CLCF 7/8th-graders beat PAL, EG before falling in final

By Ryan D. Murray
Posted 6/22/16

The second-seeded CLCF Thunderbirds took out the seventh-seeded Warwick PAL Patriots 8-4 Tuesday evening in the girls’ 7/8th-grade quarterfinals at Confreda Sports Complex in Warwick.

Cranston …

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CLCF 7/8th-graders beat PAL, EG before falling in final

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The second-seeded CLCF Thunderbirds took out the seventh-seeded Warwick PAL Patriots 8-4 Tuesday evening in the girls’ 7/8th-grade quarterfinals at Confreda Sports Complex in Warwick.

Cranston head coach Bernie Lee says his girls have been on a long journey.

“This is a team that’s had bumps in the road for the last few years, but they’re really starting to come together now,” Lee said.

With the win, Cranston is now 6-1-4 on the season. Last season, they were 1-9.

“They’re really firing on all cylinders and doing a great job,” Lee said. “They listen in practice. They give us one 100-percent effort and attitude and we couldn’t ask for anything more.”

Cranston won the opening faceoff and Warwick goalie Jenavieve Clark made a stop on Cranston’s first shot attempt from Bella Tavares. Not long after though, Cranston’s Riley Mahoney would light the lamp, giving Cranston an early 1-0 edge just seconds into the game.

After the two teams battled over possession at midfield, Tavares passed to Ashley Smedburg for a give-and-go. When Tavares received it back from Smedburg, she would put it past Clark, giving Cranston a 2-0 lead.

A minute later, Cranston’s Annabelle Redding found an open Hope Halverson for a shot attempt, but Clark was able to deny it. However, after a penalty, Cranston’s Madison Roy scored, putting Cranston on top 3-0.

Later in the first half, Clark stopped a backhand shot from Roy. However, Redding would find the back of the net a minute later, increasing Cranston’s lead to 4-0. Cranston would go up 5-0 when Sophia Harper found Tavares in front.

Later in the half, Reagan Rojek found Tavares to put Cranston up 6-0. Cranston tried to increase the lead, but a shot from Harper was snubbed by the Warwick netminder.

Just before the conclusion of the first half, Warwick would get on the board when Sofia Barry stole the ball and passed up to Aingley Canning, who put one in the back of the net, pulling PAL within 6-1.

Early in the second half, Halverson came up with a steal for Cranston and dished to Rojek, who had a shot stopped by Clark. Then, Julia Armstrong went on the offense and scored for Warwick, cutting the lead to 6-2.

However, seconds later, Tavares would put back her own miss, giving Cranston a 7-2 lead. A minute later, Warwick’s Janaiya Prestley found Canning for her second goal, pulling Warwick within 7-3.

Minutes later, Cranston’s Halverson charged the net to give the Thunderbirds an 8-3 advantage. Warwick would try to rally back when Liza Sammartin came up with a steal and passed up to Abby Walsh for a breakaway, but Walsh was denied by Cranston goaltender Rachael Zarrella. However, Walsh would eventually get her piece of the pie, scoring just before the final buzzer to cut the Warwick deficit to 8-4.

“A lot of them will play lacrosse again and they hung in there all season,” Warwick assistant coach Joe Marzano said. “It’s a young team and hopefully we get a lot of them back next year. Big improvement, they all came a long way.”

CLCF would keep rolling in the semifinals, downing East Greenwich on Saturday, 9-7, to earn a spot in the state final.

Unfortunately, CLCF went on to lose in the title game to Providence.

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