The door was open for Petrides. In the first half after Beacon tallied first, the Panthers had their chances. Star senior forward Amanda Feldstein had a header go wide left. Junior midfielder Katrina Wiesner pulled a shot too far.
The Staten Island upstart, making its first appearance in the semifinals, was fine going into halftime. But Beacon junior Jenny Angione’s 53rd-minute goal, off of goalkeeper Jackie DiBello, not only put Petrides two scores behind. It seemed to take the Panthers mentally out of the game.
“The second one, I think that was deflating,” coach Kim Caccese said.
No. 1 Beacon would go on to win, 2-0, in the PSAL Class A girls soccer semifinals Thursday at Flushing Meadows Park. No. 5 Petrides broke through to the semis after two straight quarterfinals trips and came close to making even more school history, but the Blue Demons were just too tough and deep.
“A couple balls didn’t fall for us,” Caccese said. “We couldn’t catch a break. We were there, we were knocking on the door. We just couldn’t put it in.”
Beacon (16-0-0) did a fine job shutting down the outstanding Feldstein, who led the PSAL in goals with 42. The Blue Demons didn’t straight man mark her, but rotated two to three girls onto her at all times. Coach Kevin Jacobs admitted that it took something away from his offense, but it was well worth it against arguably the most dangerous striker in the league.
“I thought they did a tremendous job,” Caccese said.
So did her team all season. The Panthers (12-3-1) finished second in PSAL Staten Island A behind Tottenville, which will meet Beacon in the championship Sunday. They also defeated McKee/Staten Island Tech for the first time in program history.
Though Petrides wasn’t able to take that next step and there were tears shed afterward, the players could keep their heads high on the bus ride back to the Island. They did things at the school that no one else has before.
“Amazing,” Caccese said. “I told the girls at the end of the game, it just wasn’t our day today and it wasn’t for lack of trying or lack of effort. They gave a lot of heart and hustle and it showed by making it this far.”