On Sunday, November 5, Girls Varsity Soccer won its second state championship in history, defeating Riverdale 2-1 in extra time of the NYSAIS Championship. The thrilling win, secured when co-captain Rain Condie (‘18) scored on a penalty kick in the final moments, capped off three years of dominance by the team, highlighted by back-to-back championships and three consecutive appearances in the tournament championship game.

Dalton found itself trailing Riverdale for the majority of the game, however. Just before the end of the first half, Riverdale attempted a shot at goal, but four-year starting goalie Leyla Kamshad (‘19) made a charging save at the top of the box. However, Riverdale put the rebound attempt in the back of the net, the final attempt of the half in a string of chances at net for Riverdale, to score the first goal of the game.

Entering the second half trailing was an all-too-familiar position for the team, which had been in the same situation in both the quarterfinal and semifinal games. Forward Kara Siegel (‘19) said that the past experiences of trailing in key games “gave us confidence.” She said that “being down did not concern us. We kept the pressure on Riverdale.” Indeed, the tide of the game shifted in Dalton’s favor in the second half, with the Tigers mounting a better offense and stalling Riverdale’s chances. With under five minutes left in regulation, Dalton found itself in desperate need of an attack. The chance came in the form of Siegel’s goal from the left wing of the eighteen yard box with just two minutes and nineteen seconds left. Siegel rifled a shot that ricocheted off the goalie’s finger tips and then the goal post, to tie the game at 1-1.

Entering the first overtime period, Dalton had momentum on its side; Dalton’s formidable defense stalled the Riverdale attack, and the Tigers had control of possession. Five minutes into the first overtime period, Liza Katz (‘20) was tripped in the box off of a throw-in, yielding a penalty kick to the Tigers. Condie took the kick and buried it in the bottom right corner to give the Tigers the lead. The team still was fifteen minutes away from victory, so Coach Sandy Taylor sent extra offensive players to play defense to secure the victory. As the final whistle sounded, Girls Varsity Soccer was crowned the 2017 Girls Soccer NYSAIS Champion. The team won the game without a single substitution; all eleven players were on the field for the entire 100 minutes.  

Although the Tigers claimed the title of champions at the sound of the buzzer, the odds didn’t always look in the team’s favor this season. According to striker Sylvie Lane (‘19), “At the beginning of the season, we got off to a rough start, but everything started to fall in place…” Indeed, the team was faced with not only replacing graduating contributors at the start of the season, but also lost star midfielders Jocelyn Mayer (‘18) and Gabby Mayer (‘20), who were ineligible to play for Dalton due to their involvement on their club teams. Nonetheless, the Dalton team banded together. According to Condie, “we played the best soccer of my Dalton career this season, with this championship being the perfect way to end my Dalton career.” Coach Taylor exalted his players for their incredible achievement, saying, “I’m proud of them.”

The team graduates six seniors: co-captain Rain Condie (‘18), co-captain Emily Rhodes (‘18), Ronit Kitei (‘18), Elise Bousquette (‘18), Jesse Grayson (‘18), and Claire Keenan-Kurgan (‘18).