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By BRENDAN MCGAIR Sports writer CRANSTON – Lincoln has ended each of the past two seasons with pig piles, screams of jubilation and being awarded some shiny hardware. With a “been there, done that” vibe to them, Lincoln sought to keep the good times rolling Wednesday night in the Division II semifinals against Cranston West.
The coronation sequence that seemed so natural was halted as the Lions, the second seed from the North, bowed to the Falcons, 3-1, at rain-soaked Cranston Stadium. Cranston West, which got two goals from freshman Alexandra Stanton, faces Bay View, which outlasted Prout, 1-0, in double overtime, in Saturday’s championship contest at Pierce Stadium.
Pierce Stadium was the scene of many pleasant memories for the Lions, who opted to slide up a division after “owning” the D-III circuit. Facing stiffer competition didn’t intimidate Lincoln in the slightest bit. The Lions registered a 9-4-3 regular season record and a win in the quarters over Westerly.
“The way the kids came together, they played team soccer,” said Lincoln head coach Dave Jordan. “It was difficult to move up … it’s a faster and more physical game, but as the season shows, Lincoln has a good soccer program, from the younger kids all the way up to the high school.”
The physical nature of the Falcons was the difference as West simply bottled up Lincoln’s attack. The Lions didn’t break through until five minutes were remaining, Alexandra Marcello heading in a cross feed from Lauren Shuster.
“We just couldn’t get our running game going,” said Jordan. “Give (West) credit.”
“My whole issue today was to control the midfield and recover back,” said Falcons head coach Charles Pearson, who served as Jordan’s JV coach at South Kingstown.
Rain engulfed the players and spectators as the semifinal commenced. A drizzled turned into a steady stream as the game wore on as tiny puddles began popping up.
The conditions forced Cranston West and Lincoln to play a kickball style, hoping to pin action closer to the goal. That’s exactly how the Falcons, champions from the South, broke the scoreless deadlock.
West’s Sam Notle sent a cross feed from roughly 30 yards out, connecting with Stanton. With Lincoln defenders Cady Dufresne and Emma Clavet in hot pursuit, Stanton got off a clean attempt, nestling the shot into the left corner.
“They found an opening a crease and were able to put the ball into the net,” said Jordan. “(Stanton) got behind the defense and it was 1-on-1 with (Lions goaltender Adriana Ferreria).”
The Falcons tightened up whenever the Lions’ prime goal scorers, Marcello and Ashley O’Dell, crossed midfield. Lincoln didn’t put a shot on West goaltender Sydney Kahan until Marcello got off an attempt just as the senior captain landed on the turf, that coming with seven minutes remaining in the half.
All told Lincoln managed just two shots in the first 40 minutes, though the second one nearly came close to taking a fortuitous bounce for the Red, White & Blue. Taking a page from West’s playbook, Lincoln sophomore Barbara Jackson took a chance from 20 yards out. Kahan was able to punch the ball over the goal and out of harm’s way.
Stanton followed up a miss early in the second, bolstering West’s lead to two. Stephanie Estacio followed nearly 13 minutes later, placing Lincoln a three-goal hole Jordan & Co. were unable to completely dig themselves out of.
While Lincoln graduates key contributors such as O’Dell, Marcello, Ferreria and Meredith Atkinson, the future appears bright with a host of underclassmen ready to step in.
“We’ve got a lot of good young players. I can’t name any off the top of my head because we try to stick to the team approach,” said Jordan. “We have a nice mix heading into next year and hopefully we build upon the things we did in D-III.”
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Lincoln 0 – 1 -- 1
Cranston West 1 – 2 -- 3
First Half: CW – Alexandra Stanton (Sam Notle), 19:22.
Second Half: CW – Stanton, 5:25; CW – Stephanie Estacio, 18:08; L – Alexandra Marcello (Lauren Shuster), 34:32.
Shots on Goal: L 10 CW 10
Goalie saves: Adriana Ferreria (L) 7; Sydney Kahan (CW) 9. |
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