Barrington dethrones N.K.; East Greenwich tops Bay View
CRANSTON — Top-seeded Barrington High School will face upstart East Greenwich for the Division One field hockey state championship after the sides dispatched North Kingstown and St. Mary Academy-Bay View, respectively, in the semifinals Thursday night, Oct. 29, at Cranston Stadium.
The Eagles used goals from Taylor Rideout and Kelly Dolan along with the superb net-minding of Becky Bracken to defeat the fourth-seeded and defending champion Skippers, 2-0, in Thursday’s nightcap. Barrington had beaten N.K. in their two previous regular season meetings as well.
“It was a good game. All three of our games with N.K. were good. They always play well against us. But we’re really motivated and intense to win at this point,” said BHS head coach Lee Markowski.
The Avengers, seeded third, pulled off a mild upset with their 1-0 victory over the second-seeded Bengals. Bay View had defeated E.G. in both of the teams’ regular season outings. Sarah Bateson’s tally in the 46th minute proved the lone goal of the contest.
Barrington and East Greenwich return to Cranston Stadium to decide the 2009 state champion Sunday afternoon, Nov. 1, at 1. The Eagles swept the Avs in their two meetings, winning 2-0 in the season-opener for both sides back on Sept. 1 then 1-0 to begin the second half of the season on Sept. 30.
“E.G. is playing well. I’m obviously concerned about playing them,” Markowski said of the matchup with the Avs. “We beat them pretty easily in the first half of the season. Second half of the season we beat them, but it was really close. They could have won that game, so I think we really have to crank it up because they are playing so well. They’re kind of at the top of their game.
“I think we’re a pretty good team. And I think if we play as well as we can we can beat anybody. But we have to play as well as we can, be on our game because they’re a very good opponent.”
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The Skippers certainly did not give up their throne without a fight. North had the better of the possession in the first half, out-shooting the Eagles, 5-4, and finished the opening 30 minutes with a 5-1 penalty corner advantage.
Barrington, however, made the most of its limited opportunities in the first. The Eagles, in fact, converted on their lone corner of the half when Rideout, from a tight angle from the left, beat North keeper Alsyon Packhem. Rebecca Maddock was credited with the assist on the goal in the 15th minute of action.
“Taylor is a very good player. She’s only a sophomore, but she’s very strong. She’s really contributed a lot. She’s one of the reasons why we’re here,” said Markowski.
North’s truly best chance to score came moments later when Barrington was called for a handling infraction inside the 18-yard area. The Skippers were awarded a penalty stroke, which captain Victoria Dolce took, but Bracken smothered to keep the Eagles in front.
“It’s great to see,” Markowski said of Bracken’s play, especially impressive because it’s the senior’s first-ever season of playing field hockey. “To do what she did in a game like this is phenomenal.”
North also had another fine chance before the break, sending multiple shots on Bracken during a rapid-fire sequence in the 21st minute. The Barrington keeper, however, was again up to the task, kicking away two shots before her defense cleared the ball out harm’s way.
The Skippers again held a slight possession advantage in the second half, though none of their scoring chances were from point-blank range like in the first. Bracken kicked out each as her back-line kept North at a distance.
The Eagles, once again, made the most of their best chance to score, doing so in the final minute. Rideout was on the delivery end of Dolan’s stuff shot in the 59th to ice the victory.
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The biggest difference between the games Thursday was East Greenwich, pretty much the aggressor throughout, took advantage of its best opportunity to score while the Bengals didn’t.
"Unfortunately, today wasn't our day," said Bay View head coach Ken Dias. "I'm very, very disappointed for the seniors. They've worked really hard for me. We were really looking forward to going farther in the playoffs, playing on Sunday. It's extremely disappointing, unfulfilling at this point. I'm very proud of my kids, but we're disappointed with the finish."
The Avengers had three penalty corners in the first seven minutes of the game, but didn’t score. Bay View keeper Fallon Scorpio later needed to make a diving stop of a shot by Rose Cheng in the 20th minute to keeps the Avs off the board. Cheng had snuck behind the Bay View defense and was alone with the ball when Scorpio pounced.
The game reached halftime scoreless. East continued to pressure the Bengals to begin the final 30 minutes, but couldn’t find a goal until the 46th when Bateson, sitting near the right post, redirected a Lindsey Buckheit shot past Scorpio.
The Bengals’ best chance to level came around the same time as Katie Martin found herself alone to the left of Avs’ keeper Kate DiPietro. Martin, however, couldn’t quite catch up to the long hit, sending an off-balance shot DiPietro easy kicked out.
Neither team really had any better looks the rest of the way. East Greenwich finished with a 10-5 shots on goal advantage and a 10-5 edge on corners.
"They controlled a lot of the second half, but I thought the first half we played pretty evenly," said Dias. "Unfortunately, it seemed like we couldn't catch any of the breaks we were getting for most of the season. I thought it was pretty evenly played, but we didn't play our best game today."
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