Meghann Burke made several great saves, but the Long Island Rough Riders scored in the 84th minute to eliminate the visiting Boston Renegades 1-0 in the first round of the W-League playoffs.
"The team's very disappointed. We played evenly the first half, and I thought we dominated the second half, and to have them score at the end like that was tough," said Renegades coach Darren Gallagher, whose team finished the season 9-4-2.
"I'm proud of the effort the girls gave all season, we had a lot of opportunities tonight, but their goalie played a great game as well. It's been a great season," said Gallagher.
The game marked a return to the playoffs for the Renegades, who missed the postseason in 2007 for the first time in seven years.
Boston was in contention for the division championship midway through the season. After dropping their season opener to the Jersey Sky Blue, the Renegades won six straight games, outscoring their foes 22-2 in that stretch. One of the wins was a 1-0 shutout over the Washington Freedom, who wound up capturing the Northeast Division crown.
Ashlee Pistorius led Boston with eight goals, and also had four assists to give her 20 points on the year. Her point total was good for 17th in the W-League, and second in the Northeast Division.
