Written by Michael Lewis

GREENVILLE, S.C. – The Long Island Rough Riders women dropped a 2-0 decision to the Greenville Liberty in the quarterfinals of the USL W League playoffs at Legacy Early College on Wednesday night.

The Liberty, the South Atlantic Division champion, will host South Georgia Tormenta FC in the semifinals this weekend. South George defeated FC Miami City in another quarterfinal, 1-0, on Wednesday night. Greenville improved to 6-0 at home.

The Rough Riders controlled the match for the opening 12 minutes before the Liberty found its footing.

Greenville’s Julie Mackin gave the visitors their biggest worries in the early going. She placed the ball into the back of the net in the 14th minute, but the goal did not count because she was ruled to be offside.

The hosts’ Caitlyn Reilly fired a shot from outside of the penalty area on the right side past goalkeeper Lauren Hoolahan in the 36th minute for her second goal of the season. The goal snapped Long Island’s shutout streak at five games.

Mackin doubled Greenville’s advantage in the 70th minute as she connected on a long-range shot from the left side into the far-right corner for a 2-0 lead.

Alexa Vegoda tried to get LI on the scoreboard, placing a long free kick from the left side in the 89th minute, but goalkeeper Katelyn Kellogg punched the ball away to preserve the clean sheet.

The Rough Riders enjoyed a memorable season, finishing second in the Metropolitan Division with an 8-2-2 record while securing a wildcard playoff berth. They scored 35 goals in their final five regular season matches, in which the team went 4-0-1 to power itself into the postseason.