It’s been an up-and-down season for the Wallkill girls’ soccer team.

However, the regular season ended on a high note as the Panthers avenged a previous loss to the New Paltz Huguenots with a 1-0 victory on Friday afternoon.

“I would say it was fairly important,” junior goalkeeper Madelyn Jachimiak said. “I wouldn’t say we’re rivals but they’re always an important team for us to beat. We played well today. It was nice.”

It was even nicer when the Panthers were able to get themselves a lead in the second half.

Lainey Flanagan sent a cross from the right side of the goal in the 53rd minute, finding Amy Crowley in the right spot in front of the net. Crowley pushed it past New Paltz goalkeeper Vivian Kay for a 1-0 lead.

“You want them to play that last square ball when they get through and just run those lanes and sometimes, they make those runs and sometimes they don’t,” Wallkill coach Kelly Wood said. “Amy made a good run and Lainey played a beautiful ball square to where it wasn’t going to go to the goalie.”

New Paltz, meanwhile, had been keeping Jachimiak busy all game, causing her to dive left, right, up and every which direction to preserve the shutout.

“MJ has been killing it all season,” Wood said. “We ended up two games above .500, and we wouldn’t be anywhere near that without her. She’s been doing a really good job. Our defense has been doing really well.”

That shouldn’t come as any surprise as the Panthers are led from the back third, as Jachimiak, along with defenders Lilla Rydell and Cleo Levesque are captains as well.

That fits in with Wood’s philosophy as a defensive coach, who prefers to build his teams out from the back third. He’ll get Jachimiak again in 2022 for her senior year, but Rydell and Levesque are both seniors.

“If somebody is going to score three or four goals on you, you’re not going to have a chance,” Wood said.

However, with the one goal scored, Jachimiak said the pressure grew. It didn’t decrease, as now she had a potential victory to defend.

“Before you’re just tied, but now there is a victory to keep, and the clean sheet, as well,” Jachimiak said.

The Panthers’ 2-0 loss to the Huguenots earlier in the season was a backbreaker for the Panthers as it eliminated them from the Mid Hudson Athletic League tournament, which took place this week on their home field.

It was the first time in about five years that the Panthers have not made the MHAL tournament.
However, an up-and-down regular season ends on an upswing.

“This makes me feel good that we had a successful ending to a team that beat us earlier in the season,” Wood said. “We’re fairly healthy. A lot of teams are banged up this time of year, but other than some bumps and bruises, we’re fairly healthy.”

The Panthers are now off until the beginning of the Section 9 Class A tournament, which will be seeded Wednesday night.

“This was one of our best games,” Jachimiak said. “We played really well as a team. Everyone chipped in a little bit. Everyone did great.”