The Rye Boys Soccer team drew Pleasantville 1-1 on Thursday, October 16, earning a very valuable point on senior night. The neutral result was enough to clinch the Garnets a league championship – just their eighth in the last 42 years.
“It was another memorable senior night, and I think the entire stadium was ecstatic to see Eddy Kehoe score a huge game-tying goal in the 68th minute,” Head Coach Jared Small said after the game. “We struggled a bit in the first half and the struggle continued early in the second half as we conceded a goal, but our response to that setback was excellent and we played a much more complete brand of soccer for the final 35 minutes.”
After a scoreless first half, Rye ceded the icebreaker to Pleasantville early in the second, and nearly fell behind 2-0 moments later. The Garnets turned the tides after that, taking over the time of possession advantage and building towards the equalizer. Senior Lex Cox served a ball into the box off a short corner, which senior Eddy Kehoe deposited it into the back of the net with his forehand to level the score, his first varsity tally. Neither team would score again despite some more looks for the Garnets, as the final whistle blew with the score tied 1-1.
“I’m really proud of the effort from all eight seniors this evening, and they’ve accomplished something special by clinching a league championship this evening,” Small said of his veteran class of 2026. “As good as our program has been this past decade, this is still only our 8th league title since 1983 and it means a lot to all of us.”
The eight seniors that were honored on Thursday night were: Shun Nagata, Alex Rojas, Will Christiansson Molin, Nico Etinger, Owen Wismer, Lex Cox, Eddy Kehoe, and Owen Karl. While only Cox and Kehoe found the scoresheet, Small was very laudatory of the entire class of 2026 for their hard work and genuine impact both against Pleasantville and all throughout their varsity careers. “Altogether, the eight seniors have helped the soccer program continue to achieve both on and off the field,” Small concluded.
Rye (11-1-3) wins the outright league title, just narrowly avoiding disaster against the Panthers, who stand at 13-2-1 after their draw with the Garnets and have clinched second place. Rye finishes off their regular season with a Saturday afternoon date with Keio Academy on October 18. The road matchup is set for 3:00pm. Replay the senior night draw here.
