No. 8 Cumberland bounced by North Kingstown
jbaker@pawtuckettimes.com
CUMBERLAND – For over three-quarters of its Division I preliminary-round tilt against North Kingstown on Tuesday night, Cumberland High held its own, playing its foe even.
The Skippers, however, rallied for three unanswered goals in the final 16:53 to earn a 5-2 victory before perhaps 120 fans at Tucker Field.
Talented junior speedster Eddie Cardarelli closed with a goal and an assist, as did freshman Ryan DeLessio, as North Kingstown improved to 7-6-3 overall and – more importantly – moved on in the playoffs.
Unfortunately, the Clippers’ campaign ended prematurely with the same record.
In this contest, the Skippers outshot the hosts, 16-14, but did a better job of finishing its opportunities.
“I thought the game was very evenly-matched, and that both teams had their fair share of chances, but they put theirs away; we didn’t,” stated CHS head coach Justin Resendes. “I also thought our guys worked hard, but we had to be cleaner in terms of our organization in the back, with our passes.
“I still have to say the seniors had a great year; all the guys did, and I’m extremely proud of what we accomplished.”
NK didn’t need much time to light up the scoreboard, as junior Caleb Wagner drilled home a pass from classmate Decker Thompson eight minutes after the opening pass.
Cumberland, however, knotted it in the final minute of the half, as sophomore Cooper Costa converted senior captain Matt Lopes’ feed to knot it at 1-1.
Controversy swirled around the opening six minutes of the final session, as officials whistled senior defender Jonathan Baker, who had just made a superb sliding tackle of a hard-driving junior Jake Froberg near the left post, for a foul. They also awarded him a penalty shot, which he planted in the netting, to give NK a 2-1 lead with just 6:18 elapsed.
Exactly 3:12 later, the referees called for another penalty kick, this one for the Clippers after an alleged NK head-butt in the box. Fellow senior tri-captain Aidan Bagley drilled that past junior netminder Dan Kennedy to tie it once more.
The Skippers, though, took the lead for good with 16:53 remaining in regulation; that’s when DeLessio roped a left-to-right pass to the far right post, and Cardarelli headed it home.
It appeared Cumberland had tied it for the third time with 13:19 left. Junior Edwin Goncalves created some space in the upper middle of the penalty box with control of the ball, turned and fired at the left post. It sailed just wide of goalie Dan Kennedy’s net.
Head coach Paul Fanning’s bunch sealed it with a pair of tallies in the final 5:28.
Still, CHS had several defensive standouts in this tilt, among them Baker, Bagley, Costa and senior Adam Bertherman. Junior goalie Jake Reed mustered 11 stops, while Kennedy notched an even dozen.