Rye’s girls lacrosse team played the way a No. 1 seed should, beating No. 9 Pearl River 21-1 Tuesday to advance to the Class C section semifinals.
Just 39 seconds into the game, senior Annie Toulouse whipped in a shot from 15 yards out to open the scoring. Senior Mia Howson scored Rye’s second goal, then Toulouse struck again, giving the Garnets three goals in the game’s first three minutes.
After Rye took a 10-0 lead, Pearl River scored its first – and only – goal of the game, with less than a second remaining in the first quarter. The Garnets led 14-1 at halftime and 19-1 entering the fourth quarter.
The scoring slowed considerably in the final period. Sophomore Stella Maresca netted Rye’s 20th goal 90 seconds into the fourth. With three minutes left, another sophomore, Emma Giannetti added the game’s final score.
The Garnets will host No. 4 John Jay Cross River in Friday’s semifinals, with hopes of playing for the championship June 2 at Nyack against either No. 2 Pelham or No. 3 Eastchester. Rye didn’t play John Jay or Eastchester this year, but beat Pelham 15-7 way back in the March 23 season opener.
The Garnets have now won 11 of their last 12 games, with the only loss in that stretch coming by one goal in overtime against Class B opponent Nyack.
