Tiverton Defense Fuels 2-0 Girls' Soccer Win Over Westerly [VIDEO]

Persistence paid off twice Tuesday night for the girls’ soccer team.

Thwarted on several golden scoring opportunities, the Tigers managed to convert once in the latter stages of both periods and blanked Westerly High School, 2-0, in an Ocean State Summer Cup match at the .

Tori Fryzel and Jackie Wilson netted goals and keeper Haley Higginbottom notched a shutout with eight saves – including several sensational ones in the second half – as short-handed Tiverton improved to 4-0 in the Girls’ High School-Varsity Division 2 standings of the OSSC. The Tigers performed with just 14 players and two suffered injuries in the second half which seriously curtailed their flexibility in the final period.

“Overall, I thought our girls did a good job tonight and put out a good effort,” said Tiverton Coach Mike Janick. “Westerly is a well-disciplined team and beat us to a lot of loose balls, but we were able to put a couple of goals on the board.”

Indeed, the Bulldogs made Tiverton work very hard for this victory, employing a tight defensive formation to minimize the Tigers’ superior speed and striking abilities, but generating precious little offense in the opening chapter. Westerly asserted itself offensively during long stretches of the second half, however, forcing Tiverton’s defense and Higginbottom to play at high levels and they responded.

“We were missing several of our regular defensive players tonight, so we were a little thin on the defensive line,” Janick said. “However, Haley played very well in goal and we were able to keep them off the board.”

Maya Bergandy, Rachel Mauricio and Sarah Mauricio performed the bulk of the defensive duties for the hosts, yielding very few outstanding scoring opportunities.

The match featured constant back-and-forth action, with crisp passing, solid ballhandling and a host of scoring opportunities. During a spirited first half of play, Westerly keeper Sarah Jacques (12 saves) turned aside solid chances by Tigers Fryzel, Elizabeth Janick, Olivia Bergandy and MacKenzie Mello and turned aside three Tiverton corner kicks.

“(Jacques) is a good, aggressive goalie and she did a good job against us tonight,” Coach Janick said. “We struggled for most of the match to possess the ball, but when we put it where it needed to be, we created a lot of opportunities.”

Despite numerous near-misses, Tiverton kept the pressure on Westerly’s defense and finally broke through with approximately 10 minutes to play in the first half. Fryzel stole the ball from a Bulldog and dribbled to within 20 yards of the net where she buried a high, hard shot over Jacques’ reach to give the Tigers a 1-0 advantage at halftime.

Westerly picked up the offensive intensity in the second period and forced Higginbottom to make three exceptional saves in the chapter, one with a leaping deflection, another by dropping to the turf and blocking a low, hard shot with her shins, and the last with a sprawling dive on a cross. She also denied two Bulldog corner kicks in the final period.

Clinging to a one-goal edge, Tiverton created breathing room with about 10 minutes to play when Wilson redirected a carom off a corner kick beyond Jacques’ reach and into the back of the net. Erica Farias was credited with an assist on the goal.

“We’ve been having problems finishing our set plays, so it was a good sign to see us score on that corner kick,” Coach Janick said. “The girls were frustrated at halftime by their inability to capitalize on opportunities, but they kept at it in the second half and it paid off.”

Tiverton returns to action next Tuesday (July 26) at Exeter-West Greenwich Regional High and will return to Town Farm on Tuesday, Aug. 2, to face Mt. St. Charles Academy of Woonsocket at 6:30 p.m.

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