Little Red School House
and Elisabeth Irwin High School

A Pre-K-12 Progressive Education

Team Detail

Sarah Katz Nails Brilliant Winner To Lead Knights Past Loyola In Gritty Win

J.Demster

LREI were forced to overcome injury and illness in their first ever meeting with Loyola. Playing 80 minutes with no subs they posted a come-from-behind victory behind goals from Cassidy Moskowitz and Sarah Katz.

Traveling with a thin squad, the Knights went into the first ever meeting against Loyola without three of their seniors and numerous girls who typically see significant minutes. But teams are only as strong as their entire squad. Depth matters in a full season schedule, and every player has to be ready to play when their number is called. LREI proved that in this meeting, playing strong game even in the final minutes when they had no subs to call on for the full 80 minutes.

Junior Dana Katz set the tone for LREI early on when she put in a crunching tackle from the right fullback spot. It was a clean win, and the team took energy from such a great play happening so soon after kickoff. The Knights midfield duo of Sarah Katz and Leah Maathey were able to find pockets of space to opperate, and did very well generating attacking chances down the right side. Forward Cassidy Moskowitz won ball after ball, but the final pass to put a teammate in on goal never seemed to be there.

Loyola hung around, playing bend-but-don’t-break defense well enough to keep LREI at bay. At the half it was 1-0 Loyola. But the Knights were optimisticaly frustrated instead of down. There was a sense that the opportunity would be there for them to score if they kept pushing the game. The first half had certainly cost them, as they had pushed for a goal of their own and had found themselves frustrated on multiple chances. But they took the field determined.

It took a while, and they had to weather a period of attacking from Loyola. 20 minutes in, during a period of pressure, goalkeeper Sofia Sharp made a save, but the rebound fell to a Loyola player who hit a shot bound for the lower corner of the net. Left back Olivia Atienza had smartly moved in to cover her keeper, and was able to put in a crucial block to keep the deficit at 1. The team continued to defend with grit, and their patience paid off. In the 68th minute Sarah Katz jogged over to the sideline to take a throw in. She found a check run from Moskowitz, who let the ball bounce in front of her and then slip between her feet to fool her defender. She slotted the ball into the net and the team exploded in relief.

Just a few minutes later Sarah Katz would take a ball Maathey into space, and immediately get clattered into by an opposition defender. From the ensuing free kick Katz struck a high ball that skimmed the keeper’s fingertips and fell right under the crossbar.

The Knights then held on for 10 gripping moments, centerbacks Charlotte Peyser and Ana Ziebarth having some of their best defenisve moments of the game during that stretch, to secure the win.

The game ended a packed week of contests with the team’s 3rd win in a row. Their next game will come next Wednesday against league opponents and perennial rivals Brooklyn Friends.

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