MSC defense stymies Lincoln
WOONSOCKET — The Mount St. Charles boys soccer team knew goals would be tough to come by this season after the reigning Division II champions graduated nearly all of its scoring.
By design, the Mounties have played low-scoring games this season and that included Tuesday’s Division II contest with Valley rival Lincoln.
The Mounties secured a spot in the D-II playoffs, as junior Dre Danneker scored an unassisted goal in the 34th minute and senior goalie Josh Carlson produced his sixth shutout of the season in a 1-0 victory.
“Our defense with Tom Lucena in the back and Josh Carlson, who is playing really, really well; we’ve been lucky that we’ve been able to shut people down,” Jacques said. “Even Dawson Danneker back there and the play of freshman Jake MacKinnon has been tremendous.”
Mount St. Charles (6-3-2 Division II) likely won’t catch undefeated Moses Brown, Coventry and Smithfield for a spot in the top three, but the Mounties can take a big step toward finishing in fourth place Thursday at Gaudet Middle School against Middletown.
The Islanders and Mounties will enter the contest with the same record.
“I think it could be a decent game and the big thing is we’re playing on their field and they can spread us out a little bit more,” Jacques said. “That could hurt us when it comes to spacing.”
Lincoln (1-8-2 Division II) has had trouble putting two halves together this season, but coach John D’Aloisio was pleased with the play of his team. The Lions actually put more shots on target (13-12) than the Mounties. And Lincoln was unlucky to walk away without a point after Matt Mardo couldn’t finish a great scoring chance with just eight minutes left in the contest.
“This was one of our better games and I’m proud of the guys,” D’Aloisio said. “It was a great effort. Sometimes you can’t find the back of the goal, but we put plenty of pressure on them. This was probably the first game where we had more shots than the other team in the last 10.
“It would be so unfair to pick out a few guys who played well because they were all working hard. They all gave everything they had and that’s all you can ask.”
Lincoln will finish up three straight games against Blackstone Valley opposition when one-win Woonsocket comes to town for a 3:30 p.m. game on Thursday
“We had a good game today and let’s look at the next team and hopefully have another good game,” D’Aloisio. “We just want to get better.”