Julia Bernhardt mustered all the courage she could for the penalty shootout as she remembered last season’s semifinal against Beacon.
“I was so nervous because I was in the same situation last year and we lost,” the Francis Lewis sophomore goalkeeper said.
Bernhardt and Francis Lewis prevailed this time as she stopped two out of the four shots to help the eighth-ranked Patriots advance, 4-2, on penalty kicks past No. 9 Brooklyn Tech in the second round of the PSAL Class A girls soccer playoffs at Sterling Field in Brooklyn on Wednesday.
“Julia made two great saves today in the shootout,” Francis Lewis coach Jeovani Paredes said. “She’s a very young player, she’s a sophomore and doesn’t have too much experience with dealing with situations with pressure, but she handled it very well.”
Bernhardt allowed two goals in the first 15 minutes of the game to Brooklyn Tech senior Jessica Riccardi. It gave the Engineers (10-3-1) a 2-0 lead, but she was flawless after that. Bernhardt made 11 saves and anchored a defense along with fellow sophomore Valerie James that barely let the Engineers into their offensive end after their early goals.
“Val has been my star all season,” Paredes said. “She’s phenomenal, she has so much speed and she is so strong. There is nobody that can replace her. She is one of the best last defenders in all of PSAL.”
Freshman Libby Zelikowitz scored both goals for the Patriots in the 18th and 27th minutes to tie the score at 2-2. Gena Koutsounadis and Karin Backert each added assists.
“I got two really good crosses from my teammates and I was able to finish them,” Zelikowitz said.
Added Bernhardt: “In the beginning of the game we were a little slow, but when we were scored on we realized we had to pick it up.”
In the second half, Francis Lewis (11-1-3) nearly took the lead when Backert sent a beautiful cross that Koutsounadis headed into the goal midway through the second half, but the score was called a handball and disallowed.
“The ball hit my head and then it also hit part of my shoulder,” Koutsounadis said.
The Patriots had a number of opportunities after the Koutsounadis handball, but just couldn’t seem to find the back of the net.
“We should have scored earlier,” Koutsounadis said. “We take a lot of shots and they seem to never go in.”
Francis Lewis advances to face No. 1 Bronx Science at 9:30 a.m. Nov. 3 at Newtown in the quarterfinals. Paredes believes the fight his team showed against Brooklyn Tech will give them a chance to knock off the Wolverines.
“Soccer is not just physical, it’s mental, it’s desire, and it’s your heart,” he said. “You have to want to play for that jersey on the front that you’re wearing and give it your all. … We wanted it today and we showed it.”