Decelles is double trouble
Northmen senior scores twice to sink Burrillville
Northmen senior scores twice to help NS sink Burrillville
NORTH SMITHFIELD – Early on in North Smithfield High’s Division II rivalry game with neighboring Burrillville on Tuesday night, senior scoring phenom Bryan Decelles was shocked at the Broncos’ defensive alignment.
“It surprised me (because) I never expected nine defenders playing back,” he stated. “They packed it in defensively and made it really difficult.”
Decelles nevertheless made the most of his opportunities. The talented co-captain scored both goals as the Northmen hung on for a 2-1 triumph over the Broncos.
“I was thrilled with the way we played overall,” noted head coach Eric Korytkowski, whose club improved to 10-1-1 in league action and remains atop the standings. “It was frustrating in the first half; I mean, teams try to get tactical, but it – I don’t want to say it dumbs down the game, but it does it make it sloppier.
“Still, (BHS coach) Mark (Gilchrist) had an idea in his head that it was going to work and he was right; it did,” he added. “He packed it in, but the problem with that is, when you let a team spend so much time in your zone, all it takes is one mistake.”
That one mental error in the opening session turned to two early in the second, and Burrillville never could play catch up.
Just 16:10 into the first half, senior defender Liam Zonin delivered a superb right-to-left cross over the defense to Decelles, who had been streaking toward the back post. The latter knocked it with his chest toward the net, and it hit the left post. Despite being sprawled on the ground, he lifted his upper body and somehow chested it past BHS junior keeper Brady Tupper to make it 1-0.
That’s the way the half ended, but it didn’t take long for NS to extend the lead to 2-0. With only 2:19 elapsed in the final session, classmate Jackson Laferriere knocked a superb feed to Decelles, and the latter converted it.
The Broncos, however, responded almost immediately. When an official whistled one of Korytkowski’s crew for an infraction inside the penalty box exactly 2:49 later, senior midfielder Nick Hammond quietly went to the mark and smoked a grounder past junior netminder Ethan Cote to slice the deficit to 2-1.
“We made a mental error in the back on that first goal, and that was the difference,” Gilchrist said after the Broncos dropped to 4-9-1 in divisional action. “The keeper called it, the defender didn’t hear him and it just happened. The striker came in and pushed it in.
“Other than that, we played a good game defensively,” he added. “We kept a good shape, didn’t go more than halfway. We knew beforehand that if we opened up the first half, they’re so fast and playing on a fastpaced (turf) field, we’d be in trouble. But I still think this was the best we’ve played all year defensively.”
Standouts in that category for BHS included seniors Tim Cote, Austin Segalla and
Photo by Michelle Menard Eric Broderick. Among those for the hosts: Junior Aidan Beauchemin and seniors Danny Beauchemin, Nate Bursell and Mike Fernandes.
“We’ve got four games left and we need six points to make the playoffs,” Gilchrist said. “If we play like this in those games, we should qualify. I certainly would hope so.”
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Burrillville 0–1–1 North Smithfield 1–1–2
First half: NS – Bryan Decelles (Liam Zonin) 16:10.
Second half: NS – Decelles (Jackson Laferriere) 42:19; B – Nick Hammond (penalty shot) 45:08.
Photo by Michelle Menard