Somers Falls 4-2 in Section Finals

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After defeating Pleasantville on Wednesday October 30, Somers earned a berth in the section finals and Rye stood between the Tuskers and a second straight title. But the Garnets weren’t counting, and it didn’t take long to set a tone that carried through to the end.

After Madison Kourakos played Rye’s lead pass out of bounds, Shira Rand’s corner kick sailed in untouched at 33:55 and two more first half goals sent Somers home to a 4-2 defeat.

The second seed got out of the gate even faster. At 35:45, Hannah Jachman came free on the left, and her kick across the crease showed that the eventual champs meant business.

Two minutes later, Rye officially punched in. Jachman led Charlotte Keenan to the corner, and Kourakos could only hope for the best by playing the ball out. From there, Rand lined up, and her line drive left lots of traffic in front. Julia Schmidberger was screened and the ball found the far corner of the net.

Plenty of game left, Somers tried a less direct path when the corner kick came their way at 32 minutes. Marley Hawkins got the first head on the ball, Julia Arbelaez got a foot, and Kourakos was next.

Header over the crossbar, Arbelaez went solo a minute later. With two defenders draping her, the senior danced, dribbled and juked until Rye finally kicked the ball out of bounds.

The corner eventually kicked out to Keenan, and she went coast to coast. Of course, Somers gave chase, and another shot sailed just wide at 28:40.

A dry run, Jachman evaded the defense next to the sideline, and her thread to Keenan had the striker finding the eye of the needle. Between the crossbar and Schmidberger’s reach, the Garnets 2-0 lead resounded 24:52 remaining.

Not giving in, Arbelaez immediately took her energy out on the defense. She refused to relent the pressure on the sideline and got a pass to Kourakos. The senior lofted deep on the right, and the race was on. RIghetti and the goalie, it was Tessa Labovitz by a nose.

Undeterred, Arbelaez was back on the edge soon enough. She stutter-stepped her defender, and her sly little back kick gave Kourakos a lead again. But the Rye defense recovered, and not giving ground eventually had Mary Sack getting behind the Tusker herd. The senior came one on one with Schmidberger, and easily beat the goalie with 2:55 left in the half.

The second half didn’t have Rye letting up either. Lyla Keenan and her sister both barely missed the net, and 15 minutes in, Rand almost dented the crossbar.

Even so, Somers refused to go by the numbers. Arbelaez took a crowd into the corner and perfectly put the ball on the foot of Lindsay Ulaj. Pigeon toed, she kicked, and the 3-1 score rippled doubt through the Rye fanbase.

23:47 remaining, the players remained settled. The shots kept coming, and Schmidberger was forced to make a leaping one handed save at 20:40. The diligence finally came due at 12:40, and Keenan would hit the bullseye again. Outstretched fingertips and the crossbar, she navigated the wiggle room and sealed Somers fate.

On the receiving end, Schmidberger still saw the bigger picture. “The last three years have been the best of my life,” said the standout goalie.

But Coach Hegg wasn’t moving on just yet. “The girls did a tremendous job all season long, they just fell short today,” she said.

The last time for the seniors, they won’t be forgotten. “There’s always a legacy here, and they’ve done a good job upholding that,” beamed the coach.

In agreement, Lily Mazzella preferred denial. “I wish they wouldn’t go,” she pined.

Righetti would probably love to oblige, and capping her career with the final goal wasn’t the carryover she sought. “I think they are going to take the learning lesson into next year,” she clarified.

A thought that Hegg was already thinking. “Hopefully, we’ll be back here next year,” she concluded.