Empires' Soccer Team Filled with Commack Athletes

Maggie O'Callaghan adds another Commack name to the Long Island soccer roster at the Empire State Games this week. She led her Saint Anthony's varsity team to its number two United States title ranking and now plays on Sacred Heart University's women's soccer team. The Empire State Games serve as a way for O'Callaghan to end her summer preparation and are a welcome return to the game she had to stop playing for a year after an injury, she said.

"Competing in the Games is a good way for me to wrap up my summer training and also to get to play quality competition before I report into pre-season on August 1st," O'Callaghan said.

Before graduating from Saint Anthony's in 2008, O'Callaghan helped lead her varsity team to the number two ranking in the United States. At the same time she also was captain of her club team, Sound Beach Fire United, playing in the Region One Premier. She plays both the midfield and defensive positions.

She red-shirted her sophomore season after tearing a labrum in her left hip, similar to Briana Campisi, the other Commack soccer star headed to the Empires. "I had to have surgery on it last June. It kept me out of running and soccer for a little over a year," she said.

Playing soccer – or at least handling the ball once a day – is something O'Callaghan relies on as part of her routine.

"Soccer for me is an absolute passion. It's what I love to do. If I don't touch a ball every day I start to get really antsy," she said.

O'Callaghan is a Marketing Major at Sacred Heart University with minors in psychology and Spanish. She has maintained a 3.2 grade point average throughout her two years.