Due to fallout from the weekend’s overly persistent storm and an unplayable Nugent Stadium turf, the Rye girls soccer team had another home game removed from its 2026 schedule.
Pelham was kindly able to arrange for Monday’s battle of unbeaten teams to be played under the lights at The Stadium at Memorial Field in Mount Vernon. As a thank you for hosting, the Garnets overwhelmed the Pelicans 5-0, effectively erasing the sting of last week’s draw.
“Pelham pressed us early,” said Rye coach Rich Savage. “They had us playing a bit nervously in the early going. Once we started changing the point of attack, moving the ball around, and playing with more composure, the field really opened up for us.”
Senior captain Charlotte Keenan had a hat trick and one assist. Freshman Finlay Gibbs netted the first goal of her Garnet career from a Keenan pass. Her classmate Fiona Marino also scored her first goal off an assist from Harkin Brown. Hannah Jachman and Penny Timchak also each had assists.
“Blake Sasse had a tremendous game for us in goal tonight,” Savage said. “Her five saves were crucial in keeping a clean sheet for our defense. We were happy to welcome back sophomore Ella Fleckton into the lineup tonight as well.”
Six days after playing a scoreless draw, the Garnets blanked the Pelicans again, this time coming away with the win.
“It definitely felt good to win this one after last week’s tie,” Savage said of the previous meeting with the Pelicans. “We were all a bit frustrated that we couldn’t find the back of the net in that game, so we worked on a few things to correct that.”
Next up for Rye is a game Thursday at Eastchester before returning home to host Somers on Saturday.
