Girls soccer: In rematch, Eastchester again beats Lakeland for outbracket win
SHRUB OAK - There are hardly any guarantees in the Section 1 Class A landscape and that's something players, coaches and fans have learned through an ultra-competitive season.
Eastchester had bested Lakeland in overtime during a recent Oct. 11 meeting, but the Eagles felt they were on their heels for a good amount of the match. They didn't want to come into Wednesday's rematch, a Section 1 Class A outbracket meeting overconfident, but this time, they emerged with a clearer result, a 2-0 victory.
"Beating a team twice in a row is not easy, especially a team like this," Eastchester senior Sofia Kolndreu said. "They're a hard working team and every time you play them, it's a challenge. It was a really tight game last time, and we beat them in overtime. We watched film, worked in practice on strategy. We knew it was going to be a tough game, and we were just ready for the challenge. We didn't want it to be our last game."
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It helped having some of the early-game jitters cleared up by making a grand entrance. Last time out, the Eagles felt they had a hard time generating an attack, with their goals coming off setpieces and a penalty kick in their last meeting.
Senior Eva Valencic scored in the opening minutes to get the Eagles going.
"It was definitely a little bit of a motivator that got the whole team hyped up," Valencic said of the strong start. "Momentum and everything was on our side, so that helped us amp it up a little more. Yeah, we had a little bit of a lead, let's just continue this."
Lakeland buckled down defensively after that, but the score remained 1-0 heading into halftime. The Eagles got another goal to pad their lead late, when Adriana Correa connected on a shot from the left side.
"(Eastchester) just tightened up their defense," Lakeland coach Shawn Sullivan said. "We couldn't get out of the midfield to the forwards. I have to give them credit, they just clamped down on us from last week. They were a little loose and we just kept getting hit from behind."
After graduating 11 seniors last season, there were some growing pains midway through the season, but the Eagles hope to put their best foot forward as their playoff journey continues. They don't plan on going down quietly.
"No one wants this to end, it's the best thing," Kolndreu said. "High school soccer is unmatched. You just want to keep playing together forever."
What it means
Eastchester will head on the road to play second-seeded Somers in the Section 1 Class A opening round on Friday. The two teams have not yet met this season. The Tuskers are currently 15-1.
Player of the game
Eva Valencic, Eastchester: She scored the opening goal of the game to help settle the nerves and put the Eagles ahead. Valencic also helped a hard-working midfield unit that helped dictate the flow of the game and allow the Eagles to maintain possession and generate an attack for most of the match.
By the numbers
No. 18 Eastchester (8-9) — Adriana Correa added an insurance goal late in the game to help seal the win. Kayla Comizio had an assist. Sofia Kolndreu had four saves in the shutout victory.
No. 15 Lakeland (9-8) — Goalkeeper Lily Merriam was active throughout the match and finished with 12 saves, including a blocked penalty kick by Eastchester.
They said it
"We graduated 10 seniors last year, two of which were the best to ever play at Lakeland and the expectations were very low for this team, according to several coaches we played and beat during the year," Sullivan said. "We won the league for the first time in 20 years. To just keep getting better all year, I'm just so proud of them."
"You look at our roster, we're probably one of the youngest teams out there," Eastchester coach Bryan Johnson said. "We put a big focus this year on chemistry and working together off the field. When you get to this part of the season, you start to see that pay off. People are in lock step. We've got eighth-graders and ninth-graders stepping into big roles. The seniors we have on the field are really taking these girls under their wing and showing them the right way to do things."
Follow Eugene Rapay on Twitter at @erapay5 and on Instagram at @byeugenerapay.
This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: Section 1 girls soccer tournament: Eastchester beats Lakeland
