When Paisley Athletic FC first joined USL-W, Head Coach and Sporting Director Michael Sylvia had a goal of eventually being able to have the infrastructure in place for aspiring young girls soccer players to be able to play and train with Paisley from the youngest levels all the way through to the professional level.
As another USL-W season is about to begin, those dreams are starting to become a reality. In addition to its top team, Paisley, for the first time, has a full academy team that will also be playing in the USL-A this summer.
“It’s something we wanted to do for a few years. We just didn’t necessarily have the resources or hadn’t got the word out enough about what we were doing with Paisley and the first team,” said Sylvia. “Academy is that bridge between our youth academy and our USL-W first team.”
This summer’s first team roster offers a glimpse of what Sylvia and Paisley hopes is a sign of things to come as Tommi Rose Valente, a Kearny native and product of the famed Thistle program, is set to be one of Paisley’s standouts on the midfield.
Valente played her high school soccer at DePaul, where she was a High School All-American and a NJ.com First Team, All-State selection after scoring 28 goals last fall. She will be continuing her career at Rutgers University.
“It’s so cool to see. Tommi started with us at our grassroots level and then because she’s such a gifted athlete, her journey has taken her all around to many different teams,” Sylvia said. “We’re just so fortunate that we have the opportunity to provide the opportunities that suit a player like Tommi needs to get herself to the next level.”
Former Kearny star Olivia Covello, who is now at Sienna, and Arancha Antunes, who starred at North Arlington and plays at Manhattan, are also Kearny Thistle alums on the roster as is former Nutley standout Brooke Yero.
Valente is one of several former New Jersey high school stars, who are set to suit up for Paisley this summer. Headlining the group is Addison Halpern, who is back after being named USL-W Young Player of the Year. The former Gatorade High School National Player of the Year while at Rutgers Prep, is set to begin her sophomore year at the University of Virginia.
Halpern’s former Rutgers Prep teammate and University of Alabama midfielder Melina Rebimbas, a Gatorade New Jersey Player of the Year, is also back for Paisley this season. Other notable top college prospects who are back include Abby Droner, a Chatham native and sophomore forward at Georgetown, and her sister Paige, a senior midfielder at the University of Indiana. Ashley Deleo, who starred at Ramapo and will be starting her career at William & Mary in the fall and former Mount St. Dominic star Lena Tusche who will be playing at Vanderbilt
Paisley FC also welcomes back team captain Danielle Etienne, who played for Haiti in the 2023 Women’s World Cup.
In addition to Valente, Kennedy Garcia, a Rancocas Valley graduate and member of the Puerto Rican National team, and Brielle Baker, a Rutgers Prep alum and goalie at Louisville, are among the top newcomers.
Paisley FC, which plays its home games at Harvey Field, opens the season at home on May 31 against Manhattan Soccer Club, followed by home games on June 3, June 6 and June 8 to start the 10-game regular season that goes through the end of June.
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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.)