When Eastchester and Rye squared off on Sept. 13, the result was a predictable one—an evenly matched struggle between two strong defensive teams that ended in a scoreless draw.

lly Traynor added her own a few minutes later opening up a 2-0 lead over the Eagles that would carry into halftime. Rye Head coach Rich Savage said the Garnets entered into Wednesday’s game knowing they had to come out of the gate quickly, given that points have been few and far between against a stingy Eastchester defense led by talented goalkeeper Sophie Kolndreu.

“We knew they had a good goalie, we knew that they could play strong defense, and that they were strong on the counterattack, so we didn’t want to let them do what they did last time,” said Savage. “So we just wanted to come out strong and we did.”

Despite the Garnets’ initial onslaught, however, the Eagles settled in toward the end of the first half, controlling possession and testing Rye keeper Bell Jackson, who finished the day with five saves. But Rye’s defense held firm, something that didn’t surprise Savage, who lauded the job his group has done in its own end this season.

“We’ve been solid defensively all year, each person picks the other person up,” Savage said. “And I thought we were really strong today keeping them off the board, especially in the first half.”

In fact, the Garnets would maintain their shutout until the 65th minute, when Eastchester’s Emily Forzaglia was able to collect a rebound and bang it into the net to cut the Rye lead to one. But the Garnets quickly answered, ending any hope for an Eastchester comeback, as Rye’s Hannah Bertisch was able to put the game away with a goal of her own.

“That took the momentum away from them and put it back on our side so it was a huge goal,” said Savage. “As soon as [Eastchester] scored, everyone on the bench was saying ‘Next Five’ because our philosophy is to get that goal back within the next five minutes.”

With the loss, Eastchester fell to 4-3-2. They will look to bounce back with league games on the horizon against Harrison, Ursuline and Byram Hills. At 5-1-1, the Garnets are in for a true test on Friday, when they travel to Mamaroneck to take on the undefeated Tigers. 

“They’re one of two teams left undefeated, they’re one of the top teams in Class AA so we know it’s going to be a tough game,” said Savage. “But we want to prove that we can play with them.”

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