Burrillville left frustrated after offense misfires in defeat

BURRILLVILLE – Despite his disappointment, captain Eric Broderick took little time describing how Burrillville High suffered a tough 2-0 Division II defeat to Cranston East at Thomas Gledhill Memorial Field on Friday afternoon.

“It was really frustrating because we could easily win games like this if we could finish (our chances),” he stated after his Broncos fell to 3-6-1 in league action. “We’re lacking that, obviously. I really think we could’ve beaten them, but the difference was they had a few good opportunities, and they managed to get them in. We did, too, but didn’t.

“This hurts.”

With the triumph, the Thunderbolts improved to 7-1 in D-II and already is close to earning a playoff bid. According to BHS head coach Mark Gilchrist, his bunch is still 10 points away with about half the season left.

“I think we had more opportunities than they did; the problem was we didn’t counter their goals,” he noted. “They had three good shots on net and two of them went in; we had probably five, but we didn’t convert any.

“Defensively, I’m very pleased; I thought we played well,” he added. “But up top, with our attacking, we couldn’t finish. In dead-ball situations, we were putting them over the crossbar, and we’re just not hitting our targets up top. “That’s a problem right now.” In the opening stanza, the Broncos already had an automatic plus with the wind advantage, yet they never made it work for them. Instead, with Cranston East controlling the tempo through the first 20-plus minutes, its grit finally paid off when senior forward Luis Gavallo Puello issued a terrific through pass to classmate Dave DaSilva.

He promptly one-timed with 18:14 remaining for lead.

After Gilchrist gave his club a spirited chat at the break, Burrillville apparently heeded his words it home the 1-0 and came out firing. With less than five minutes left in the second half, Broderick found the ball at his feet from about 20 yards out above the penalty area’s right section and smoked an attempt at sophomore keeper Jorge Avila, but that sailed over the crossbar.

And, with 19:24 remaining in regulation, senior striker/tri-captain Sam DeRotto raced in with the ball at his feet, juked a defender and – when Avila came out of the net – pitched it toward the left post. That, however, bounced just wide of it.

A mere 3:14 later, the Thunderbolts tacked on an insurance goal when senior Adnel Lopez sent a pass to classmate Kerin Murillo, an outstanding player in is own right. He danced around the left side and past at least three defenders, then scorched a grounder past sophomore keeper Brady Linfield.

BHS sophomore Isaac Coillins looked to get his team back into the contest when he accepted a pass, spun and rifled a 22-yarder from the right, yet Avila made a spectacular sliding deflection to ice it.

Still, defensive stalwarts for the Broncos included seniors Tim Cote, Austin Segalla and Nick Hammond (also a tri-captain) and junior Ben Hayden.

Among those for

Lopez and juniors and Joe Lenik.

“One game we’re hitting the target, the next game we’re off,” Gilchrist sighed. “It’s just a roller coaster. We’ve been really inconsistent offensively, and we have to fix that.”

Cranston East

Burrillville

First half: CE –

21:46.

Second half: CE – Kerin Murillo (Adnel Lopez) 63:50. Shots on goal: Cranston East 4, Burrillville 5. Goalie saves: Jorge Avila (CE) 5, Brady Linfield (B) 2.

1–1 –2 0–0 –0 Dave DaSilva East: Matt

(Luis Murillo, Estevez

Gavalo

NORTHMEN ROLL

Puello)

NARRAGANSETT — Midfielder Liam Zonin scored the only goal the first-place North Smithfield boys soccer team would need 12 minutes into Friday afternoon’s Division II contest against Narragansett. The Northmen added three more goals in the second half to secure a 4-0 road win.

North Smithfield (9-1-1 Division II) started pulling away in the second half when midfielder maestro Michael Fernandes found Cam Reynolds for a goal in the 45th minute. Evan Gravel followed up a Steve Reynolds shot for a goal in the 55th minute and Bryan Decelles scored his team-leading 16th goal to finish the scoring in the 71st minute.

The Northmen are back in action Wednesday afternoon when they make the short trip down Route 104 to face red-hot Mount St. Charles.

“It’s a great test. It’s beneficial for us to be playing top-tier teams to see where we’re at,” North Smithfield coach Eric Korytkowski said. “They’re playing really well and they have the best goalie [Jacob Maddalena] in Division II. I don’t want to play them on their field, but it’s a great test.”

North Smithfield 1 3–4

Narragansett 0 0–0

First half – NS, Liam Zonin (Nick Decelles), 12:00. Second half – NS, Cam Reynolds (Michael Fernandes), 45:00; NS, Evan Gravel (Steve Reynolds), 55:00; NS, Bryan Decelles (Aidan Beauchemin) 71:00.