Clippers shut out Coventry
COVENTRY — The transition to Division I continues to be a challenging one for the Coventry boys soccer team as the Oakers saw their record drop to 0-31 following a 2-0 loss home loss to Cumberland.
A goal from the Juliano Silva in the first half coupled with a goal from Shane Cardoso in the second accounted for all the scoring that took place on a soggy, overcast afternoon in Kent County.
For Oaker coach Jamie Cotnoir, the task of leading his team to their first D-I victory was made even more difficult due to a rash of injuries his team has experienced just weeks into the season.
“I was hoping for a little bit of a better turnout tonight, but we had some injuries. I had to bring up four young guys, first time they ever saw varsity action today,” Cotnoir said.
Coventry was coming off of a tie with East Providence and a loss to Moses Brown, as they continue to grow accustomed to the higher level of play than what they have been used to.
“We had a tie the other night against East Providence, that was pretty good,” Cotnoir said. “We had a horrible first half against Moses Brown the other day, went down 5-1 at halftime and then ended up holding them, 5-1 at the end of the game.”
Injuries were the story of the day on Thursday.
“(Michele) Picozzi is out injured, (Jacob) Manzano is favoring an ankle, he’s still kind of injured, Jake Rathbun is out for like five, six weeks,” he said, rattling off a list of players who were unable to play on Thursday, and in several cases, even longer.
Short a player on offense, the Oakers, approached the match from a defensive standpoint, recognized that there would be fewer scoring chances than usual.
“Our opportunities are going to come fewer and farther between, but we have to do a better job of taking care of those opportunities when it happens,” said Cotnoir.
One bright spot was the play of first-year varsity goalie Ryan Fraser, whose 17 saves in net kept Coventry within striking distance all afternoon.
“Ryan is keeping us in every single game so far. That kid is playing out of his mind right now,” Cotnoir said.
On the other end of the pitch, the Clippers managed to put together their second win in a row after getting blanked by Central in their season opener.
“So far, we’re building up and getting healthy and looking to get better every game,” head coach Justin Resendes said of his club, now 2-1-0 on the year.
For him, playing on a different turf than what they are used to was the main obstacle for his team to overcome.
“We train on turf every day and playing on a grass field is different logistically, a little bit more difficult as to where we’re picking the ball up on the field and stuff like that, but I thought we did a good job moving the ball around and having a lot of chances while not giving up as many,” he said.
With plenty of scoring opportunities in the opening half, Silva’s goal in the 25th minute would be all the Clippers had to show for it going into the break.
“We were hoping to have a couple more of those chances fall through for us, but like I said, an away game, raining on the grass, you want to make sure you’re taking what you get and staying organized and not conceding. I’m glad that we did not concede,” said Resendes.
The score remained 1-0 until the 51st minute when Cardoso doubled the visitors’ lead, as goalie Jake Reed managed to keep the Oakers off of the scoreboard all day with a relatively quiet outing in net, one that saw him record half a dozen saves.
Both teams will return to action next week. Coventry will continue their pursuit of their first D-I victory when they travel to Portsmouth to take on the Patriots, while Cumberland will host Shea High School at Tucker Field.
MOUNT, DAVIES DRAW
WOONSOCKET — The Davies Tech boys soccer team battled back from a two-goal deficit to earn a 2-2 Division II tie with Mount St. Charles Thursday afternoon.
Mount senior midfielder Martin Piette scored goals in the sixth and 11th minutes to put the home side ahead by a pair of goals, but Patriot senior Bismark Agoucha grabbed a goal back in the 11th minute. Sophomore Carlos Rivera scored his second goal in as many games on a rebound in the 38th minute to tie the game.
Mount St. Charles (0-3-1 Division II) had a pair of chances to tie the game, but Owen Lotito hit Jonathan Soares’ crossbar in the 60th minute and Piette had a penalty kick saved by Soares with just four minutes left in the game. Soares and Mount goalie Jacob Maddalena each made 10 saves.
While Mount hosts D-II newcomer Chariho Tuesday, Davies Tech (0-1-1 Division II) travels to Westerly Thursday.