Keala Cicchino knew she was going to continue her soccer career at Monmouth University for more than a year.
But even for someone like Cicchino, who verbally committed before the start of her junior season, it didn’t really feel official until November when she formally signed her letter of intent to play at Monmouth.
Nov. 10 marked the first day of the early signing period for high school seniors in all sports except for football, to sign their letter of intent with the college they’re committed to.
“My first emotion was immediate relief. I was so happy to have finally sealed the deal,” said Cicchino, a star defender and forward at Kearny. “I felt the love with all my closest family and friends there in support of me. It is truly one of the best feelings to have such an amazing support system surrounding you on one of the biggest days in my soccer career.”
“Once you commit somewhere you can play with a little bit more freedom, but it’s not official until you sign those papers and things do change,” Kearny head coach Michael Sylvia said. “So being able to firm that up for her after the high school season ending is just the icing on the cake of a great career.”
Cicchino is one of three Kearny natives to sign on the dotted line on Nov. 10. Her teammate Mason Gryckiewicz signed to play at Pace University. In addition, Tommi Rose Valente, a Kearny resident who played her high school career at DePaul Catholic in Wayne, signed to play collegiately at Rutgers.
Both Cicchino and Gryckiewicz were immediately pressed into the Kearny starting defense as freshmen and went on to help lead the Kardinals to two Hudson County titles. While Gryckiewicz was a mainstay in the back until tearing her ACL this past summer, Cicchino moved between the back and up top depending on the Kardinals’ needs at the moment.
Despite only playing forward in limited spurts, Cicchino scored 36 goals with 17 assists over the past three seasons.
Cicchino’s future lies on the back line, but whether it’s in the center or outside, her all-around skill is expected to allow her to be an impact player early for the Hawks.
“She’s a center back at heart for sure, however, she is one of the best two-way players that I’ve ever coached,” Sylvia said. “I could see her playing on one of the outside back positions as well.”
Valente also made an immediate impact on the defensive at DePaul, which won four NJSIAA North Jersey, Non-Public B and three Passaic County championships. This fall saw Valente move up to the midfield where she emerged as one of the state’s premier offensive talents, scoring 28 goals with nine assists.
Valente, who finished with 51 goals and 30 assists for her career, was one of five New Jersey players selected to play in the 2025 High School All-American Game on Dec. 13.
While Sylvia did not get the chance to coach Valente in high school, he did with Thistle and Paisley.
“What’s great about Tommi Valente is that she is Kearny through and through,” said Sylvia. “She is a really gifted player. She’s a gifted athlete, but her technical skill and her dedication to her craft makes her so special.”
Gryckiewicz, who committed to Pace before the injury, had eight goals and eight assists for her career. She is expected to be 100-percent in time for the start of Pace’s preseason.
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Jason Bernstein | Observer Sports Writer
Jason Bernstein joined The Observer as its sports writer in March 2022, following the retirement of Jim Hague. He has a wealth of sports-writing experience, including for NJ Advance Media (nj.com, The Jersey Journal, The Star-Ledger.)