Rachel Ehrlich, Ward Melville girls soccer beat Sachem East this time in championship rematch
Rachel Ehrlich had an assist as Ward Melville scored three times in the second half en route to the victory against Sachem East in Suffolk Division I soccer game on Thursday, Oct. 7, 2021. Credit: Peter Frutkoff
The last time Ward Melville and Sachem East shared a soccer field, neither team walked off with a victory but both teams had a championship. And nobody seemed to know how to feel about that.
The two teams tied after 110 minutes of play in last season’s girls soccer Suffolk Class AA championship. Since there was no Long Island championship to follow, the game didn’t go into penalty kicks and both teams were deemed co-champions.
Many of the same players were on the field again Thursday. But there was a clear winner this time as host Ward Melville defeated Sachem East, 4-1, in Suffolk Division I girls soccer action.
"It was an anti-climatic feeling [last year], defender Rachel Ehrlich said. "We all just walked off the field, for some, like the seniors, it was the last time playing, so we really wanted to win it for them. We wanted to show them Ward Melville is definitely a force to be reckoned with."
Ward Melville proved that Thursday and has throughout the season in its 9-0-1 Suffolk I start. The Patriots’ players rushed the field after the victory.
Coach John Diehl sensed a difference before the game with the excitement level of his players. He witnessed it throughout the school day and on the field, and he admitted he felt the same way.
"We knew this was going to be a county final rematch," Diehl said. "And that one had no emotion at the end. Today, there was the emotion."
The Patriots scored three goals in the second half after the first ended tied at 1. Emilia Retzlaff opened the second-half scoring off a Peyton Costello shot that hit the crossbar less than two minutes out of the break.
"The first 10 minutes of the half are important," Diehl said. "And to get that goal in the first two minutes, that set a tone, and then we just kept going."
Emma Ward scored off an assist from Ehrlich with 17:21 remaining in the second half and Gabrielle Walker scored off an assist from Abby Foster three minutes later to give Ward Melville a 4-1 lead.
Sachem East (6-3-1) opened the scoring with Madison Apicella’s goal off an assist from Jordyn Calas with 30:16 remaining in the first half. But Foster finished a cross from Kate Ancona to tie the score at 1 with 20:42 remaining in the opening half.
"We knew we had it," Foster said. "They scored, but we knew we could score right after them."
Ehrlich said the team tried as much as possible to treat this as a new game instead of dwelling on last year’s result. But she also admitted it was impossible to completely forget that outcome.
"We’ve been looking forward to this since that game ended," she said. "We knew this was going to be a great rivalry the entire season. Every practice we’ve been preparing for this one, so it’s really nice getting the outcome we wanted."
