Girls Soccer: Falcons Settle for Draw Against Rebels

Dominating time of possession does not guarantee a victory. Cranston West's girls soccer team controlled the action and the pace of the game on Monday afternoon, but were unable to secure a victory.

The Rebels from South Kingstown made the trip to the Hope Road Athletic Complex for the afternoon game against West. Despite trailing 1-0 early in the game, the Falcons had many more scoring opportunities than South Kingstown. The game would end in a 1-1 tie.

During the first ten minutes of the game it was pretty even. Both teams had about equal possession and the game moved up and down the field.

South Kingstown would find the back of the net first. Rebels senior Haley Anderson fired a shot from inside the box eight minutes into the game and freshman Rachel Murphy buried home the rebound.

From that point on, the Falcons possessed the ball for about 70 percent of the time and attacked the Rebels defensive zone consistently. West rebounded quickly after trailing and in the final seventy plus minutes, applied steady pressure on South's defense.

"We dominated the play but did not finish well," West's coach Charles Pearson said.

"Our defense was solid throughout the game," Rebels coach Jim Kelly said.

With just under ten minutes left in the first half, the Falcons executed a free kick to perfection and knotted the score at one. Senior sisters Ariana and Alex Stanton combined on the score. Alex Stanton struck the free kick from about 25 yards out, and her sister's side volley found the back of the net.

In the second half, Cranston West continued to control the action. They were able to move the ball up and down with ease, but could not capitalize on their scoring chances. They did hit the post about midway through the half.

The game ended with a bit of controversy. West took a corner kick and as the ball was in the air, the referee blew the whistle to end the game. At the end of halves and games, if the offensive team has a legitimate scoring chance, the game is supposed to continue. The game should have ended after South Kingstown cleared the ball or the Falcons scored the winning goal. The Falcons improve to 4-2-1 on the season and the Rebels are now 3-1-2.

"I am happy with the tie but I honestly think we could have won," Pearson said. The coach spoke volumes about his team. "I have been here for many years and this is the best team I have ever had," he added.

"We did not generate any offensive rhythm," Kelly said, "We played flat, physically and mentally today."