Get the latest Syracuse news delivered right to your inbox.
Subscribe to our sports newsletter here.

Other Hofstra University students couldn’t understand how Brooke DeRosa could balance being a Division I soccer player, graduate student and a single mom. They were surprised, caught off-guard or shocked, she said.

“Oh, wow, you have a life after a kid,” she said they would ask her. “How could that be?”

DeRosa knew that they didn’t know who she was, that they couldn’t relate to being a single parent. A year prior in 2006, DeRosa’s soccer career shifted after she gave birth to her son, Keiran. With one season of eligibility left at Syracuse, DeRosa moved back home to Ronkonkoma, New York, after she found out she was pregnant.

To stay close to family in Long Island, DeRosa transferred to Hofstra, returning to collegiate soccer after a nearly two-year hiatus. In 2007, a year after giving birth, DeRosa earned All-American honors.

DeRosa has stayed in Long Island after her playing career, and through years of hopping from high school, community college and assistant jobs, she is now the head coach for Adelphi University. DeRosa led the Division II team to a Northeast-10 Conference Championship title in 2015 even though the team had never won a title before her arrival. After finishing her seventh season with a loss in the tournament’s first round, DeRosa said she still balances life on the pitch as a single parent.

“Having kids is such a normal part of being a human being,” DeRosa said. “(But) it’s not something that you necessarily see (as) acceptable in sports. To have a baby around in a male-driven environment is a little awkward. People don’t necessarily know how to handle it or think about it.”

During her time at Syracuse, DeRosa played defense and midfield. Two games into her senior season, an MCL tear sidelined her for the remainder of the year. At home on Long Island over winter break, DeRosa found out she was pregnant. The then-22-year-old gave birth to Keiran on Sept. 8, 2006.

Lucy Qu | Design Editor

Hofstra head coach Simon Riddiough initially tried to recruit her coming out of Connetquot (New York) High School. Although she decided to attend Syracuse originally, once the circumstances changed, she decided to attend Hofstra, just a 30-minute drive from Ronkonkoma compared to the 5-hour drive from Syracuse.

With the Pride, Riddiough moved DeRosa up to attacking forward and saw a surge in offensive production with her 14 total goals. After games and during trainings, Riddiough’s son and Keiran would play with each other. That same 2007 season, ESPN and The New York Times profiled the “soccer mom” leading Hofstra’s mid-major program to its second-ever NCAA Tournament appearance.

DeRosa went to school to become an art teacher, her sister Heather said, but after playing with the Long Island Rough Riders, a United Women’s Soccer team, she decided to pursue coaching. She had coached local youth clubs in college, teaching three-year-olds about the fundamentals of soccer. In 2011, while playing with the Rough Riders, she landed her first college coaching job as the head coach for Nassau Community College and led it to a 8-5-3 record.

“Going into the workforce, I still think that something that people were concerned about like ‘Oh you’re a mom. You’re a single parent. Are you going to be able to do the job?’” DeRosa said.

DeRosa went back to Hofstra as an assistant, worked with Riddiough and then moved to St. John’s University in Queens, New York, under Ian Stone. The Red Storm head coach said Keiran would run onto the field after games or practices. Soccer became a shared passion at the time, a place where the mother and son could be together, set a ball down on Belson Stadium’s pitch, and kick it back and forth.

“She would take him around almost like a little mascot,” Heather recalled.

After two seasons at St. John’s, DeRosa came to Adelphi. In her first year with the Panthers in 2015, DeRosa wanted a saying for the team to follow, creating “28 Strong” since the team had 28 players on its roster. They went undefeated in conference play. Kelsey Malles, a former Adelphi player, recalled throughout the year DeRosa showing photos during Monday practice of what she and Keiran did throughout the weekend.

In November 2015, the Panthers strung together two wins to reach the NE-10 Tournament Finals. On Nov. 8, at home against College of Saint Rose, Laura Gomez rifled the ball into the back of the net to put Adelphi up 1-0.

After the Panthers maintained their lead for 30 more minutes, players clumped together on Motamed Field and hoisted up the NE-10 trophy. DeRosa stood to the left of her team as players posed for a picture. She scanned over the group, grinning.

“She definitely has so many roles,” Malles said. “She’s just so cool, calm, collected and it always gets done. You’re like ‘How are you like this?’”

Published on November 7, 2021 at 11:18 pm

Contact Christopher: cscargla@syr.edu | @chrisscargs