The King's College Women's Soccer team closed out their season on Sunday, November 6 with a match against Yeshiva at the All Season Sports Academy in South Plainfield, NJ. After a brief drizzle earlier in the day, the sun made an appearance along with some 75-degree temperatures which made it seem more like the beginning of the season than the end.
The game started as both teams connected passes trying to maintain possession. But Yeshiva struck first at the 14-minute mark when Ariel Melnitsky found Leeby Levine open at the penalty spot. Levine placed a shot to the lower left corner of the goal past King's goalkeeper Abby Roth.
Despite the early goal, the rest of the first half was fairly even. Yeshiva held a 12-4 advantage in shots although many were off-target or not particularly dangerous and the Maccabees also had a 2-0 edge in corner kicks. The play was back and forth until one minute left in the first half when Yeshiva forward Anjelica Feig collected a ball at the top of the King's penalty area and lofted a ball just under the crossbar to give her team a 2-0 lead going into the halftime break.
King's came out determined in the second half and almost scored on a long shot by midfielder Samantha Kenney that was just off the mark. This seemed to give the Lady Lions some momentum despite the fact that they were down a player when forward Anne Short came out of the game with a knee injury. Sophomore Alice Michlik and senior Kylia Ford put in a tremendous amount of work in the middle third of the field for the Lady Lions, while senior Callie Donaghue and sophomores Abigail Adams and Shayley Burroughs seemed to erect a defensive wall around the King's penalty area.
But the Lions kept pressing and at the 70-minute mark sophomore midfielder Rachel Wells threaded a through ball down the right side to a streaking Kenney. The freshman took several long strides with the ball breaking into the penalty area and firing a shot to the upper left corner of the goal and cutting the deficit to 2-1.
But King's needed some more magic, and that's what they got just five minutes later. Midfielder Lily Easterbrook took a long direct kick from the King's half of the field and found an open Short who had heroically returned to the pitch. The sophomore beat two defenders and penetrated the right side of the Yeshiva box before unleashing a low rocket to the left side of the goal to draw the game even at 2-2.
The game was winding down as both teams were looking for the winning goal. King's picked up a late corner kick but couldn't convert as Yeshiva cleared the ball away. Yeshiva got a corner kick and tried a short passing play which the Lady Lions thwarted. But with just five minutes left in the match, Yeshiva midfielder Alayna Higdon somehow squeezed a pass to Anjelica Feig inside the crowded King's box. Feig turned and found the lower left of the frame for her second goal of the game and a 3-2 Yeshiva lead. The Lady Lions mounted several furious counterattacks in the final minutes but only managed one shot for their efforts.
As the final whistle blew the 2022 season came to an end for both teams, and Yeshiva held on for the 3-2 victory.