After their 10th consecutive victory, a dominant 18-6 win over Somers in Saturday’s section semifinals, the Rye girls lacrosse team returned to the Section 1 Class C championship game.
No. 1 seed Nyack (17-0) and No. 2 seed Rye (13-3) will meet Wednesday in a rematch of the 2024 section championship game, which Rye won 10-9 on the same Lakeland High School field.
“Rye versus Nyack is always just a great game,” said Rye coach Michelle Mason. “Person-to-person both teams match up with each other unbelievably well. Nyack is a really committed program, where they have kids – like we do in Rye – who play lacrosse all year long. Many of the girls on both teams train together in the off-season. Both teams have a ton of respect for one another. Their coaches and players were really supportive of our program last year during our run in the state tournament.”
Nyack beat Rye 12-11 on April 8, scoring a game-winner as the clock expired in regulation. By most accounts, it was one of the best games of the year in Section 1. Rye senior captain Katherine Ebeling sounds ready for a rematch.
“It feels awesome to make it back to the section championship game like last year,” the Garnets’ goalie said. “I think we’ve been putting in so much hard work these last few months, and particularly in the last two weeks, that we’ve definitely grown as players and as a team.”
Against Nyack, one of the top teams in New York, there’s a sense the heavyweight bout will be decided by the smallest possible margin, such as the face-off.
“The draw in lacrosse is a combination of art and science,” Mason said. “There’s definitely a ton of technique and tenacity required for the job. But there are also subtleties and nuances, such as maybe someone figures out “your move,” or maybe you’re just not feeling it that day. So, you switch it up. Our captains Caroline Doyle and Mary Sack make up the bulk of our draw team. They have our team’s and our coaches’ complete confidence.”
In the semifinal win against Somers, Rye’s draw was a game-changer.
“Caroline, Paige Tepedino, and I communicate constantly out at the circle,” said Sack, the Garnets’ do-whatever-it-takes-to-win senior captain. “Against Somers, our draw team was clicking really well. Those two were doing all the hard work snagging so many ground balls.”
The end result was another double-digit win. Between the rout of Somers and a 20-6 playoff-opening win against Hendrick Hudson, Rye outscored its first two postseason opponents by a combined score of 38-12.
So how has Ebeling stayed sharp during a 10-game winning streak of mostly blowout wins, when most of the action is far from her goal?
“I just really try to pay attention to everything that’s going on all the time,” she said. “Coach talks constantly of staying in the moment, focus, and be present. With my job on the team, when the action switches in an instant and comes to our defense, I have to be ready. And I am.”
