Boys Soccer: Falcons Look to Rebound After Tough Start

The Falcons boys soccer team has struggled early in the season. Despite their slow start, if the team puts together a winning streak, the playoffs are still a goal they can reach.

James Williamson, the head coach for Cranston West, has liked what he has seen, despite the results.

“I have been pleased with the effort that the kids put forward,” he said, “They have a ton of determination to compete.”

Two weeks ago, the team competed in a tournament over the weekend. The games did not count towards the regular season. The Falcons tied Coventry 0-0, after they had lost to them in a scrimmage 11-1 during the summer. They were able to beat Scituate 1-0 and lost to North Smithfield 1-0, despite outplaying them and having more chances to score.

Heading into the tournament, Williamson felt the team had to improve in a few areas.

“We need to work on communication and responsibilities based on the position the kids are playing,” he said. After the tournament had been played, the coach was pleased because he saw improvement in both of those areas.

Falcons senior Koye Idowu is one of the leaders of the team. “His ability to cover the field defensively is exceptional,” Williamson said.

Offensively, the team will be led by junior Chris Burrows. “His leadership and his offensive capabilities is what we will be leaning on this season,” the coach said.

West has a raw and inexperienced team this season. They are very young and most of the seniors have not had varsity playing experience. “More than half of our starters have never started before,” Williamson said. Six out of the eleven field players had never started a game until this season.

The coach raved about his starting goalie, junior Jonas Sullivan. “He is a very talented keeper who can keep us in games,” Williamson said.

Despite the youth and inexperience, heading into the season Williamson felt good about his team’s chances. “The sky is the limit, because the talent is there,” he said.

According to the coach, the defending state champions, Smithfield, will be the best team in the division again. He sees a few areas that the team still needs work on. “We need to improve in the offensive third of the zone and finding the back of the net,” he said, “We are not putting away golden opportunities and need to finish more when we get those chances.”

The Falcons have shown their youth at times this season, but also have displayed their talent during portions of games too. Williamson has a simple message and goal for his team. “Our goal is to improve as a team every single game and we can only control how we play,” he said.

One of the biggest games of the season is the City Cup, held at Cranston Stadium. The game features the two inter-city rivals, Cranston West and Cranston East. In his time as head coach, the Falcons have won the game against East six out of seven times.

Up to this point into the season, West’s offense has struggled mightily. They have only scored two goals in six games and have yet to score more than once in a game. In order for them to reach their potential, they need to find the back of the net more often.