LMS moves forward in state middle school tourney

The entire Northern Division, including undefeated North Cumberland Middle School, was wiped out in the first round of the Rhode Island Principals Committee on Athletics state single-elimination boys soccer tournament last week.

Lincoln Middle School, Central Division champions, and Gallagher, second-place finisher in the Central, both won and advanced to the round of eight.

NCMS dropped a 3-2 decision to Cole, fourth seed in the Central Division. Mount St. Charles Academy, seeded second in the North, lost 2-1 to Feinstein, the third seed in the Central, McCourt Middle School was beaten, 5-4 in a shoot-out against Gallagher, and Ponaganset, the North's fourth seed, was handed a 3-0 setback by Lincoln.

First-year coach Anthony Silva walked into North Cumberland Middle School last week after teaching at Cumberland High School and found out that three of his starters, ace sweeper Duncan Nunes, Ryan O'Neill and David Penco, were all ill with the flu and would not be available to his squad.

North Cumberland still broke out on top, and took a 2-0 advantage when Bobby Bernardo took a great pass from Brendon Abilheira-Cargill and converted. But Cole of East Greenwich was relentless on offense and the absence of the usual North Stars depth began to show.

Cole started dominating and scored late in the first half to cut the lead to 2-1. Early in the second stanza, Cole scored on a shot that probably should have been stopped, sneaking between the goal post and goalie Tony Billeri and into the net to tie the game. The winning Cole goal came during a scramble in front of the net.

NCMS had its chances, but just could not put the ball in the goal. NCMS had finished its regular season 12-0-0..

"When I got to the school, I found out that three of our starters, including our sweeper, were unavailable because they were sick and that caused us to scramble and fill those positions," said NCMS coach Anthony Silva. "Our kids did the best they could and really hustled, but we seemed to wear down."

Lincoln found itself running up against a Ponaganset team bent on trying to achieve a scoreless tie and push the game to a shoot-out, and coach Scott Merritt's plan almost worked.

The strategy was foiled when LMS fired in three goals in the final eight minutes, by Greg Forgue, Cody Poulin and Nick Lamothe.

"I give Ponaganset and their coach nothing but credit for putting together a formidable game plan, sticking to it and giving us a great game," said LMS coach John D'Aloisio. "We were able to break through late and get the win, and they probably helped us because if we see that type of defense again, we'll be more prepared for it.."

D'Aloisio said he was confident that his offense would eventually break through and it did, but acknowledged that the game was nerve-wracking.

"But our defense, like it seems it always does, came through again," said the coach. "Our defensive line of Jon Ariza, Eric Zannini and Dan Amirault came through once again. Those guys are committed to keeping our defense stable, and that's our strong point."

The coach also pointed out that keeper Doug Harrison came through with a couple of difficult key stops when the game was still tied.

Gallagher and McCourt of Cumberland put on a great game that was tied 2-2 at the end of regulation and two overtimes, and went to a shoot-out.

Although Gallagher dominated play for the first 10 minutes, it was McCourt's Cody Audette who scored the first goal of the game. Gallagher's leading scorer for the season, Jackson Acciaioli, took a pass from Anthony Graziano and pumped home a goal to tie the game before the half ended.

In the second half, the teams battled on even terms and with only two minutes remaining, it appeared that Matt Karpinski had the game-winner for Gallagher, booting home a pass from Luke Moreau with only two minutes remaining.

But with less than a minute remaining, McCourt's Tyler Mobrice knocked one into the net, temporarily saving his team's season.

After a two scoreless overtime periods, the game went to a shoot-out.

Acciaioli, Matt Santoro, and Anthony Graziano scored penalty kicks for Gallagher, while Brandon Hollinghurst scored for McCourt giving Gallagher a 3-1 edge with two remaining shooters. After a Gallagher miss and Tyler Mobrice's successful kick, it was 3-2 Gallagher with one final shooter per team. Both teams could not score another penalty kick, giving Gallagher the win.