How three Long Islanders ended up playing pro soccer together for Brooklyn FC women's team

The seeds were planted in the minds of Jessica Garziano, Jilly Shimkin, and Nicolette Pasquarella when they would find themselves on soccer fields across Long Island not all that long ago.

In moments public and private, the seeds were watered and nurtured. Kernels began to germinate into the same dream.

What if we could play professional soccer at home? What if our family and friends could watch us play in person? What would it be like?

What they once envisioned has now become reality.

Garziano, Shimkin and Pasquarella are members of the Brooklyn FC women’s team in the Gainbridge Super League. And what they are learning in real time is that reality transcends fantasy.

“It’s just really cool,” Garziano said. “To have that support from our family and friends; no matter what’s going on, you’ll look in the stands and see somebody you know. So that’s just really cool and we’ve been so fortunate to be able to experience that.”

For all, the pathways they took to Brooklyn began on Long Island. And the thing about Long Island is that it is relatively compact. It is less than 100 miles from the Queens-Nassau County border to Montauk Point. People know each other. People know of each other.

The Long Island soccer community is even more intimate. Athletes compete with and against each other at all levels. They know each other.

So it is not surprising that Garziano, Shimkin and Pasquarella were all aware of each other as they grew up. Garziano hails from Melville. Shimkin was born and raised in Rockville Centre. Pasquarella calls Ronkonkoma home.

Shimkin recalled playing “pickup soccer” with Garziano, who was teammates with Pasquarella at the SUSA Academy. Shimkin played for the New York Soccer Club and the Albertson Fury.

As they starred for their club teams, the trio made the same decision: they wanted to continue their soccer journeys in college. Garziano played four years at St. John’s. Shimkin spent her freshman season at Penn State before transferring to Texas for the final three years. Pasquarella starred at Stony Brook.

To hear Samantha Johnson, the general manager of Brooklyn FC, the benefits for Garziano, Shimkin, and Pasquarella in playing Division I soccer were manifest.

“College soccer provides an important foundation for player development, giving athletes competitive experience and habits they can build on at the next level,” Johnson said in a statement to Newsday.

After their college careers ended, there were opportunities to play professionally.. Garziano was drafted by Angel City of the National Women's Soccer League in January of 2024 but decided to sign with Brooklyn. Shimkin signed with the Tampa Bay Sun FC, which plays in the Gainbridge Super League, before last season. She signed with Brooklyn in the offseason. Pasquarella agreed to a deal with Brooklyn in 2025.

Their decision-making processes were distilled to one overriding factor: they all wanted to stay close to home.

“Everything happens for a reason,” Shimkin said. “I’m just glad that I ended up back here.”

So, too, is Brooklyn FC coach Alex Smith. Their decisions provided his team with two skilled midfielders and a goalkeeper. Shimkin has three career points — a goal and two assists — all with Tampa Bay in 2025-26. Garziano has recorded six goals and six assists for 12 career points. Pasquarella made her first start of the season in Brooklyn’s 1-1 with Dallas on Oct. 10 and finished with three saves.

All of which are helpful for a team pushing to qualify for the Gainbridge Super League’s playoffs for the first time in its history.

Following Saturday's 1-0 win over Tampa Bay at Maimonides Park in Coney Island, Brooklyn has compiled a 3-5-1 record for 10 points, which has them sixth in the eight-team league. The top four teams qualify for the playoffs.

With six games remaining in the regular season, it is unlikely that Brooklyn can overtake league-best Carolina Ascent FC (7-1-2, 23 points). But it is possible that they catch could either No. 2 Sporting Jax (4-2-3, 15 points), No. 3 Lexington SC (4-3-2, 14 points), or No. 4 DC Power FC (4-3-2, 14 points).

“We’re taking it day-by-day,” Garziano said. “It’s hard to just focus on wins and losses right now. We aren’t focusing on how many wins we need to make the playoffs and whatnot. We’re just trying to take it game-by-game and do our best . . .  and we’ll get the result. From there we’ll move on to next week.”

Still, the goal is to win a championship. And, yes, the three have contemplated what winning a title for a New York franchise would be like.

“We’ve thought about it a lot, especially this year,” Shimkin said. “Being from New York, being able to bring a title back home would be really cool.”

They have also pondered what it could mean for the Long Island soccer community if they evolve into key components on a championship-winning squad.

Winning a title would create a sense that “it is doable,” Pasquarella said. “I think bringing a championship back to Long Island gives all those girls, all those young athletes who want to do this and want to compete and play at the next level [that there is] a sense of belief. The sense that the whole dream is not too big. So I think that’s super important for Long Island.”

And the roots will continue to spread.