Dominant Lady Tigers win PSAL semifinal

It was right about this time last year, give or take a week, when the David A. Stein Riverdale/Kingsbridge Academy (M.S./H.S. 141, RKA) Lady Tigers soccer team saw their season come to a sudden end with an upset loss in the Public School Athletic League (PSAL) quarterfinals.

The bitter taste from that loss has lingered for the Lady Tigers for a year now, but it also spawned their drive to make the 2015 season a memorable one.

“Literally since the moment we lost that game, we have been focusing on getting back to where we were last week and where we are now,” senior Samantha Rosette said. “And we were determined that we were going to get there.”

And Tuesday morning the Lady Tigers achieved part of their goal as they clinched a berth in the PSAL championship game with a 4-1 victory over The Scholars Academy of Rockaway Beach at Randall’s Island. RKA (18-0), the second seed in the PSAL tournament, will now face either No. 1 seed Eleanor Roosevelt or No. 4 Baruch College H.S. in the city championship game Sunday, Nov. 8 at 11 a.m. at St. John’s University.

“It feels excellent,” RKA head coach Julienne Krause said after the victory. “Since August, I knew this team could do this and that has been our goal since the first day of preseason. I’m glad all the girls’ hard work has paid off. They deserve this.”

RKA has been akin to a steamroller this season as it has flattened virtually every opponent that has crossed its path. Of the Lady Tigers’ 18 wins, 14 have come via the shutout and they have now outscored their opposition by a mind-boggling 95-5 this season, including 18-1 in the playoffs. Counting yesterday’s one goal allowed to Scholars Academy, the Lady Tigers have been scored upon in just four games this season.

Talk about domination.

“It’s even surprising me a little bit,” said Rosette, the University of Virginia-bound senior who leads New York State in goals scored. “I expected a lot coming into this season when I saw tryouts at the end of last year, but this has been incredible. The amount of work these girls have put in and the amount of progress they have made is just incredible.”