MSC settles for tie with Middletown
WOONSOCKET — Even though the Mount St. Charles girls soccer team went into halftime tied with Middletown in Wednesday’s Division II contest, the Mounties were outplayed in many areas of the field and frequently beaten to 50-50 balls.
Instead of getting on his squad, Mount first-year coach Phil Pincince made a couple of simple tactical changes that shifted the balance of play in favor of the Mounties. The hosts controlled long portions of the second half – and nearly won the game with five minutes to go on a point-blank shot – but the Mounties were forced to settle for a 1-1 tie with the Islanders.
“It was a hot day today – 82 degrees – and we haven’t been practicing in a lot of heat, we’ve been practicing in rainy weather,” Pincince said of the sluggish start. “We were here and were anticipating a regular start with introductions at 3:45, but it reached four o’clock and we still hadn’t received referee instructions. They were pumped and ready to go and we were wondering where we were.”
Mount St. Charles (6-31 Division II) saw its fourgame winning streak come to an end with the draw to a Middletown team that is fighting to reach the playoffs.
In the four games the Mounties haven’t won in 2018, they’ve scored just one goal in each game In their seven victories, including Friday night’s non-league win over Burrillville, the Mounties have scored 26 goals.
The hosts’ lone goal came in the 14th minute, and it came with a bit of controversy. Freshman Anna Gicobbe won a race to a loose ball in the goal mouth and directed the ball into the vacated net to tie the contest. Middletown coach Marc Haskell believed Gicobbe used her right arm, and not her head, to score the goal.
Middletown (3-4-3 Division II) is now winless in its last five games, but the Islanders have a chance to accrue three points in their next contest with struggling Middletown coming to Gaudet Middle School next week. Middletown’s Leslie Campbell opened the scoring in the seventh minute, but Pincince was happy the Mounties contained leading scorer Grace Haskell.
“We had to take care of [Haskell] because she’s scored a lot of their goals from what I gathered,” Pincince said. “We watched them play and she’s their scorer. We changed some things around and it worked. We were able to keep her at bay.”
The Islanders grabbed the lead in the seventh minute when Campbell controlled an Abbie Dalpe goal kick and fired a shot under the goalie. The lead last just seven minutes because Gicobbe won the race to a loose ball and direct- ed the ball into the net.
Middletown had the better chances over the final 20 minutes of the first half, but Mount’s talented upperclassmen took control of the game in the second half. Midfielders Renee Jacques, Katie Lynch and Emily D’Abrosca took advantage of the space they were afforded to create dangerous scoring opportunities.
“Here’s my evaluation of this game,” Pincince said. “The game was played from 18-(yard box) to 18 in the first half and it’s 1-1, so it’s a brand new game at halftime. In the second half, here’s what I thought we did better in the second half; their attackers didn’t break through very much. Instead of 18 to 18, I thought we played from our 40 to their goal line.
“We had chances to win the game, but we had a bouncing ball just go wide and a good cross. We changed the game to a game that was changed 40 yards to their goal line. That’s a big plus because it meant we controlled the game.”
The Mounties will face a similar team to the Islanders in their next match when three-win Moses Brown hosts Mount Saturday afternoon in Providence. Outside of a nine-goal explosion against Toll Gate in the first week of the season, the Quakers have scored more than two goals in just one game.