The Johnston Panthers completed a stunning comeback, clawing back from a 6-3 halftime deficit to beat the previously undefeated Westerly Bulldogs 7-6 in a thriller during the Division III Championship at Brown University on Saturday afternoon.
Johnston sophomore Bianca Robbins led the Panthers back, scoring two goals in the second half with two assists in the game.
“We wanted to come in and beat them,” Robbins said. “We practiced hard every day before we came and we prepared for this game to win. It felt great. It felt good to win.”
Robbins’ final assist went to sophomore Kaylee Lameiro, who netted the game-winner.
“I saw Bianca with the ball and I saw that she knew I was open and we had the combo the whole season and we made it happen,” Lameiro added.
Junior attacker Grace Sarah added two goals for Johnston and goalkeeper Jascmile Cassion had 13 saves.
Westerly got on the board one minute and 35 seconds into the contest when sophomore midfielder Lauren Dobson found the back of the cage, giving Westerly a 1-0 lead.
Grace Sarah responded for Johnston a minute and a half later, tying the game at 1. However, Westerly’s Kate Cummings would score two goals in less than a minute, putting Westerly up 3-1.
Johnston’s Gabby Sauro had an indirect position shot attempt blocked by a Westerly defender before Lameiro had a shot denied by Quinn Chappelle, the Westerly goalkeeper. After Johnston’s Cassion stopped a shot down the other end, Johnston sophomore attacker Gabby DiRaimo went the distance and pulled the Panthers within 3-2.
With 15:43 left in the half, Cummings danced by defenders and found the back of the cage for her third goal of the contest, while extending Westerly’s advantage to 4-2.
With 55.5 seconds left in the frame, Dobson dished to Ashley Amato for a goal, extending Westerly’s lead to 5-2.
Johnston responded 35 seconds later when Sarah found Hardman for a lamp lighter, making it 5-3. But with 1.8 seconds left, Cummings fed Amato for another goal, giving Westerly a 6-3 edge heading into halftime.
Johnston head coach Jay Areson felt that his team wasn’t on the same page in the opening period.
“We weren’t really playing as a team in the first half,” Areson said. “We were trying to do too much. I told the girls to take the ball behind the net, let them do some cuts and it seemed to open it up and we got right back in the game.”
A little over 10 minutes into the second half, Johnston’s Sarah dished to senior midfielder Loriann Samayoa for a goal, pulling the Panthers within 6-4. Seven minutes later, Robbins earned a steal and went on a fast break and scored, cutting it to 6-5. A minute after that, Robbins grabbed a defensive board and flew coast to coast before flipping it by Chappelle, tying the game at 6.
With 3:45 remaining, Robbins was standing behind the net when she assisted in front to Lameiro, who scored the championship-deciding goal.
Cassion, the Johnston senior goalkeeper, was a stone wall during the second half, stopping anything that came her way, helping to make the comeback possible.
“Honestly, I can just say that my team and I, we did everything together,” Cassion said. “We really went after it. We played together, we really wanted to win.”
Areson says Cassion will be a tough one to replace.
“I’m going to miss her next year without a doubt,” Areson said. “If you look at all the goals against, she’s got the least this year in our division so she’s been solid since she’s minded the net her freshman year.”
Comments
No comments on this item Please log in to comment by clicking here