(Damion Reid)
Gena Koutsounadis called the game Francis Lewis’ first test before the playoffs. If so, than the Patriots have their work cut out for them moving forward.
Needing a win to claim its second straight division title Francis Lewis lost, 3-0, to host Cardozo in PSAL Queens A-IV girls Tuesday. The win gives the Judges the crown and drops Francis Lewis, which suffered its first loss of the season, to third with the postseason beginning Saturday. The teams played to a 2-2 tie on Oct. 3. Lewis tied second place Bayside 1-1 in both meetings.
“We had a chance to maybe put in two or three [goals],” Patriots coach Jeovani Paredes said. “We just didn’t do it. I believe if we would have put one of those in it would have been a different game.”
Instead Cardozo took advantage of a Lewis (8-1-3) mistake for the game’s first score. A Patriots defender kicked the ball high into the box from far side corner of the field. It bounced over the head of a charging goalkeeper Julia Bernhardt and onto the foot of Cardozo’s Ariel Levy. She scored her first of two goals to give the Judges a 1-0 lead in the 35th minute. Paredes called the play a miscommunication.
“Everyone knew we needed to talk more,” Koutsounadis said. “It just made us hungrier to score more goals.”
The sophomore had one of the best chances on a run up the right side. With a defender on her hip, she kicked a ball just wide of the far post in the 19th minute. Libby Zelikowitz had a short chip sail over the crossbar right before Creshana Jones scored on a breakaway to make it 2-0 in the 45th minute for Cardozo (10-1-1).
Laura Marmolejo got a foot on a Koutsounadis cross, but Cardozo goalkeeper Amanda Coll made a low save in the 58th minute. The Judges put players behind the ball after taking the two-goal lead, making things even harder on Francis Lewis. Senior midfielder Erika Riera left the game in the final minutes with a sprained left writst, according to Paredes.
“It was very tough because they started double teaming our forwards,” Koutsounadis said. “It gives us no space to try to make plays and take shots.”
It wasn’t the regular-season ending the Patriots envisioned. They went unbeaten in the division last season and earned their first-ever semifinal berth, losing to Beacon in penalty kicks. Much of that team returned, including a talented sophomore core. Francis Lewis considered itself — and still does — as a city title contender. Now the path will be a bit tougher because of a lower playoff seed.
“We have time to regroup,” Paredes said. “Saturday is going to be a new day. We will be ready for Saturday.”