Avenger Booters Hold off Upset-Minded Eagles

The undefeated East Greenwich High girls’ soccer team snapped an early deadlock with two unanswered goals and held on to defeat host Barrington High, 3-1, Tuesday night in a Division I crossover match at Victory Field.

Marissa Light, Skylar LeBlanc and Megan Greineder all found the back of the net and keepers Alexandra Place and Kaylee Sullivan both collected 5 saves for the Avengers, who improved to 5-0 this season in the Division I-South standings. Kelly Thayer scored the only goal and netminder Emma Gurchiek amassed 15 saves for the Eagles, who dropped to 1-4-1 in the Division I-Central pairings.

In a spirited and physical contest, the teams swapped attacks, counter-attacks and scoring chances, but East Greenwich prevailed because it capitalized on opportunities and kept Barrington at bay for much of the second half with its adept control and passing game.

“I think our girls played well since I knew Barrington would come to play tonight,” said Avenger Coach Scott Douglas. “In the first half, they were all over us and won every 50-50 ball in the first 30 minutes. Until we settled down, they were giving us a lot of trouble.”

Eagle Coach Steve Pickford also praised his squad’s effort, but lamented its lack of execution.

“East Greenwich has a good and fast team, they defend well, they pass well and they control the ball,” Pickford said. “I thought we played as well as they did in stretches, but we didn’t do it for 80 minutes. They scored on two set pieces, which is tough for me to stomach.”

East Greenwich took a 1-0 lead just 2:43 from the opening kick-off when the tall Light deftly headed Karen Lockhart’s corner kick into the goal, with Gurchiek having no chance on the play.

Barrington, however, immediately regrouped and applied pressure on the Avengers, breaking through just nine minutes later. Among a scramble in front of the EG net, Thayer headed the ball into the short side of the goal producing a 1-1 draw at the 28:00 mark.

The squads spent the next 18 minutes threatening to score, but coming up empty. The Eagles had the better chances as Larisa, Caitlyn Nolan and Danielle Fontaine all were denied or shot wide, while Avengers Light and Carolyn Cruise were both turned away.

Finally, with just a little more than 10 minutes remaining before intermission, Alexandra Freeman sent LeBlanc in along on Gurchiek, who saved LeBlanc’s first shot, but could not reach the rebound which LeBlanc booted into the open net to give the guests a 2-1 edge.

East Greenwich maintained its pressure to the halftime whistle, but Gurchiek stoned Roxanne Comito on a beautiful leg save and shots by Jennifer Sarazen and Jennifer MacKenzie sailed high, preserving the 2-1 tally at the break.

In a wide-open start to the second period, Gurchiek and Sullivan both made timely saves in the opening nine minutes and a potential Barrington score off a free kick was alertly booted away near the goal line for an Avenger defender. At the 31:11 mark, Greineder added the clincher for East Greenwich when she drilled a shot off an indirect kick from 20 yards away that sailed high into the net over Gurchiek’s reach for a 3-1 advantage.

Both teams manufactured serious scoring bids during the remainder of the contest, but none found its target.

Allison Davis, Emily Lewin, Callie Russo, Lauren Gallucci and Samantha Ferrucci were also standouts for East Greenwich, while Catherine Coogan, Danielle Butts, Tatiana Raufi, Samantha Medeiros, Maggie DeSisto and Elizabeth Nowak likewise performed well for Barrington.

Barrington will visit Coventry High on Thursday at 3:30 p.m. in a Division I match, while East Greenwich will host Smithfield High at 7 p.m. in a divisional showdown.

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