By RYAN ARENA

L’Observateur

RESERVE — It was a heartbreaking finish for Riverside’s season Thursday, as Country Day rallied from a 1-0 halftime deficit to score two second half goals and top the Rebels in a Division III bi-district round playoff match 2-1 at Riverside.

The Cajuns’ Lindsey Landry scored both Country Day goals, the first coming 13 minutes into the second half and the eventual game-winner 19 minutes after halftime.

Riverside’s Maddie Duhon scored Riverside’s lone goal 10 minutes into the game, off of an assist by Mary Gurley.

“It’s an especially tough loss, because I felt like the way we were playing in district and finished up the season, we had great momentum,” said Brittany St. Pierre, who wraps up her first season at the helm of the Rebel program. “We just couldn’t get back ahead of them.”

Riverside (15-9-3) entered as the No. 13 seed in Division III. Country Day was No. 20. The Cajuns advanced to the regional, where they will face the winner of Episcopal and Grace Christian.

St. Pierre said that the team’s defense held firm, but that the offense struggled to get on track and that her team played a “frustrated game” as the day progressed.

Riverside battled penalties throughout the match, including a pair of yellow cards. The Rebels also were tasked with overcoming the loss of key starters Taylor Terrio and Caitlin Roussel, both sidelined due to injury.

“(The injuries) kind of make things more difficult,” St. Pierre admitted. “But our players played extremely hard. The ball just didn’t fall our way this time.”

A close match between the teams came as little surprise; the Rebels and Cajuns battled to a 1-1 tie in early December.

“We played them before, so we somewhat knew what they were going to do,” said St. Pierre. “They played well defensively.”

It was the second time in two seasons Riverside hosted a first round playoff match.

The Rebels finish the season as back-to-back district champions, the first two district championships in the history of the program.

“This team had an awesome year,” said St. Pierre. “Even though we fell short of where everyone wanted to go, the players have something to be proud of. They were part of the first two district championships in school history, the last one undefeated.

“They’ll always be able to say that. You want them to take that away with them more than a bad ending.”