Lesson learned
NS adapts to field; cruises to road victory
The North Smithfield High girls’ soccer team schooled Mount Saint Charles, 4-0, on Saturday morning.
WOONSOCKET – The North Smithfield girls soccer team has excelled so far this season for dozens of reasons.
It added another during its 4-0 Division II victory over next-door neighbor Mount St. Charles on Saturday morning, and it’s called adaptability to a new game plan.
“This was a tough field,” Northmen coach Nicole Higginbotham stated in regards to the Mounties’ bumpy pitch. “We’re used to our nice turf field, where passes are more true and we get to play to our feet, but it wasn’t working. The ball was bouncing up on us, and it was tough to maintain possession, so we had to switch our point of attack.
“We looked to be more direct and play outside; I don’t recommend we do that all the time
because it’s just not our system,” she continued. “The ball was very hard to control, our first touch was going to the other team, so we played more direct, looked out wide and played longer balls to get a lot of crosses and finishes.
Sophomore midfielder/striker Megan Masi led the Northmen, who improved to 13-2-0 overall and in league play, with a goal and two assists, while classmates Sadie Crozier and Jessica Karspeck and junior Alyssa Neri recorded the other goals.
Defensively, senior keeper Gianna Capracotta contributed nine saves.
As for the Mounties (4-8-1 league), chief Phil Pincince seemed both excited and unsatisfied with his girls’ collective outing.
“I thought we made some uncommon mistakes, as their first goal came on two mis-clears, like ‘Bang, Bang’ and it goes in the back of the net,” he noted. “We knew we were playing a team that was No. 2 in our division, but I thought, in the first part of the game, we sort of ruffled their feathers. We were pretty happy about that, but you have to give them credit. North Smithfield is a very good team.
“I like that team a lot; they’ve got some very special players, and I congratulated the coach afterward,” he added. “They’re going to do very well in the tournament. As for us, I’m not afraid to make changes, and (with the score 3-0 entering the final stanza), I made some major changes, as far as system and moving players around.
Still, after an up-and-down initial 15 minutes, the Northmen managed that first tally when Masi knocked one past junior goalie Gabriella Hisoire, who finished with four saves in that opening stanza, with 16:50 elapsed.
Less than nine minutes later, at 25:09, Neri converted a superb feed from sophomore Jackie deRonde, and exactly 4:02 after that, Crozier – with a taped-up hand – and Masi hooked up for the 3-0 cushion.
“Sadie fell on it a few weeks back; she got into a collision with the goalie and scored, but she fell awkwardly and ended up fracturing one of her metatarsals,” Higginbotham said. “The doctor later cleared her, but she has to wear a brace and wrap it. The good news is she’s not in any pain.
“I think Sadie is still trying to come back into her style a little bit; she’s not fully back where she was before she got injured, but it’s all good,” she continued. “We’re getting better each game as we head into the playoffs. I don’t want us to be at our best right now; we want to peak at the right time, when it counts.”
Just past the midway point of the second half, at the 61:24 mark, Karspeck hammered home Masi’s pass to tack on that final tally. That came off of freshman Kate Grivers, who made four stops the final 40 minutes.
“I’m happy,” Pincince said. “We certainly don’t like the score, and we don’t like a big loss on Soccer Saturday, but I would say we’re continuing to improve.
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North Smithfield 3–1–4
Mount St. Charles 0–0–0
First half: NS – Megan Masi (una.) 16:50; NS – Alyssa Neri (Jackie deRonde) 25:09; NS – Sadie Crozier (Masi) 29:11.
Second half: NS – Jessica Karspeck (Masi) 61:24. Shots on goal: North Smithfield 12, Mount St. Charles 9. Goalie saves: Gianna Capracotta (NS) 9, Gabriella Hisoire (MSC) 4, Kate Grivers (MSC) 4.