Broncos adjusting to life in Division I
BURRILLVILLE — The Interscholastic League’s realignment formula doesn’t take into account who a team graduated from a division-winning squad.
That’s why the Burrillville girls soccer team finds itself playing in Division I with a young, inexperienced group a season after 15 seniors helped the Broncos win their first Division II title since 2013.
Burrillville dropped its season opener, 3-0 to Barrington Tuesday night, and Saturday afternoon reigning state finalist South Kingstown rumbled into town. The Rebels have been one of the best programs in the state over the last two decades and Scott Rollins’ side left town with a 6-0 victory.
“We’re still trying to get adjusted because the difference between Division I and Division II is significant,” Burrillville second-year coach Jeff Lavigne said. “It’s extremely, extremely tough and you’re dealing with a lot of premier players and teams that have been in this division for a long time. It’s just different.
“It’s a combination of speed and skill, but it’s also more than that. It’s not easy to get used to this, especially with the lack of depth.”
After graduating the likes of All-Staters Elizabeth Ethier and Sam England, along with all-division performers Victoria Patriarca, Sheridan Tupper, Sydney Keegan and Madison Turner, Lavigne’s biggest challenge is building a cohesive team will developing a gameplan to slow down the best team’s in the state.
To adjust to the talent at his disposal, Lavigne eschewed his attacking 4-3-3 formation in favor of a more defensive 4-5-1 with talented junior Sam Prario playing as the lone forward. Lavigne said he is also counting the rest of the Broncos who return after playing a role in last season’s D-II title win over Scituate.
“I’m counting on our seniors and captains,” Lavigne said. “Girls like Rebecca Hetu through the middle of the field along with Aliza Richard. Jamie Loynds and Jess Rogers in the back are our the backbone of our team. The younger girls look up to the seniors and they’re hard workers. It’s a matter of cleaning everything up and getting everyone on their level.”
Another player with playoff experience is sophomore Emily Weekly. As a freshman, Weekly was thrust into the starting lineup in the Division II quarterfinals against Mount St. Charles. All Weekly did was shutout the Mounties. Lavigne said Weekly was impressive in the defeat to the Eagles.
“She’s our only goalie right now,” Lavigne said. “She understands her role. She was phenomenal against Barrington, but today was a different story. We didn’t have the right focus today and we let a lot of players run in behind us. We also gave up a couple of set-piece goals after not allowing one last year. It’s about cleaning up a lot of things.”