By STEVE MAZZONE

Sports writer

PROVIDENCE - North Smithfield had the opportunities and was clearly the aggressor in its do-or-die battle with La Salle Academy in Sunday’s Division II semifinal contest.
But with a brick wall between the pipes, all of that went for naught for the defending state titlist, who saw its season come to a close after a 2-1 loss to the top-seeded Rams at Schneider Arena. Tournament MVP went to La Salle goalie Holly Scott, who was well-deserving of the honor.
Just a day after stopping 22 shots in a 7-2 rout by La Salle in the opening game of the best-of-3 series, the fantastic freshman stopped 31 on Sunday afternoon, most coming on vicious attacks by North Smithfield in front of the cage.
“She’s absolutely sensational,” NS head coach Bill Nangle said. “I’m just thrilled that she got the MVP. I think that says it all. She stood on her head. We shot high, we shot low and everywhere in between. She made the big shots when she had to.”
Senior  Kaitlin O’Donnell scored the eventual game-winner for the Rams (15-2-1). With less than four minutes remaining in the contest, O’Donnell flipped a shot from the right circle that went over the shoulder of NS goalie Ally Euglow. Just a few seconds before the goal, O’Donnell nearly got the puck in the net from the opposite side. That shot was stopped by Euglow, but La Salle managed to get the puck back and O’Donnell took advantage of her second chance.
“She came out of the corner to the left of the goal and fired a high one on the weak side,” La Salle coach Dick Ernest said.
Coming off its tough setback to La Salle in the first game of the finals,  North Smithfield showed no signs of a letdown in Sunday’s tilt.  The Northmen out-shot the Rams, 32-16, in the game and dominated most of the action throughout the afternoon.
“You figured they might be down but they came on fire,” Ernest said. “Bill Nangle does a great job with his players. They showed a lot of spirit and sportsmanship.”
The Northmen had numerous opportunities to score in the opening period, but couldn’t get the puck past Scott. Two prime chances came during a power play at the midway point of the period. The frosh netminder first denied a sizzler by Jess Salisbury from outside the crease. She then turned away another attempt during a scuffle create by the Northmen near the cage.
The Rams, who mustered only four shots in the period as opposed to 12 taken by the Northmen, took the early lead when junior Alisha DiFilippo scored at 10:22. The Northmen did manage to knot the score at 1 when sophomore Kayla Kiernan unleashed a shot that finally got by Scott with less than three minutes remaining.
“That was big,” said Nangle about Kiernan’s tally. “She just works so hard. The beginning of the game she said, ‘I’ll lay down and do anything for this team.’”
Scott set the tone in the middle period, thwarting away a flurry of shots by the Northmen at the beginning of the period. She stopped five in the first four minutes of the period.
During one power play opportunity, the La Salle netminder even benefited from a lucky bounce when a North Smithfield shot hit her shoulder and then off the crossbar and on to the ice in front of her. Scott quickly covered up the puck preventing any further shots by the Northmen.
The two teams went into the third period still deadlocked. Credit should go to North Smithfield’s defense in the closing minutes for keeping it that way. La Salle had three of its five shots in the period on a 5-on-3 power play in the final 1:30.
“We had three of our best players on the ice,” Nangle said. “We were in great shape. We train all year for this…They were loose.”
La Salle, which lost to the Northmen in last year’s finals in three games, solidified their first-ever championship with O’Donnell’s goal in the final period, denying their rival another chance at a title.
Afterwards, Nangle could still flash a smile. He just thought back on all that his team has accomplished this winter. The Northmen finished second in the league with an impressive 12-5-1 mark.
“It was a great season,” Nangle said. “Our goal was to get to the finals. This is our third year reaching the finals. For them to come back from (Saturday’s loss) like this, I am just so very proud of them.”
***
North Smithfield     1 0 0 - 1
La Salle     1 0 1 - 2
First period - 1. LaS, Alisha DeFilippo (Lauren Lanoie, Brittnay Clarke) 10:22; 2. NS, Kayla Kiernan (unassisted) 12:47. Penalties - LaS, 1-2.
Second period -  No scoring. Penalties - LaS, 2-4. NS, 2-4
Third period - 3. LaS, Kaitlin O’Donnell(DiFilippo) 11:11.
Saves -  LaS, Holly Scott 31. Ally Euglow 14. Shots - LaS, 16. NS, 32.