Bronx Science girls soccer wins championship

The Bronx High School of Science girls’ soccer team may have lost their home field during the season, but in the end they found a home for the city championship trophy.

A month ago, due to a permit snafu with the city’s Department of Parks and Recreation, the Wolverines suddenly found themselves without the use of their home field and were forced to patch together the final month of their season. Lesser programs might have folded under such circumstances, but Bronx Science rose to the occasion and last Sunday at St. John’s University. The Wolverines reached the pinnacle of their sport when they knocked off two-time defending champion Beacon, 3-1, to win their second PSAL ‘A’ city title in the past four years.

“It’s a great feeling to accomplish what we did,” Bronx Science head coach Annie Eckstein said.

The Wolverines wasted little time getting on the board when sophomore Meleni Rahaman scored just 30 seconds into the game for a quick 1-0 lead. Beacon, which had knocked off Bronx Science in the previous two city title games, scored later in the half as the game was tied 1-1 at intermission.

But Rahaman scored her second goal of the game 10 minutes into the second half and when Melina Asteriadis scored off a stellar pass from senior Amanda Kahn with five minutes to play, the Wolverines had secured the title and vanquished their long-time nemesis.

“That was a fantastic goal,” Eckstein said of Asteriadis insurance goal. “Amanda got behind their defense and put a beautiful pass in front of the goal and Melina finished it off. Beacon had been playing really hard and was really trying to come back but that goal just took the wind out of their sails.”

Beacon had been a mini-dynasty, having won three of the past five PSAL championships. Beacon won titles in 2011 as well as 2013 and 2014, with Bronx Science nabbing the 2012 crown so this victory tasted particularly sweet for the Wolverines.

“That is certainly who we wanted to play in the finals,” Eckstein said. “To beat them made it more special.”

As it turns out, no home field was no problem at all for Bronx Science.

“We definitely had our struggles and it was a hard-fought year for us,” Eckstein said. “But it was an amazing end, absolutely.”