After ending Lakeland’s 16-year reign as section champions in the semifinals, Horace Greeley beat Rye 1-0 in Saturday’s title game.
Rye (16-3) won 13 of its final 15 games, with both losses coming against Horace Greeley (16-1-1). The third-seeded Quakers now advance to the Class B state tournament.
“It was, of course, a really tough loss,” said Rye coach Valerie Perkins. “However, we’re all feeling really grateful for the season we were able to have. It was definitely a special team and they played their hardest today.”
Rye’s hopes of winning the section seemed higher than ever after a 2-1 regular-season win against Lakeland (12-3-1) on Sept. 25. With Perkins, a Lakeland alum, leading Rye in her first season as head coach, the Garnets claimed a league title and the section tournament’s No. 1 seed.
The Garnets reached the championship with a 1-0 double-overtime victory in Thursday’s semifinals against John Jay-Cross River.
It was a successful season by any measure, concluding with six straight wins by a combined margin of 24-0 before coming up one goal short against Greeley.
“I’m really proud of their effort,” Perkins said. “They left it all out on the field. Unfortunately, not the outcome we wanted, but we’re going to keep working hard and hopefully be back next year.”
