformation of a program than Somerville’s Immaculata girls soccer.

The Spartans have often been ranked among the state’s top 20 teams this fall after spending most of the millennium as one of the weakest teams on opponents’ schedules. Immaculata posted only one winning record from 2002-17 including a 24-78-12 record for those last six years.

Then everything changed when Immaculata athletic director Tom Gambino hired Jeremy Beardsley, a two-time state champion while coaching Montgomery for 15 years, to become the head girls’ soccer coach in 2018.

“The biggest thing I wanted to do, with the support of Mr. Gambino, was establish a culture,” Beardsley said. “Once we established that culture, we worked on having high-quality kids look at our school and be invested in our school and see what we were doing. And we got great kids to look at Immaculata. The school has been very supportive of my vision.”

That culture shift started with the Spartans having pride for their shield by setting traditions and standards. They aimed to achieve more and more every year, whether it be advancing further in the county tournament or the state tournament. Each senior class has topped the previous one to create great legacies over the past six seasons.

“It’s been amazing,” said Amari Manning, a sophomore forward from Flemington who led the team in scoring (as of Nov. 7) with 18 goals and seven assists. “At Immaculata, you have the type of culture that I don’t think you can find in many other places, and the team works so hard. Just everyone trying to get better and for each other. It’s a really special environment.”

While Immaculata has had a winning record for six straight years, the Spartans are now maintaining it with a more challenging schedule. They earned a No. 2 seed – their highest under Beardsley – in Non-Public A South division this season and have become a legitimate state title contender.

“They’re great kids, and they’re so together and we’re so united, and it creates three months of just fun,” Beardsley said. “It’s competitive, and we’re serious. We have high standards, high expectations, but we have so much fun, too. That’s the exciting part of it.”

Along with the change in mentality, Immaculata has been able to recruit more talented players because Beardsley is a knowledgeable club soccer coach for the local Players Development Academy in Franklin Twp. Manning is a PDA product who played this summer with the U-15 Women’s Youth National Team as well.

“Amari is as special as they come,” Beardsley said. “She’s also just an amazing kid, unbelievable student, great teammate.”

Other standouts on the team include sophomore forward Rosalie Ramos, who had 11 goals and three assists (as of Nov. 7) and senior midfielder Devin Reeves, whom Beardsley describes as the heartbeat of the team with her hustle and passion.

Reeves and Manning are also Marian Scholars at the school.

“It’s been really special for me,” Manning said. “This school is a great school, and then also including my faith [factoring] into that, just growing stronger with God while also growing stronger in my soccer and my academics and preparing me for college. It’s amazing.”

When it comes to soccer, Manning says the Spartans are difficult to play against because they’re an aggressive team that won’t let you run past them. They work hard for every ball and pass, and they have sharp technical skills and the ability to finish goals, all evident in their first state tournament game on Nov. 7 when they won 9-0 over Our Lady of Mercy.

This all stems from Immaculata’s developmental environment. The girls undergo intense training and play a more organized brand of soccer than many other schools.

“You’re going to be surrounded by really good players, so I think people are attracted to that,” Beardsley said. “There’s so much investment from a lot of these club parents in club soccer. They don’t necessarily want an environment where their kid regresses, or it’s not the best level of soccer. They know they could come here, and yeah, we win a fair share of games, but we try to play good soccer, and our training sessions are unbelievable.”

The process works because Beardsley says he has strong support from Gambino and Immaculata principal Edward Webber when it comes to the team’s logistical needs.

“He really teaches us hard work, determination, how to be mentally and physically strong, and just push through everything and adversity,” Manning said of Beardsley.

While the future is certainly bright on the field with Immaculata’s top-two scorers being only sophomores, the Spartans also cherish bonding together off the field. All of the student-athletes live within 30 to 45 minutes of each other, Manning said, and that has fostered their unflappable culture as well.

“We’re all really close,” Manning said. “I’ve been to almost everybody’s house, and we have pasta parties before every game which is really special. Different people host every time. After practice the team gets together, and it’s a big way that grows our bond, which also translates on the field. And even in school, you see everybody at school, everyone says hi. It’s a really strong family.”