By STEVE MAZZONE

Sports writer

CUMBERLAND –Andy Rao was a man of few words on Thursday.
There’s an obvious reason the Woonsocket High soccer coach wasn’t overly talkative.
On a hot and steamy afternoon, Rao watched as his Villa Novans were dominated in all aspect of the game by host Cumberland before eventually suffering a 5-0 defeat in their Division I-North contest at Tucker Field. After leading by just a 1-0 margin midway into the second half, the Clippers finalized the rout with four goals in the last 20 minutes.
Five different players found the net for Cumberland, which raised its record to 2-0 for the season. Woonsocket fell to 1-1.

“They were very good,” said Rao, about the Clippers. “They’re a very strong team. They played well and they’re fast.”
Just how dominant was the Clippers’ performance in Thursday’s tilt between the two neighboring rivals?
For more than three quarters of the game, Cumberland kept the ball busy in the Villa Novans’ zone. The Clippers limited Woonsocket to only one “non-threatening” shot in the first half while unleashing 21 for the afternoon. As for corner kicks, Cumberland had the overwhelming edge in that category as well with 14 as compared the zero for the Villa Novans.
Even though a 5-0 victory is considered a rout in soccer, it had potential to be even been worse for the Villa Novans. Cumberland’s single-goal advantage at the break should have been much higher, but a number of prime chances just wouldn’t fall for the Clippers.
“We dominated the game, we just couldn’t score (in the first half),” CHS head coach John Lopes said. “We couldn’t score until late. I can’t explain it. I don’t know why.”
Cumberland didn’t really start putting heat on the net until there was almost 20 minutes passed on the clock in the first half. Credit the Villa Novans’ defense for that frustration, highlighted by strong play from freshman Matthew Menorath and senior Amadu Leigh.
It wasn’t long, however, before the Clippers started to attack the Villa Novans’ zone. Sophomore John Andrade nearly put Cumberland on the scoreboard just past the midway point when he tried to finish off a nice bit of passing from his teammates with a straight-on shot from 20-yards out that went high above the net.
Josh Robison, who had all the goals in the Clippers’ season-opening 4-0 win over Central Falls on Tuesday, came close to scoring with less than seven minutes before the half, but his one-on-one opportunity from about 15 yards went wide left.
After many more chances to score, junior Jason Loureiro finally put one in for the Clippers, firing a hard roller from the right side that went under the hands of WHS goalie Michael Forest. Cumberland out-shot the Villa Novans by a 10-1 differential in the half.
Lopes admitted it was a little frustrating that his Clippers were having problems scoring.
“I wasn’t really nervous, but I told (my players at halftime), once we score the second goal we’ll be alright. The rest of the game would be easy,” he said. “I wasn’t nervous, but I wasn’t very comfortable either.”
The Clippers continued to put pressure on the Villa Novans in the second half. Forrest did prevent a line drive fired by Alexandre Coelho at about 10 minutes with a diving save. But shortly after, the floodgates opened for Cumberland, beginning with Coehlo finding the back of the cage with his shot just inside the crease at the 20:04 mark. Robison answered with another tally four minutes later, taking a nice feed from Loureiro at the right side and booting the ball to the left corner that was far out of the reach of Forrest. Kevin Seixas and Sean Buxton also scored for the Clippers in the half.
“I think they just got tired,” said Rao, whose Villa Novans tied Mount St. Charles, 1-1, on Tuesday. “It was a 1-1 game at halftime. The same thing happened to us at Mount. In that game, we got physically dominated in the second half and that’s when they scored their goal.”
Even though it’s still very early, Lopes likes how things are starting off for his Clippers so far. On Monday, Cumberland travels to Mount St. Charles, while Woonsocket plays host to East Providence.
“We have two division wins,” he said, “and we are very pleased right now.”
***
Woonsocket 0 0 - 0
Cumberland 1 4 – 5
First half – 1. C, Jason Loureiro (David Sak) 35:29.
Second half – C, Alex Coelho (Kevin Guerra) 20:04; 3. C, Josh Robison (Loureiro) 24:07; 4. C, Kevin Seixas (Guerra) 33:45; 5. Sean Buxton (John Andrade) 35:00.
Saves – W, Michael Forrest 16. C, Chris Duarte 0. Shots – C, 21. W, 1. Corner kicks – C 14. W 0.