No. 10 Woonsocket’s season ends against No. 7 PCD
EAST PROVIDENCE — The No. 10 Woonsocket girls soccer went to No. 7 Providence Country Day and were shut out by the Knights 2-0 in a Division III preliminary-round game Thursday afternoon.
PCD freshman Pilar Beerman scored both goals in the contest.
Woonsocket missed a prime opportunity 63 seconds into the contest, when senior Amy Seck sent a cross in front of an open net, but junior Cassidy Szymczuk, couldn’t get to the ball quickly enough to take advantage.
The half went scoreless until stoppage time when Woonsocket senior Mijanee Hopkins-Jones was whistled for a hand ball after a PCD corner kick. That gave Beerman a penalty kick and she took full advantage, burying a bullet into the back of the net.
A little over 18 minutes into the second half, PCD added to its lead when Beerman tallied her second goal after an assist from freshman Isabel Kailher and took a 2-0 edge.
“I just think once they were down 2-0, I have so many injuries they were playing through, and there are a lot of my star players that are hurt, so they‘re just fighting through that,” Woonsocket coach Tiffany Godbout said. “So, I think they were just too exhausted.”
The loss ends Woonsocket’s postseason after posting a record of 7-8-1 during the regular season.
While, the Novans came up short, Godbout was satisfied seeing her girls execute what they’ve practiced throughout the year.
“I was very proud of them today during this game, other than the handball, but everything came together,” Godbout said. “So, at halftime we talked about how well they were playing, how they had control of the game and that I was proud either way because everything that we’ve worked on over the season finally came out the last few games.”
PCD freshman goalkeeper Kylee Hicks had nine saves in the shutout.
“We kept them off the board,” PCD head coach Nick Riess said. “Kylee Hicks is a first-time goalie. She’s never played goalie before. So, she’s a work in progress, but the progress is pretty impressive from Week 1 to Game 18. Very impressive. Each game, it’s just getting better and better for her. She’s a hard worker.”
It was the first playoff appearance for PCD and first postseason win.
“It’s a great opportunity for the girls to actually play at home during the playoffs,” Riess said. “This is the first time that PCD has ever made the playoffs and to have a home game was pretty impressive for the school and for the community here. So, it’s really good to see the girls pull the win out in our first playoff game with home field advantage.”
The Knights move on to play No. 2 Cranston East on Friday afternoon at Cranston Stadium. The Thunderbolts beat PCD 5-2 on October 15 at PCD.
“That’s going to be a tough task we understand, but I think our first match with them we played them pretty tight throughout the whole game, so we’re looking forward to it,” Riess said. “We’ve got to get a little healthier, but we look forward to that game.”