Girls Soccer: Falcons Strike First, But Fall to the Top Seed

Cranston West finished the regular season at 8-7-3 and matched up against the undefeated LaSalle Rams on Monday in the quarterfinals of the Rhode Island Insterscholastic League Division I Girls Soccer playoffs. The Falcons grabbed an early lead but the Rams stormed back, dominating ball possession while scoring five unanswered goals, securing a 9-2 victory.

The two teams faced off earlier in the season and Cranston West scored three goals against the Rams, the most they've given up this season. But they lost 6-3 in a game during which senior Forward McKenzie scored all of LaSalle's goals. Both teams showed a lot of intensity in the opening minutes of Monday's contest, trading ball possession and creating offense. Cranston West struck first in the 4th minute when Arianna Stanton went top shelf to give the Falcons their first lead against LaSalle this season.

LaSalle found themselves in a somewhat unfamiliar situation, as they haven't trailed very often this season. But they began to impose their will and in the 14th minute, Cranston West Goalkeeper Danielle St. Pierre was called for a questionable foul in the box against McKenzie Meehan, setting up a penalty kick. Meehan went short side and knotted the score at one.

Moments later, McKenzie Meehan found her second goal with a beautiful pass from her sister, Madison Meehan. The Rams dominated possession for the remainder of the half and netted a third goal before half. Mia Sardella weaved between three Falcons, including the contesting Keeper and found the net to give LaSalle a 3-1 halftime lead.

Cranston West had been forced to keep most of its players in a defensive position because of the passing, skill, and quickness of the Rams. This proved problematic in creating a counterattack as Arianna Stanton found herself facing multiple defenders without much help. 

This would continue in the second half as LaSalle kept up their relentless pressure. And the undefeated Rams could not be stopped. The sisters collaborated again. This time McKenzie dropped a pass back to a streaking Madison for the goal six minutes in to the second half. 

McKenzie Meehan was the beneficiary of great team passing four minutes later as she secured the hat trick with her third of the game, giving the Rams a 5-1 lead. 

It was all Rams from there as McKenzie Meehan scored three more times to propel her team to a 9-2 victory. Arianna Stanton added her second goal late in the second half, but the Rams cruised to the finish line and are into the semifinals.

The game was still hanging in the balance at halftime, but the endurance and speed of LaSalle seemed to outweigh that of Cranston West.

"Fitness is big for us. So i just told them to keep running. If we sub well we can usually wear some teams down," LaSalle Head Coach Lindsay Fish said.

McKenzie Meehan scored six against for the second time against the Falcons this season, and had two assists as well, carrying the Rams to the semifinals, where they will meet Smithfield or East Greenwich.

"She's a very special player. Players like that don't come around very often, or ever for some coaches. And I'm very fortunate to have a player like that. As a team we are. She did have two assists also so we work well off of her as well. But she is a very determined player," Fish said.

It's a tough loss for the Falcons but they finished the season with an 8-7-3 record and fell to one of the best teams in state, in LaSalle.

"They started working the middle in the second half and we couldn't keep up with them for 80 minutes," Cranston West Coach Charles Pearson said.

Coach Pearson wanted to thank his nine seniors for a phenomenal four years of soccer. 

"These are the best seniors we've ever had. They weren't the most talented seniors but they dedicated themselves. And it was fun," Pearson said.

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