Maya Greenfield saw her high school career ticking to a close and refused to go down without a fight.
The Bronx Science senior was able distance herself from the Francis Lewis defense in the games final minutes. Left wide open Greenfield scored to send the game to overtime before quickly tallying in the winner in No. 3-seeded Bronx Science’s improbably 4-3 victory over No. 7 Francis Lewis in the PSAL Class A girls’ soccer semifinals on Randall’s Island Tuesday.
I was biting my tongue,” Greenfield said as she looked back at scoring her goal. “I was really emotional before because I’m a senior; it would have been my last few minutes. I honestly wanted to take my team there. I looked at my girls and I really wanted to do it for them.”
Greenfield had two goals and two assists and four shots on goal in the game. She has scored six times his post season, but none were bigger than her two against Lewis.
“She came through when we needed her,” Bronx Science coach Annie Eckstein said. “She’s been doing that for us all season. She’s great when she beats people around the corner. She feeds balls in and finishes when we need her to.”
Lewis (14-2-0) opened the scoring on a goal by sophomore Jacklyn Lada. Bronx Science answered when Meleni Rahaman scored off of an assist from Greenfield. Play went back and forth for most of the first half until Rahaman found the back of the net once again to give the Wolverines (14-3-0) a 2-1 lead at halftime.
Samantha Margolis scored in the 58th minute to draw Lewis even at 2-2. Her second goal of the game with a assist from Lada and Melanie Feliz gave the Patriots 3-2 lead in the 68th minute.
“I think we had a little bit of a let down,” Eckstein said. “When they scored to go ahead, it was a great test for us. It wasn’t really one I wanted to have at this point but it was good to see that they stayed with each other.”
It is the second straight year the Wolverines beat Lewis in the semifinals
Bronx Science, which last won the crown in 2012, advances to its four straight championship games to face rival and two-time defending champions Beacon on 3 p.m. Sunday at St. John’s University.
In preparation for the final, the Wolverines are going to look at its last few meeting with the Blue Demons, including two regular season defeats. Greenfield noted how they struggled with finishing. Eckstein said that the team is going to also talk about their last four post season games and focus on key aspects from those.
“I know that we give it our all every practice so we are just going to keep doing what we’re doing,” Greenfield said.
