John Jay Falls in Overtime to Tappan Zee

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On Monday October 28, John Jay traveled to Tappan Zee for the quarterfinal round of the sectionals. Three versus six, the Wolves bust out with a first half goal and had visions of the semis. But the second half had the home team forcing a tie, so overtime would raise the roof for one team and crush the other in despair.

On a Katelyn Meehan dribble penetration, Eve Girardi came free to send Tappan Zee soaring, while John Jay sunk the depths of a 2-1 defeat.

Against the background of fall colors at the Tappan Zee home field, the game began mostly on the favorite’s side. Elizabeth Brant bounced the ball off her head three times before getting a shot on goal, Girardi got a shot off on right and Charlotte March got down in position until Audrey Oestreicher was able to kick the play out of bounds with 36 minutes left in the half.

Two minutes later, John Jay did more than shift directions. On the throw-in, Abby Mattiello angled the ball forward off her head, settled and made a perfect lead pass to a streaking Mayer Viders.

A clear path, she put the one v one off the Tappan Zee goalie and the sliding save landed right on the foot of Jordan Kauftheil. The net was empty, and John Jay celebrated at 34:11.

Tappan Zee kept the pressure on nonetheless. Girardi’s attempt at a centering pass was kicked aside by Oestreicher but the Dutchmen contained and the ensuing footwork by Meehan was foretelling. The ball rolled to her in front, and despite an entire wolf pack coming out to greet, the junior was able to still get a shot away at 32 minutes.

Of course, John Jay remained on the attack. Viders controlled the ball at the 20, fed to Carly Mangiaracina on the sideline, and she evaded the defense for a pass back to Viders. The 8th grader then scooted the ball toward the crease, and the goalie nearly screened, a dive left kept the ball from finding the corner at 23:06.

Locating Meehan wasn't so easy either. While her run at 16:30 didn’t bear fruit, she took the ball at her own 20, put a pair of two steps on the defense and wowed the crowd with more foreshadowing.

Four minutes later, the Dutchman gave another preview of the future. A long kick ahead, the ensuing high bounce elevated the tension but was won this time by Brooke Epstein.

So the urgency remained for Tappan Zee, and the John Jay defense continued to converge. Go airborne too, Oestreicher settled a shot into the crease with her chest, and no time to waste, the defender elevated for a high kicking clear.

At 4:17, the final seconds really put the Wolves and their fans to the test. Tappan Zee danced and controlled, and a hand ball resulted. 10 seconds to go, the free kick lofted into a crowd, but minus any heads, the chaos was dispersed with the buzzer.

Onto the second, the back and forth took shape in a pair of takedowns. First, Mattiello stole the ball at the Tappan Zee 20, and her advance on the goal sent the freshman flying at 36:30

No success on the corner kick, John Jay played offender next. The kick rising high from the sideline, the landing spot converged Katie Heffernan and Mykel Papa. Both crashed in a heap, and Epstein reigning in the ball, the crowd rose in an uproar.

A red card to John Jay put the writing on the wall, and it was the high bounce that provided the bold face print. From the 25, Charlotte March lifted, and the bounce found the last John Jay defender trying to head off the chasing attacker. Attempting to stop the ball or deflect to Epstein, serendipity won out. The ball came right back to March and she kicked into the empty net.

At 27:47, Tappan Zee continued to pressure, and almost broke the tie with 3:15 left in regulation. The penalty kick dropped into the crease, and the Tappan Zee header sent Epstein diving. The rebound coming free, the defense got there, and the clear eventually sent the game to overtime.

Mostly the same side of the field too, the end started with Meehan’s evasiveness. First she played keep away at the 20 to maintain control, and when the ball came back to her from the sideline, the attacker’s weave converged the defense.

This opened up Girardi for a quick lead pass, and with only one defender in sight, the Dutchman let fly. Plenty of left corner in view, the lowball connected and sent John Jay back to the bridge in heartbreak.