Yes, the Rye High School girls soccer team wants to have another winning season, but coach Rich Savage says that’s not the only goal.
“The first goal is making soccer the favorite season for everyone involved,” he told The Record.
The Rye High School girls soccer program is one of this fall’s most highly anticipated teams to watch. That’s because the girls are coming back from a storybook state championship win last November — the first for the program in 15 years — over Suffolk County’s Shoreham-Wading River High School.
The Garnets beat Shoreham-Wading River 2-0 in last year’s championship game, finishing their season with a 22-2 record.
As one of the top teams in the league, the Rye girls are set to have a competitive schedule, especially against Pearl River, Somers, Tappan Zee, and Harrison.
Savage said returning captains Bowyn Brown, Lyla Keenan, Reese Lejuez, and Mary Sack are “real important players” for the program, as well as Shira Rand, Charlotte Keenan, and keeper Tessa Labovitz. On defense, coach gave Clare Nemsick praise — saying she’s one of the reasons the squad scored 24 goals and had just one goal against in the postseason last year.
“She is unbelievable [in] shutting the best offensive players in the state down,” Savage said about Nemsick. “She is an extremely important part of the rise defense.”
The girls soccer team starts with four away games in the schedule, including two Labor Day scrimmages against North Babylon and Massapequa, which they won.
Their first home game is on Sept. 12 against Pearl River.