LIVINGSTON MANOR — The Lady Wildcats have come a long way since last season. Unable to win a game in their 2022-23 campaign, they’re currently sitting at 4-4 (1-0) in 2023-24 under first year Head Coach Maggi Fitzpatrick.

Eldred swept their way through the division last year, and had their first taste of defeat in more than a year as they fell 2-1 to the Wildcats on Thursday evening.

Both teams have a very physical style of play, leading to many whistles throughout the contest, but it was Livingston Manor who prevailed after trailing in 1-0 in the first half.

Eldred drew first blood after Ksenia Sosnowski found the back of the net with 4:52 to play in the first half. The Lady Wildcats did a good job of controlling the possession, but Eldred’s upfield strikes were surgical, giving the Lady Yellowjackets some good looks at the goal throughout the night.

Just over two minutes after Eldred scored the opening goal, an opportunity opened up for Anastasia Niforatos and she capitalized and equalized the game with 2:38 to play before the half.

The second half played much like the first, with the teams deadlocked for the majority of the game. Eventually, Rebecca Gashinsky was able to break through with 13:21 to play to give the Lady Wildcats the 2-1 advantage.

With 9:23 left, an Eldred player was presented a red card, forcing the Lady Yellowjackets to play a man down for the final phase of the game.

Despite being a player short, Eldred was still able to advance the ball, nearly scoring a few more times, but the LM defense kept Eldred from tying the game.

LM goalkeeper Zaylee Cox recorded ten saves in the game, while Alyena Galvin-Bliefernich recorded five saves for Eldred.

“It was a good physical game,” Eldred Coach Roxanne Doud said. “We look forward to seeing them at our field.”

Coach Maggi Fitzpatrick said, “We played the game we wanted to play tonight. I’m proud of my team, we played both ends well and got our first league win.”