On Oct. 9, the girls soccer teams from Harrison and Rye squared off in the finale of a two-game regular season set, one last rivalry test for the two teams before the Class A playoffs next week. For the Huskies, the game proved to be an opportunity to erase the sting of an early-October loss to the Garnets, and a chance to establish the squad’s ability to compete with the section’s best; something they did by battling Rye to a competitive 0-0 draw.
In the first meeting between the two clubs on Oct. 4, it was Rye’s big stars—and designed plays—that proved the difference-maker as Maddy Walsh and Reilly Traynor found the net on corner and free kick chances to bury the Huskies 2-0. On Saturday, however, Harrison head coach Jon-Erik Zappala said that his squad came fully cognizant of how dangerous their opponent could be in those positions.
We defended better on set pieces and corner kicks; that’s how they beat us last time,” said Zappala. “We still gave them too many opportunities, but we were able to defend them.”
The Huskies were also able to put plenty of pressure on the Rye defense, peppering Garnet keeper Bell Jackson with shots, though all were turned away. Early in the second half, it seemed as though Harrison might be awarded a penalty kick after an apparent Rye handball in the box, but the referees indicated no foul on the play, wiping away what might have been the Huskies’ best chance to break the scoreless deadlock.
According to Zappala, the non-call is simply part of the game and didn’t effect his team in the slightest.
“This is soccer, there’s going to be calls all the time. Sometimes they’re for you, sometimes they’re against you,” he said. “Regardless of what it is, this team is really good at picking their head up and moving forward.”
As the two teams eye the final stretch of the regular season, they find themselves in different positions in the standings, although both clubs have aspirations of deep postseason runs. At 8-1-2, the Garnets are hoping to finish out the season on a strong note in order to preserve their spot as one of the top three seeds in Class A. The Huskies (5-5-3) have had a tougher road, but still think of themselves as capable of turning some heads in the playoffs.
“If you look at our record, every game we’ve been outshooting teams and we’ve been losing by one goal or we’ve been tied,” said Zappala. “We’re in it to win it all the time, but this is a young team and they’re starting to come into their own.”
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