Francis Lewis’s Karin Backert moves the ball down field. (William Thomas)
Beacon’s Emily Mendes takes a leaping shot at the goal. (William Thomas)
Beacon lost just a handful of seniors from last year’s championship team. None may have been more important than center midfielder Sophie Kliger, the team’s unquestioned leader. It wouldn’t be a fellow upperclassman that who ended up taking her place alongside senior Alex Easton, but talented freshman Emily Mendes.
“It’s amazing,” senior forward Jennifer Angione said. “She filled in Sophie’s spot so well and her and Alex play so well together. … She is just a naturally good player. I knew that from Day One of the tryouts.”
Mendes has made her presence felt throughout the year. She is mature enough to control play, tallied five goals and four assists during the regular season and has matched her scoring total in three postseason games.
Two of her scores came Friday in No. 2 Beacon’s 4-0 win over No. 6 Francis Lewis in the PSAL Class A girls soccer semifinals at Grand Street Campus. The defending champion Blue Demons are in the final for the fifth straight season and will meet top-seeded Bronx Science 1 p.m. Sunday at Randall’s Island.
“I didn’t think I would be starting midway through the season,” said Mendes, who plays her club ball with the Brooklyn Patriots. “I really enjoy playing in the middle with Alex.”
Angione, who scored the game’s first goal, headed an Isabella Newsome cross right to Mendes in front of the right post. Lewis goalie Julia Berhardt made a point blank save, but Mendes ran down the rebound and drilled the ball into the lower left corner to give Beacon (16-0-0) a 2-0 lead in the 42nd minute. She added a second tally on a shot just under the cross bar from outside the top of box to extend the lead 3-0 with 15 minutes left to play in the game.
“She is super talented,” Beacon coach Kevin Jacobs said. … “She complements Alex. Alex is sort of that physical, aggressive player. She’s a little calmer. She is settling the ball down and looking.”
Sweeper Liza Kapelus and the Blue Demons defense picked up their 13th shutout of the season and third straight of the postseason. Freshman Jane Huber added a goal off a cross from Desiree Nester to cap the scoring.
“When we were up by two I felt like we really had it,” Mendes said.
Angione gave her team an important 1-0 lead in the first half with the strong wind blowing against them. She ran onto a touch from Tyler Sloan and dribbled down the right side into the box and unleashed a shot. Berhardt made a dive to her right and attempted a punch save, but th ball deflected into the upper corner in the 27th minute.
“It was a weird angle so I didn’t know if it was going in or not,” Angione said.
Lewis (12-1-3) was unsure coming into the game if senior sweeper Valerie James was going to be able to play because of an ankle injury, but she was on the field and effective. The Patriots had few scoring chances outside of a Nataly Rojas free kick in the second half and a Caroline DeBonis cross that just missed the foot of Gena Koutsounadis. The Lewis seniors’ final season ended the same place their first did, a win short of the final.
“These girls had a great run,” Patriots coach Jeovani Paredes said. “I really wish they could have made it to the finals this year.”
The Beacon seniors, thanks to a little help from a freshman, will see their run continue for one more game. A second straight title is the only ending they see fitting.
“Since I was a freshman I made it to the finals,” Angione said. “This is a really big deal for me, Liza and Alex. This is a huge opportunity. We are ready to come out aggressive on Sunday.”