Warwick Vets fell to the undefeated Cumberland Clippers 1-0 in a defensive battle at Carcieri Field in East Greenwich on Thursday night in the Division II field hockey semifinals.

Clippers’ captain Karin Dion scored the winning goal just a few minutes into overtime to propel the Clippers to the finals, where they ended up winning a 3-0 decision over South Kingstown. 

Warwick goalkeeper Mary Greenwell was a stone wall in goal, blocking every shot that came her way until Dion’s sudden-death winner.

“That was probably the best game she has ever played all year,” Warwick head coach Jim Areson said of Greenwell.

Cumberland midfielder Cassidy Simanski started the barrage of shots-on-net in the first half. Then, forward Julia Currie followed it with a shot of her own, the first was blocked and the second cleared away by Greenwell.

Cumberland was in the Warwick zone most of the night, but it was often whistled for fouls when it got close. 

On one play, Cumberland captain Reilly Clarey was on defense and passed up to Currie, who had the ball taken away and cleared by Warwick junior Natasha Savage. A foul call rewarded the Clippers with a corner hit, which led to a pass to Clarey, but once she got near the net she was called for a foul.

Cumberland had an abundance of shots, but it couldn’t find the net because of Warwick’s interior defense.

Cassidy Simanski nearly broke the scoreless tie when her shot went wide right. The onslaught continued when Rachel Harraka passed to Morgan Bulman, whose shot-on-net was turned away by Greenwell. The Clippers maintained possession and the two teams battled right in front of the net before Greenwell snagged the ball.

“Defensively, I thought Michelle Spremulli, Ruth Rodriguez and Arietta Chevian at fullback were just spectacular,” Areson said.

Minutes later, Cumberland would threaten again, but Warwick’s Kayla Morin came up with a big play on defense and cleared the ball out of the Warwick zone with 6:20 left in the first half.

Cumberland came out of a timeout and Cassidy Simanski dished it to Clarey before Greenwell knocked it away. The next Cumberland shot missed the mark as well.

One of Vets’ best offensive chances in the game came near the end of the first half when Eunice Tejeda’s shot from in front was blocked by Michaela Simanski. A Cumberland defender then cleared it and passed down to Dion, who missed wide left while on a fast break.

In the second half, Cumberland was back on the offensive, but its first two shots after the break would miss the cage. Then, Chevian cleared it away for Warwick. Cumberland was right back in the Warwick zone moments later, though, and there was an intense battle between the two teams in front of the Warwick goal until Cassidy Simanski had a shot swallowed up by Greenwell.

The Clippers were rewarded a corner hit after a Warwick foul, but Cumberland’s next shot was saved once again by Greenwell in net.

Vets had a chance to score when a pass from out of bounds led to a fast break featuring Savage passing to forward Nicole Procaccini, whose shot was stopped by Michaela Simanski.

At the end of regulation, the score was knotted 0-0.

Though both teams failed to score a goal during regulation, it didn’t take long to see one in overtime. Only two minutes, 16 seconds into overtime, Dion received a pass and raced to the front of the net and shot past Greenwell for the game winner.

Despite the loss, Areson was proud of his team and thought they played very well.

“They did an incredible job,” Areson said. “They battled. I told them at the end that defensively I thought that we were spectacular. They did everything I could ask of them.”

Although Areson’s team didn’t have many scoring opportunities, it came just one shot away from a trip to the finals.

“We defended the whole time and gave ourselves a chance to win and as a coach that’s all you can ask,” Areson said. “It’s a tough way to end. It’s been a fantastic season.”

Areson said the team graduated 12 seniors last year, but this season it ended up achieving the same point total.

Cumberland head coach Jacki Lapointe said she had forgotten how defensively sound Warwick’s defense was.  

“I knew they were a good team the first time we played them,” Lapointe said. “I didn’t remember how good their defense was, but they played very well. I was surprised. They held us, which a lot of teams couldn’t do this year.”