The spring season is in full force, but Rye’s girls lacrosse team has been putting football numbers up on the Nugent Stadium scoreboard.
A day after shutting out Scarsdale, 17-0, the Garnets (8-3) beat Briarcliff by a two-touchdown margin, 15-1, for their fifth straight win. On Saturday, they picked up their first win against an out-of-state opponent, routing New Canaan (Conn.), 16-3.
“We have tremendous depth and talent on our team, and have been able to showcase that in our dominant wins this week,” said Rye coach Michelle Mason.
Adding to that depth is the return of Paige Tepedino, who scored four times against New Canaan after returning from a knee injury. She was one of six seniors honored on the Garnets’ senior night, along with Mia Howson, who scored five goals, Annie Toulouse, who had a hat trick, Beau Whaling, Clare Nemsick, and Alex Wood.
Whaling also scored against the Rams, along with Blake Sasse, Mary Ebeling, and Rose Denvir.
Meanwhile, the team remains unbeaten against New York competition. The rout of the Raiders (2-7) may have come as no surprise, but Briarcliff (8-2) entered the game at Rye atop the Section 1 Class D standings. Rye, the Section 1 Class C leaders, didn’t have any problem dispatching the Bears.
Within the first two minutes, Howson scored the game’s first goal on an assist by Toulouse. Denvir won nine draw controls, putting Rye in the driver’s seat for the majority of the game.
Howson scored twice more, and Whaling also finished with a hat trick. Juniors Sasse, Peyton Leahy, and Coco Peters also bagged goals for the Garnets. Rye scored six of its goals in the first quarter alone.
Rye’s defense complemented its aggressive offense. Goalies Dylan Ehrlich and Rory O’Byrne split time in the net, combining for six saves and surrendering one lone goal, scored by Julie Labick in the third quarter.
As the regular season nears its conclusion, Mason says the Garnets’ focus remains on capitalizing offensive opportunities and “playing solid team defense from the first whistle to the last.”
Rye is a perfect 4-0 in league play, with just one league game remaining Tuesday at Ursuline, a team the Garnets haven’t lost to in four years.
