Scarlet Knights Wear Down Tigers 2-0 [VIDEO]

The dam never burst – it just sprung a couple of leaks.

The girls’ soccer team held mighty Exeter-West Greenwich Regional High without a goal for more than 61 minutes Friday night before relinquishing a pair of scores in the closing 20 minutes and bowed to the undefeated Scarlet Knights, 2-0, in a RIIL Division II playoff semifinal-round match at frigid Nick Carcieri Stadium in East Greenwich.

Allisa Georgio netted a goal with 19:26 left to play to snap a scoreless deadlock and Kara Shaw added an insurance tally in the final seconds as EWG – which has averaged slightly more than five goals per outing this fall while forging a perfect 20-0-0 record – outlasted the scrappy Tigers and earned a berth in Sunday’s Division II state championship clash at Rhode Island College in Providence. The Scarlet Knights will face Lincoln High (18-1-1), which ousted Mt. Hope High of Bristol, 1-0, in Friday’s other semifinal-round pairing.

Under first-year coach, Tiverton concluded at 12-6-2 and captured the Division II-Central regular-season title.

“In the second half, they (Exeter-West Greenwich) were just too strong for us,” Gill said, “and their experience took over. I thought we played well and our kids have come a long way since the start of the season. I think we played the best team in the state tonight.”

On this night, the Scarlet Knights were absolutely relentless. Powered by the dynamic front line of Shaw, Georgio, Alyssa Clements and Alexis Clements, EWG applied incessant pressure on Tiverton’s defense, totally dominated field position and kept the Tigers pinned in their defensive zone for most of the contest.

Only the sterling play of keeper Haley Higginbottom (14 saves) and defenders Erin Rodrigues, Rachel Mauricio, Jackie Wilson and Maya Bergandy kept the final score respectable.

EWG unleashed more than 30 shots in the match, 16 of which were on goal. Conversely, Tiverton produced just one shot on goal and Scarlet Knight keeper Olivia Tourgee needed to make only one save to earn a shutout. Exeter-West Greenwich also executed three of the four corner kicks called in the match, but scored on none.

“We hung in,” Gill said. “Haley played an amazing game. She saved her best game of the season for tonight.”

Despite being only rarely tested, EWG’s defense also performed superbly, consistently bottling up Tiverton’s Erica Farias, Samantha Welchman, Olivia Bergandy, Sarah Mauricio, Mackenzie Mello and Kacy Fernandes, and yielding precious few realistic scoring opportunities.

After being frustrated for 61:34 by the tenacious Tigers, EWG broke through with 19:26 to play when Alyssa Clements pounced on a free ball in the midfield and spotted Georgio on her left. Georgio blew past a Tiverton defender and one-touched a gorgeous pass from Clements past Higginbottom’s lunge and into the net to give the Knights a 1-0 lead.

Some three minutes later, Tiger Samantha Welchman could not get her foot on a loose ball to the left of the winners’ net with Tourgee off the line and Tiverton never seriously threatened again. EWG quickly regrouped and kept firing away, forcing Higginbottom to reject tries by Shaw, Alyssa Clements, Georgio and Alexis Clements in the ensuing 15 minutes until Shaw converted a two-on-none break for an unassisted goal with in the final minute of play.

The first half also belonged to the Scarlet Knights, who peppered Higginbottom with a flurry of shots, but never scored. Shaw, Alexis Clements, Alyssa Clements and Kathleen Rafanelli all generated solid scoring bids, but Higginbottom stopped all.

EWB Coach Kevin Fraser praised the Tigers.

“Tiverton really played well tonight and they’ve come a long way this season,” Fraser said. “They gave us a very good game and I give them a lot of credit.”

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