In a May 9 game that was switched from soggy Hornidge Road to the turf on King Street, the Panthers of Rye Neck High, missing two of their key starters, took on the bigger, stronger, more experienced girls from Blind Brook. The result could have been foreseen: a 14-9 defeat.
By Mitch Silver
In a May 9 game that was switched from soggy Hornidge Road to the turf on King Street, the Panthers of Rye Neck High, missing two of their key starters, took on the bigger, stronger, more experienced girls from Blind Brook. The result could have been foreseen: a 14-9 defeat.
What was less obvious, perhaps, was that Coach Tricia Molfetta’s crew would use a strong second-half in the fog and drizzle as a tune-up for their next day’s contest with Keio Academy. Just as their male counterparts had done two weeks earlier, the first-year varsity team took out their frustrations against the Unicorns, coming away with an 11-8 victory.
“The game with Blind Brook was a tough one for our girls, in terms of things being out of our control,” Molfetta said. “Our eighth graders, the Gottlieb sisters, have a big impact on the field and we certainly missed their presence. Casey has been gaining confidence in goal and playing solidly — it’s tough having her out of the equation, it kind of threw off our momentum and team defense. That being said, freshman Ally Ronan did a nice job stepping up, a good job reacting to the ball.”
Down 10-3 a minute into the second half, the Panthers made a game of it as the weather closed in. A quick goal on a dead-ball foul by Jasmine Reyes made it 10-4. At the other end, the Trojans hit the net twice in a minute before attacker Natalie Morelli and defender Alessia Panetta did the same for Rye Neck. Then, while Blind Brook scored twice more in the final ten minutes, Reyes poured in three to bring her total to seven for the game and “win” the second half for Rye Neck, six goals to five.
Not only is Rye Neck a first-year varsity program, Molfetta is a first-year coach. And the Mahopac High grad likes what she sees. “I have had the girls make personal goals for each game to create small victories for us regardless of what the scoreboard reflects. Every game this season they have fought and worked hard and as a coach I couldn’t ask for anything more. We’ve played a couple close one-goal games where it hasn’t gone our way, but that’s a part of being a young program. Those games will come with time and as the girls continue to develop.”
When Molfetta said the victories would “come with time”, she probably wasn’t thinking in terms of hours. But with Gottlieb back in goal making nine saves and midfielder Kayla Casas leading the way with three scores against Keio the next day, the Panthers notched their third win of the season.
“We needed to slow the game down and control the tempo, and that’s exactly what we did today,” the coach said afterwards. “It’s a BIG win for Rye Neck!”
