East Providence girls’ soccer did what no team, including the Townies earlier in the season, was able to do all year on a couple of accounts.
East Providence dropped undefeated, top-seeded Johnston in the Division III title game on Sunday, 3-2, in penalty kicks. In the process, the Townies held state-leading scorer Bianca Robbins without a goal for the first time in her sophomore campaign.
“I think the last game we learned a lot,” East Providence head coach Angelo Pizzi said, referencing a 5-2 loss to Johnston on Oct. 18. “We came out playing our flat 4-4-2 ]defense], and this time we employed a different strategy.”
The Townies broke a 1-1 tie late in regulation, thanks to increased pressure in the zone after playing a more conservative approach to start the half. They were awarded a free kick in the 66th minute, and the ball found the head of Alyssa DeOliveira. The header wasn’t direct, but it soared high enough over goalkeeper Kaylee Lameiro to find twine.
Johnston struggled for quality chances all game, as its only score to that point came off an own goal early on. Lameiro, who took over late in the year for injured starter Emily Gaye, made a few sensational saves down the stretch to keep the Panthers within one.
Her patience was rewarded with less than a minute to go. The Townies’ defense suffered its only breakdown of the night, allowing Robbins to find Gabriella Scarcella for a quick shot attempt in transition that went to the right of Mia Jackson for the equalizer to force overtime.
“I looked at my seniors, especially my captains, and I just said ‘It’s 10 minutes at a time,’” Pizzi said.
Despite seizing momentum, the Panthers were not able to grab a lead in either overtime period. Penalty kicks would decide the state champion, and again it would come down to making crucial saves.
Sydney Vilardi’s goal gave East Providence a 3-2 lead, forcing Robbins to make hers to give the Panthers a chance to extend the competition. She drilled it, and Lameiro saved Lindsey Amaral’s ensuing shot to activate sudden death.
Jackson saved the next Johnston shot, giving freshman Pattie Aaliyah a chance to walk off for the title. She put an attempt just past Lameiro to the right post, sending the Townies into a frenzy.
Aaliyah won it for East Providence, but it would not have gotten that far if it weren’t for the play of forward Grace Abrams. Abrams, who is East Providence’s leading scorer, rarely put herself in position for scoring opportunities because she was tasked with staying on Robbins all game.
“She’s also the fastest player on the team,” Pizzi said of Abrams. “So we just assigned her directly to Miss Robbins, who is a fantastic player, from my point-of-view, one of the top five in the state.”
Abrams rarely allowed her to gain any separation, and there were at least two Townies behind her to sweep away potential chances. She had a hat trick in the first nine minutes of that 5-2 win a month ago, but the Townies made sure not to let that happen again.
Comments
No comments on this item Please log in to comment by clicking here