Undefeated squads clash in Burrillville
Northmen out to show they belong among D-II’s elite
BURRILLVILLE — By the time the referee blows the final whistle just before noon Saturday at Scituate’s Manning Field, there could be only one undefeated team left in Division II girls soccer.
Currently, Blackstone Valley stalwarts Burrillville and North Smithfield, along with reigning Division II champion Scituate, are undefeated but the talented Northmen are embarking on their most difficult stretch of the season starting this afternoon with a trip to the Broncos. Two days later, the Northmen visit the reigning Division II champion Spartans.
In just his second season, North Smithfield coach John Pastore has turned the talented Northmen into a squad that doesn’t simply rely on one player to create every goal. Diminutive midfielder Celeste Gambardella leads the squad with 11 points, but Meredith Parsons is the team’s leading goal scorer with nine.
“We have great senior leadership with Makenzie [Anderson] and Vanessa [Venkataraman] and those girls have kept everyone’s attitudes positive,” Pastore said prior to Tuesday’s practice. “We also have a great group of underclassmen who are pitching in. We’ve had our glitches – ups and downs – but for the most part this is a good group of kids who want to be a team.
“It’s a big difference this season because you know the girls a little better. The newer girls are fitting in right to where we want them to be, so it was a seamless transition.”
North Smithfield (5-0-2 Division II) hasn’t played any of the other contenders for the Division II title this season, but the squad did hand Ponaganset its lone loss of the season on Sept. 1 thanks to a pair of goals from Parsons and another goalie from Julia Dias.
The squad also boasts shutout wins over Westerly and West Warwick. As a matter of fact, goalie Olivia Marcantonio hasn’t allowed a goal in the last three games and she has five shutouts. Pastore said freshman Thao Nguyen has improved the backline after graduation hit the Northmen hard.
“One of our juniors, Sydney Thepngone, has really solidified that back spot,” Pastore said. “She really has stepped up. I’m really proud of the way the kids have stepped up. We have good competition in this division – Division II is tough.”
Burrillville (6-0-1 Division II) will certainly be the Northmen’s biggest challenge to date, as Jeff Lavigne’s squad has finally found its form after struggling with weaker opposition earlier in the season. Burrillville has scored 12 goals in its last three home games. The Broncos don’t have a dominant scorer like Parsons, but they do have talented finishers in Victoria Patriarca, Rebecca Hetu, Liz Ethier, Aliza Richard and Caysie Gautreau.
On the other end of the field, Madison Turner and Sheridan Tupper lead a rebuilt defense that seems to be getting better every contest. After splitting time last season, Nicole Ethier is the Broncos’ undisputed No. 1 goalie.
Pastore said he’s seen the Broncos play this season and is impressed with a squad that returns numerous players from last season’s squad that reached the D-II title game.
“They’re a very strong, physical team,” Pastore said. “If we play our game, I think we’ll be ok. They’re going to be a very powerful team with a lot of seniors and a lot of experience. We’re going to have to play our game to win. To be honest, if we play our game, we have a chance to beat anyone in the division. Our game is a finesse speed game where we play smart soccer. We need to be more technical than them.”
Lavigne made the short trip down to North Smithfield last Thursday to watch the Northmen take apart West Warwick, 4-0, and he was impressed with the speed and precision of the team’s play.
“They’re a very disciplined team,” Lavigne said. “They have a very good structure, they were always behind the ball and they attacked with a purpose. They have some speed through the midfield and up top. Their outside backs attack. When you play the schools around here, a lot of these girls know each other because they’ve played with each other.”
While home-field advantage rarely matters in high school sports, that isn’t the case today. The Northmen are used to playing on FieldTurf, where bounces are predictable, while the Broncos play on a grass surface that gets plenty of use during the school year.
“It’s a huge difference,” Pastore said of the change in surface. “(Monday) night we practiced on grass and it was a bumpy surface. Their surface isn’t the best – to be nice. There are plenty of bumps and the ball is going to take a lot of different rolls that we’re not used to. No matter what happens, I know the girls will give 100 percent.”