Yesterday, on a crisp, autumnal afternoon, the girls’ soccer team closed their regular season with a third straight win in a 7-1 thumping of Port Jeff. The Bears now look ahead to their first postseason berth since 2013.

The Bears had several scoring chances early on, but were held at bay until Madison Logan opened the floodgates in the 24th minute. After Leka Lee-Maeba’s shot found the right post, Logan corralled the rebound inside the 18-yard box and hit a shot that broke through the hands of the keeper for a 1-0 lead. Two more goals came in quick succession as Jessica Nwachukwu found the net two minutes later on a penalty kick after a Port Jeff handball in the box. Lee-Maeba added to the lead a minute later when an Alyssa Martinez free kick from midfield set Lee-Maeba up inside the box where she dribbled once before bulging the back of the net.

Port Jeff answered with a goal of their own in the 36th minute, but Nwachukwu scored her second of the day when she intercepted a Royal clear attempt and hit a shot from just outside the box that skipped into the left side netting, giving the Brook a 4-1 halftime cushion.

The Royals threatened twice in the early moments of the second half, but Lee-Maeba, who replaced Beth Felix in goal, stood tall each time. On the first attack, she made two full-extension, diving saves to keep the Royals off the board. Three minutes later she deflected a wide open strike, that was destined for the top shelf, up and over the crossbar. Donna Sanders built upon the lead 15 minutes into the half when she took a pass from Gabby Germain, wove her way through two defenders and found rope. Felix added her own score two minutes later on an unassisted run up the right side that ended with a pretty touch that arced just out of reach of the keeper and into the net. Germain capped the scoring with her first career goal, on Senior Day no less, on a shot assisted by Nwachukwu.

Felix and Lee-Maeba, in replacing starting keeper Sophia DiLavore, played very well in their first goal-keeping action of the season, recording 2 saves and 5 saves, respectively.

The Bears now await their playoff destination. The most likely scenario is a date with Southold/Greenport in the Suffolk County Class C Championship on Thursday, October 26.

---