Barrington overpowers Clippers
Cotter nets hat trick in road defeat
BARRINGTON – Last spring, the then-Cumberland High crop of LAXers rolled all the way to the R.I. Division I Tournament semifinals before succumbing to Moses Brown. It marked the only trip the Clippers had made to such a lofty level in program history.
The Jessica Shiel-led contingent tried to clinch a second straight berth in the semis during Friday afternoon’s rainstorm at third-seeded Barrington, but the Eagles ruined the attempt with a 13-7 quarterfinal victory before approximately 60 fans who braved the drizzle with umbrellas at the Victory Field complex.
It wasn’t the most glorious weather to contend with during a run for a state crown, but the hosts made the most of it, with five juniors accounting for all 13 goals. Clare Gaffney led the way with a hat trick and two assists, while Hope Robertson and Alison Vetromile each recorded hat tricks with a feed. Megan Maloney chipped in two tallies and an assist; Ann Berkery two scores; and sophomore Alexy Carolyn a pair of feeds.
For the sixth-ranked Clippers, whose season ended at 4-9 overall, junior Mackenzie Cotter notched a hat trick; senior co-captain Gianna Ritchie two tal- lies; freshman Hannah Guerin a goal and feed; and sophomore Elise Curren a tally.
With the decision, the polished Eagles improved to 9-4 overall, and now will prepare for their own semifinal bid.
This happened to be the third time Cumberland had battled Barrington, with the foes splitting their regular-season matches. The Eagles had shelled CHS, 11-4, at Tucker Field early on, but the Clippers collected a wild 11-10 road win three weeks ago.
“I thought we were pretty inconsistent (Friday),” Shiel stated after being eliminated. “The last 10 minutes, it was our game. If we could’ve put 10 more minutes on the (scoreboard) clock, we would’ve come out on the other side.
“We usually don’t drop as many balls, and we didn’t handle some situations as well as usual,” she continued. “There was one time we failed to convert a penalty shot, and there were times we didn’t get back on defense. I don’t know if it was a case of nerves or the weather, but we’ve played better. That 11-10 win was probably the best game we’ve played all year.”
Shiel’s crew controlled the tilt through the first three-plus minutes of the initial 25-minute session, though Robertson snared a pass from Gaffney, raced around a defender and snapped a shot past senior keeper Brooke McLaughlin (eight saves) with 3:37 elapsed.
Gaffney and Vetromile hooked up on Barrington’s second goal with 17:55 remaining before the break, and Maloney canned a penalty shot 1:20 later to give the Eagles the 3-0 cushion.
Exactly 3:22 after that, Cotter snapped a low try past sophomore goalie Caileigh Durkin to cut it to 3-1, but the hosts sandwiched two scores around Cotter’s penalty goal over the final 10:42 to enter intermission at 5-2.
Robertson manufactured the fourth tally on a pass from Maloney, and Gaffney fired home a penalty attempt with 1:20 left.
Whatever Eagles’ head coach Kathryn McGregor told her troops during the 10-minute break worked wonders. Just 1:10 into the last half, officials awarded CHS senior attacker Alexandra White a penalty stroke, and Durkin managed a solid stop of the low shot with her crown.
Less than three minutes later, with 21:47 left, Berkery took an outside-in feed from Carolyn and ripped it past McLaughlin, and that sparked a four-goal surge in the short span of 5:29. Robertson found Vetromile open by the left post with 19:31 left; Robertson and Gaffney teamed up for the third of the stanza 50 ticks later; and Maloney slipped a penalty try past McLaughlin to elevate the Eagles to the 92 advantage with 16:18 on the clock.
Cumberland, however, didn’t wilt, as Guerin knocked in a shot from point-blank range, and Ritchie followed her teammate with a pretty tally at 12:25 to tighten the deficit to 9-4.
Only 16 ticks after that previous score, officials whistled BHS senior defender Cameron Crisco for a foul, giving the Clippers the girladvantage, but they didn’t muster a shot during that minute. Vetromile answered with a goal from Robertson with 9:17 remaining, and Gaffney notched another less than two minutes after to increase the lead to 11-4.
Cumberland responded with two quick tallies in the span of 43 seconds, Cotter and Ritchie doing the honors (the latter with 4:20 left), yet Berkery’s successful, unassisted attempt made it 12-6 at 3:31.
Curren drilled home a shot with 1:51 on the clock, but time wasn’t on the Clippers’ side, as Vetromile ended it with her own with 14 ticks remaining.
When asked what her message was to her team after the defeat, Shiel grinned, “This team has come such a long way this season. The team chemistry from Game 1 to now has improved so much. The girls looked to pass to others more often down the stretch, and they had faith in each other defensively, playing their positions.
“They have so much trust in one another, and I’m proud of them all.”
It showed afterward, as junior Rebecca Levesque led a chant, “We’ll miss you, Coach.”