Langevin propels Pats over ’Canes in OT

Jacob Marrocco
Posted 10/16/15

Pilgrim field hockey head coach Stephanie Shields told her players prior to their tilt with cross-town rival Warwick Vets that they needed to “make a statement.”

They did so with a 1-0 …

This item is available in full to subscribers.

Please log in to continue

E-mail
Password
Log in

Langevin propels Pats over ’Canes in OT

Posted

Pilgrim field hockey head coach Stephanie Shields told her players prior to their tilt with cross-town rival Warwick Vets that they needed to “make a statement.”

They did so with a 1-0 overtime victory to secure their third straight win and move to 5-7, keeping their playoff hopes alive with four games remaining on the schedule. Pilgrim also avenged its 2-0 loss to the ‘Canes from earlier in the campaign.

“They definitely dug deep [and] made a good statement,” Shields said. “We’re still working to get into the playoffs, so every game we’ve been improving. And that was really our goal from the beginning of the season, was to improve. We have a lot of young kids on the field and they’ve definitely improved a lot and things are definitely clicking now for us.”

Vets fell to 8-4, but still occupies third place in Division II-South by a three-game margin over the Pats.

Both squads had their chances in overtime after regulation saw 70 minutes of strong defense. In the opening minutes, Vets’ Morgan Oliver had a breakaway but couldn’t get a shot off. Later, Pilgrim captain Paula Cavanagh tried to feed Stephanie Langevin in front of the goal, but the pass eluded her stick.

The Pats soon after had three consecutive corner hits, and the final one led to the winner. Sweeper Madison Yehle sent the ball inside where Elicia Nemirow passed it off Cavanagh’s stick to Langevin. She put a shot top shelf on Vets’ goalkeeper Mary Greenwell to send Pilgrim to a win.

“We practiced it a lot,” Shields said, with a smile, of the game-winner. “We do it all the time. [We] work really hard on the posts, making sure knowing the cross is coming across. Elicia, when she’s got a good shot coming across, it’s strong. We were just hoping we had the chance there and all the hard work in practices definitely helped out with that.”

Pilgrim was able to shut down Vets’ Natasha Savage, who is tied for the team lead with nine points off two goals and five assists, with Shields telling her group to “be mindful of where she is.”

On the other side, the ’Canes were able to limit the damage from Cavanagh, who entered the game as Division II’s sixth-leading scorer with 16 points.

The Pats were fortunate to reach overtime as a late offensive surge from the ’Canes nearly spelled defeat. In the waning minutes, goalkeeper Lindsey Fontes was forced to make five kick saves to keep Vets out of the net. Savage had a chance as well, but Nemirow helped to break it up.

“Towards the end, [Fontes] had a lot of shots she had to face,” Shields said. “You could tell both teams were definitely tired, so she had a lot of shots to face right at the end and did a great job in hanging in for us.”

The ’Canes had four straight corner hits earlier in the second half, with one almost sneaking in the net. Savage took a shot close to the net after she got control of the ball, but Fontes made a key toe save. Arietta Chevian tried to bury the rebound, but she sent it out of bounds off the left side of the goal. Brit Boyd had an open shot minutes later, but Fontes made a kick save to give herself some space.

“We did have some shots-on-goal, unfortunately we hit it right at the goalie,” Vets head coach Jim Areson said. “We struggled to generate any offense. Give credit to the defense of Pilgrim. I mean, Pilgrim definitely deserved to win today, they were far better than us.”

Pilgrim had opportunities across the second half as well. Langevin set up Emma Vincent for a shot opportunity, but the attempt went wide right. Nemirow tried to thread the needle to Langevin in front of the net right out of halftime, but the pass was intercepted.

The first half was a different story, though, as neither squad got much going offensively. Kayla Morin took a shot from the side that was knocked away by Fontes, while Chevian made a key defensive play after a Pilgrim shot hit the post.

“Arietta’s been doing that all year,” Areson said. “Defensively we’ve been pretty strong all year.”

The Pats had five corner hits in the final minutes of the half, but couldn’t convert on any. The last came with seven seconds left on the clock, but Vets’ defense was able to prevent the offense from generating anything on the play.

Vets, which is just two points out of first place, will look to get back on track tomorrow at Rocky Hill (4-8-1) at 3:45 p.m. The ’Canes beat Rocky Hill 1-0 on Sept. 11 at home.

“Just gotta score goals,” Areson said on rebounding against Rocky Hill. “We played extremely well Friday [in a 3-2 win over Tiverton]. They just gotta keep on practicing, just gotta keep on working. Keep on plugging.”

Pilgrim searches for a fourth consecutive win at second-place Chariho (8-3-1) today at 3:45 p.m. The Pats and Chargers previously played more than a month ago on Sept. 11 in Warwick, a contest Pilgrim lost 2-0.

“They feel a lot less pressure now,” Shields said. “Before I think it was a lot of pressure knowing we have some big games coming up. Now they feel better with a win like this. This gives them a lot of confidence going forward and they’re ready for Chariho.”

Comments

No comments on this item Please log in to comment by clicking here