Pats earn big point against fourth-place MSC

Posted 10/16/14

There haven’t been many bright spots so far this season for the Pilgrim boys’ soccer team, but Tuesday’s game with Mount St. Charles was certainly one of them.

The Pats tied the Mounties …

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Pats earn big point against fourth-place MSC

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There haven’t been many bright spots so far this season for the Pilgrim boys’ soccer team, but Tuesday’s game with Mount St. Charles was certainly one of them.

The Pats tied the Mounties 1-1, their best showing against an upper-echelon team all year long. Mount is 8-2-3 following the draw and is in fourth place in Division II.

Pilgrim, meanwhile, is just 2-9-2. Playing up to Mount’s level, even if the Pats trailed in time of possession, was a pleasant surprise and it kept them alive in the hunt for one of the division’s final playoff spots.

Prior to the draw, Pilgrim’s only non-losses had been in victories over one-win Middletown and four-win Narragansett and a draw with three-win Cranston West.

“We defended well,” said Pilgrim head coach Bill Carroll. “Midfield worked hard too. They worked hard back to front.”

After a scoreless first half, the Pats took the lead on a goal by Matt Woods in the 52nd minute before surrendering the game-tying goal to Mount’s Dan Weiss in the 60th minute.

Pilgrim didn’t budge from there, though, holding on through the final 20 minutes to preserve the point. It also threatened a few times down the stretch but couldn’t net the game-winner.

“They worked hard for their draw,” Carroll said.

Mount held possession for most of the first half, although Pilgrim did generate a pair of corner kicks. Pats’ goaltender Liam Strain – who finished with 10 saves – was a difference maker, as he made a leaping save on a ball that deflected off a defender in the 28th minute and also saved a hard turnaround shot eight minutes prior from Matt White.

In the 35th minute, he came out of his goal and sent Chris Lepine, who was on a breakaway, off course, causing him to take a tough-angled shot that skipped wide.

“Liam Strain did real well,” Carroll said.

Early in the second half, his offense held up its end of the bargain. Woods got the ball near the top of the Mount box and sent a pass to Domenic DeNuccio, who was in the middle of the box. Woods then took off toward the goal and received a pass back, giving him a clean breakaway on the left. He took a pair of dribbles and then fired a hard shot that deflected off keeper Ben Weiss and into the net for a 1-0 lead.

“We’re relying on kick and run,” Carroll said. “You’ve got to do what you’ve got to do. It’s not pretty, but sometimes it pays dividends.”

The lead was short-lived, although Strain continued to do his part, saving a hard shot in the 57th minute and punching out a corner kick following that.

In the 60th minute, however, Dan Weiss received a cross near the back-right post, created some space with a dribble and then blasted a hard shot from close range that ripped into the back of the net. That tied the score at one.

“We’ve just got to maintain possession with the offense to take some pressure off the defense,” Carroll said.

The goal gave Mount some life, and before long it was heavily in control. But Strain, and a solid defensive effort led by senior sweeper David Saran, kept the Mounties from netting the game-winner.

Mount had a corner in the 65th and 69th minutes, and in the 72nd minute Edward Carroll connected on a shot that just went wide.

The Pats’ chances were through ball attempts to speedster Austin Asoroona or long throw-ins from the sideline by Saran, but those all came up empty as well.

Yet, at the end of the day, Pilgrim was pleased with the way it turned out. A point against one of the better teams in the division was a favorable outcome.

“David played well sweeping,” Bill Carroll said. “I was happy with the defense. I was happy with the effort they put in.”

With its eight points, Pilgrim currently sits in 16th place in D-II, and the top 12 teams make the playoffs. Right now, the number 12 team has 13 points, meaning the Pats will have to make up ground quickly to get into the playoff picture.

They have three games remaining, and a possible nine points to earn. If they won all three games, they’d almost certainly make the playoffs. A pair of wins and a draw could also do it.

It won’t be easy, but it’s also not impossible. Pilgrim hosts 2-8-3 Smithfield today at 3:45 p.m. in a winnable game. It’s then at rival Toll Gate, which is 6-5-2, on Monday at 6 p.m. in a game that is always competitive.

Finally, it ends the season Wednesday at home against 2-4-6 Prout.

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