End of the line for Northmen
Pilgrim advances to D-II semis after posting 5-1 win
WARWICK — North Smithfield High had everything to gain and nothing to lose prior to its R.I. Division II Tournament quarterfinal against powerhouse Pilgrim on cool, windy Saturday afternoon.
Maybe that’s why head coach John Pastore didn’t seem overly upset after his club suffered a 5-1 defeat before perhaps 150 folks in and around Don Mezzanotte Field.
After the head referee blew three whistle shrills signifying the end of the contest, some Northmen broke into tears at the prospect of its season ending at 7-5-5 overall, but Pastore took it as a chance to praise their hard work and dedication to the program, not to mention point to quite a few players’ marked improvement.
“It’s tough on the girls; nobody wants to lose,” he stated. “If Pilgrim (the tourney’s top seed, which now owns a 171-0 overall mark) isn’t in this division, there are eight others teams who could battle for the championship, but Pilgrim is head and shoulders above everyone else. It’s such an outstanding program, has been for a long time.
“I still think the girls played their best and gave it everything they had for the full 80 minutes,” he added. “I’m not disappointed or discouraged – far from it. We came in knowing it was going to be an uphill battle, and we had some opportunities to score, but couldn’t make it happen. I know they’re disappointed, but they have so much to be proud of.”
One such player is senior goalkeeper Alyssa Narodowy, who a year ago barely played for the junior-varsity team.
“She’s a terrific example of the strides I’ve seen the girls take,” Pastore said of his netminder, who mustered a whopping 13 saves in this tilt. “She had never played in goal before; in fact, she’s never played much soccer before last year, but her improvement during the course of this year has exponentially increased; it’s unlike anything I’ve ever seen.
“Her improvement has been astonishing, and it’s all because of her work ethic. Did you know she actually took lessons from the (University of Rhode Island) soccer coach over the summer, and also worked with the North Smithfield boys’ goalie. She’s got a great attitude and a really hard worker. She’s amazed everyone, not just me but opposing coaches, opposing players, etc.”
The last time these two squads had faced, the Patriots rolled to a 6-0 victory, but this one proved tougher from the outset. In fact, officials awarded sophomore Skylah Sullivan a penalty kick 12 minutes into the game, that after she was hauled down in the box by a Pilgrim defender.
Sullivan planted her try inside the left post, but freshman Janelle Mixner made a superb dive to her right and slapped it away to keep the score even.
That lasted until just beyond the midway point of the session. In the 22nd minute, though, senior Lexi Vieira (goal, two feeds) roped a long through pass down the left side of the field to the streaking frosh Alanna Coffie, who outraced two defenders and smoked one past Narodowy.
Less than 30 seconds later, senior Jordan Petrucci clanged one off the crossbar, and – about three minutes after that – senior McKenna Leahy ran in on another breakaway yet knocked it off the right post.
With 10 minutes remaining before intermission, though, Vieira converted her first tally, this one inside the right post, to make it 2-0. And, it should be noted, the Pats could have entered halftime up 3-0, that after Leahy collected the ball after a carom and fired a 10yard laser at the cage.
Narodowy, however, flashed up her right arm and made an uncanny stop of a sure tally.
Pilgrim slowly pulled away in the final stanza, as Leahy notched her first on a 22-yard free kick inside the left post with five minutes elapsed; and sophomore Lily Brown finished off a 20-yard awkward bouncer, one that tricked Narodowy in the 54th minute.
Senior co-captain Meredith Parsons got North Smithfield on the board with a pretty breakaway goal, courtesy of a stellar feed from Sullivan, 10 minutes later, though the Pats answered that about 90 seconds later with Leahy’s hookup with Vieira for the scoring finale.
Still, the Northmen exhibited solid defense throughout. Among the stalwarts: Sophomores Alyssa Neri and Alyson Paux; junior Madison Reynolds; and freshman Jacquelyn deRonde, not to mention Narodowy.
“With Sydney Thepngone and Meredith Parsons, I couldn’t have asked for better captains,” Pastore offered. “They led a very young and inexperienced team this season, and did so with toughness, grace and understanding. We also named Alyssa Narodowy a honorary captain for this game because everyone thought she deserved it.”
They were right.