Lions move into quarters
Fellingham’s first-half goal the difference
LINCOLN — After the Lincoln girls soccer team defeated Cranston West in a wild, sevengoal affair on Oct. 18, the Lions were dreaming of a top-4 seed and a home quarterfinal.
But, after three straight losses where they combined to score just three goals, the Lions found themselves, once again, confronted by the Falcons Wednesday night in a Division I preliminary round match.
In a rematch of a 2016 preliminary round game that was eventually won by the Lions in penalty kicks, No. 7 Lincoln scored early and hung on. Sarah Fellingham fired a shot past senior goalie Julia Perreault in the sixth minute and then Sadie Lafleur and the Lion defense did the rest in a 1-0 victory at Ferguson Field.
“We all wanted it really bad,” Lafleur, a talent- ed junior said after the Lions advanced to the DI quarterfinals. “These girls are my best friends and we’ve been playing together for 12 years and we don’t want this to end right now.”
“Last time we played Cranston West we didn’t play our best game, so we wanted to come out and prove that we could play better – and we did,” said Stonehill-bound midfielder Camryn Thompson. “We have a lot of young girls on this team, so getting into that playoff mentality was a little hard for them at first, but I think they came out and proved in this game that they can hang.”
No. 7 Lincoln (9-6-2 Division I) has never advanced to the Division I semifinals, but the Lions will have an opportunity to do just that Saturday night in Smithfield against the second-seeded Sentinels.
The two teams only played 12 days ago with Taylor Cobain and the Sentinels coming out with a 3-2 victory.
Even though the Lions were besieged by injuries, including a firsthalf ankle injury to midfielder Jenna Iaciofano, they had chances to earn a point after splendid goal from freshman Riley Specht in the second half.
“We have to do the same thing we did this game,” said Thompson, who was the best player on the field in that meeting two Saturdays ago. “We need to make sure people know what they’re doing. We’ve got our playoff jitters out now, so we just need to play soccer they way we know how to play. We’re a really good team and I have complete faith that we’re going to go out there and do our best.”
In that first meeting the Lions used the pace of junior forward Lily Loparto and power of Thompson in the midfield to cause the Sentinels problems. Conversely, Cobain, Abby Proulx, Riley Hart and the Sentinel attacks were a handful for Lafleur and the young Lions to handle.
Lincoln coach Chris Allen wouldn’t indicate what he plans to change tactically, but he knows his team has a shot to advance to the semifinals.
“It’s going to be a good game,” Allen said. “I felt like we held out in that game and we were in it the whole way. I feel like we always have a competitive game against them.”
Cranston West (7-8-2 Division I) recovered from Fellingham’s early goal and had a chance to tie the game just before halftime when they worked their way into a two-on-one satiation. The Falcons wasted the chance and they spent the second half attempting to score from outside the box.
Lion goalies Sam Jarry and Jackie Andrews combined for their fourth shutout of the season.
“It was really nice to get ahead and have the comfort in knowing we were up a goal,” Thompson said. “I think the early goal just calmed everyone’s nerves because it was the first game of the playoffs.”