As a member of the class of 2021 at Marist, freshman midfielder Cece Light feels a connection to Emily Beazley.

Beazley, a Mount Greenwood native who died at age 12 in 2015 after a battle with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, would have been a freshman this year. Marist named her an honorary member of the class of 2021.

Indeed, Light called her an “honorary angel of our class.”

“I didn’t know her personally, but a lot of kids who knew her talk so highly of her,” Light said. “I strive to be like her on and off the field. It was so nice to play for her.”

With the RedHawks and Mother McAuley dedicating Wednesday night’s game in Beazley’s honor, Light had extra motivation. It showed as she delivered a goal and an assist in Marist’s 2-1 win at Brother Rice.

Fellow freshman Ciara Bridges also scored for Marist (11-10-2), which won for the fifth time in its last six games and snapped a seven-game winning streak for McAuley (11-9).

“We wanted to come out and play harder for this game because it was Emily’s game,” Bridges said.

The teams wore special shirts with Beazley’s name on the back. The shirts were sold to raise money for Emily Beazley’s Kures for Kids.

Light gave the RedHawks the lead in the 11th minute. She received the ball in the box after a nice combination play. Ally Corcoran played a pass to Anyssa Pazmino, who found Light.

Light initially had the ball poked away, but fought through a pair of defenders to direct it back into the net.

“It bounced back out off the goalie’s foot and I just wanted the goal really bad, so I was going to keep kicking no matter what,” Light said. “I didn’t even know what I was kicking at.”

Bridges made it 2-0 less than five minutes later when Annie Callaghan took a free kick from 50 yards and sent a ball toward the top of the box, where Light flicked it ahead to Bridges for the finish.

McAuley pulled to within 2-1 on Grace Hynes’ goal with 16 minutes left in the first half and pushed hard for the equalizer in the second half, but the RedHawks held on.

Cassandra Eraci made five saves for Marist, while Caitlin Fitzsimmons finished with six for the Mighty Macs.

The intense battle in front of a large crowd made for a good postseason tuneup in the final regular-season game for both teams.

“To play this game, with this intensity and physicality, was perfect right before the playoffs,” Marist coach Chris Roe said. “McAuley really took it to us in the second half. They wanted it bad and we were lucky to hang on.”

Despite the loss, Hynes said it was a memorable night. Like Beazley, she grew up in Mount Greenwood.

“I know how special she was and what a big heart she had,” Hynes said. “I was really honored to play with her name on my back.”

Steve Millar is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.