Loss in Penalties Eliminates Boys Soccer, Ending Thrilling Season
The Rye Boys Soccer Team fell in penalty kicks to Our Lady of Lourdes on Wednesday evening, ending an exhilirating season for fans, players, parents, and coaches. The schools played to a 0-0 draw through 80 minutes of regulation and 30 more of extra time, but it was Lourdes who converted all five penalties to come away with the 0-0 (5-3) victory.
“We came out strong and it felt like we were moments or inches from scoring several times in the first half and second half,” Head Coach Jared Small told MyRye.com after the game. “Peter Wilmot and Shun Nagata did an excellent job helping us establish possession and distribute the ball to our front players, and there were several sequences in both the middle of the pitch and the wings that resulted in near goals.”
One of those moments came just a few minutes in, as Kaden Zion rattled the crossbar with a header. However, neither team batted an eyebrow, and zero soccer balls entered the net between warmups and penalties for either side.
Lourdes scored first in the PK shootout, and their shooters went a perfect 5-for-5. Rye netted goals from Zion, Nagata, and Lex Cox, but it wasn’t enough. “While we had an amazing opportunity to advance deeper into the state playoffs, we just couldn’t find the goal we needed, and then once the game went to penalties, it was much less in our control,” Small said.
Despite the anticlimactic loss, Rye will look back on its 2024 season as a successful one in many regards. The Garnets finished with an exceptional 15-4-1 record, highlighted by a Section 1 championship, a revenge victory against Byram Hills in the Sectional semifinals, several comeback wins throughout the year (including on senior night), and an eventual ranking inside New York State’s top 10. For all of these reasons, Small and his team are “thrilled” by their 2024 campaign.
“We had a fantastic season,” Small continued. “Long hours spent lifting in the winter and working on our speed and endurance in the summer helped our players develop mental and physical strength needed to match their technical ability, and it all came to fruition in this playoff run.”
With this loss, the only Rye fall sports teams still playing are the Boys Football team, who play this Friday (11/8) and the Girls Soccer team, who next play this Saturday (11/9).
