Pilgrim books return trip

Pats in lacrosse title game for second straight season

Posted 5/29/14

On May 2, the Pilgrim girls’ lacrosse team hit the bottom.

Twenty-five days later, the Pats put themselves one win away from the top.

Pilgrim is going back to the Division III championship …

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Pilgrim books return trip

Pats in lacrosse title game for second straight season

Posted

On May 2, the Pilgrim girls’ lacrosse team hit the bottom.

Twenty-five days later, the Pats put themselves one win away from the top.

Pilgrim is going back to the Division III championship game.

Led by four goals from senior captain Haley McCusker and a gritty effort all over the field, the third-seeded Pats upset No. 2 Smithfield 10-9 at Bryant University on Tuesday to earn their second consecutive berth in the finals.

While last year’s team had little trouble reaching the title game, this year’s group had a few hiccups during the regular season with an almost entirely new roster, and it had to pull off the biggest postseason upset in the program’s four-year history to put itself one win away from raising a trophy.

“With this group, it’s just a bunch of young kids that want it,” said a visibly emotional Tom Flanders, the Pilgrim head coach. “I thought we might have been a year away from getting to this level, to have an opportunity to play for a state championship.”

But the Pats proved their coach wrong. They’ll take on top-seeded, unbeaten Chariho on Saturday at Brown University at 1 p.m. for the championship.

“I couldn’t be more excited and proud of my team,” said McCusker, whose goal with two minutes to play proved to be the game-winner. “We lost all our starters last year, so coming back after losing everybody, it’s such a great feeling. Especially coming in as the underdogs and winning it right here. I couldn’t be more proud of my team.”

Reaching this point seemed farfetched in the middle of the season. After a 2-0 start, Pilgrim lost three of four games, culminating in a 17-7 loss to Chariho on May 2.

In that stretch, the Pats also dropped a lopsided 10-4 game with Smithfield.

But since the Chariho loss, Pilgrim hasn’t lost again. It won its last five games of the regular season, crushed Westerly in the quarterfinals and then avenged its regular season defeat to Smithfield on Tuesday.

“It’s probably the best game I’ve ever been involved in, as far as lacrosse goes,” Flanders said. “Just amazing, 10-9. Just a total battle. I couldn’t be more proud of my girls.”

Pilgrim led 5-4 at halftime before gaining real separation with three consecutive goals in the second half to take a 9-5 lead with 7:45 to play. Clare Birney, Hannah Page and McCusker all the found the net to give the Pats some breathing room.

They were in complete control, before Smithfield’s Fallon Greene almost single-handedly brought her team back. She scored on a free position with 6:51 left, and scored again on a free position with 3:12 to play. In between those two goals was a goal by Michaela Benoit, pulling the Sentinels within 9-8.

“We beat a fantastic team, and this was as good as any championship game could be,” Flanders said. “Smithfield is a dynamite team.”

McCusker won the ensuing draw, and after some clock-killing, she was pushed on her way to the goal. That resulted in a free position, and she took advantage, weaving to her left to avoid a defender and scoring low past goalie Sheila Murphy to give the Pats a 10-8 advantage with two minutes left.

Following a Pilgrim timeout, McCusker again won the draw and immediately went into stall mode. She held the ball for almost a full minute before giving it up, and Smithfield didn’t get it back until there were 20 seconds left on the clock.

“She’s our MVP and she stepped up her game,” Flanders said of McCusker. “We used her ability to possess the ball and elude defenders and kill some clock. She embraced that. She’s a leader.”

With those 20 seconds remaining, however, Greene won a ball behind Pilgrim’s net, ran out in front and scored past Alex Pouliot to pull Smithfield within one with 17.5 seconds to play.

On the next draw, the Pats converged on the ball and were whistled for a penalty. Suddenly Smithfield had possession with a chance to tie the score.

“I need to up my blood pressure medicine, that’s what I was thinking,” Flanders said.

The Sentinels tried to push the ball up, but it got knocked down and a scrum ensued for possession near the sideline, well away from the goal. Nobody ended up scooping the groundball, and the clock ran all the way down to zero.

The celebration was on.

“I’m in tears right now,” said senior captain Kelsey Martin. “It’s probably the best feeling in the world knowing that we only started four years ago and we’re coming back to the state championship.”

Pilgrim took a 3-1 lead in the first half, courtesy of a goal from McCusker, one from Madison Almonte and another from Emma Reilly, in which she knocked the ball out of the air into the goal, before Smithfield came back to take a 4-3 lead. Greene scored two of her five goals during that span, while Molly Smith scored the other two.

Nobody scored for the next 14 minutes until Page made a perfect pass in front of the goal to Sophia DeLuca, who buried a shot. DeLuca then gave Pilgrim the lead – for good, as it turned out – with a goal 37 seconds before the half.

Page started the scoring in the second half at the 16:44 mark and Smithfield’s Sadie DeCurtis matched her with a goal of her own a minute later. Then the Pats reeled off three straight and held on from there.

Pouliot made eight saves in net for the Pats, while Murphy made 16 for Smithfield.

“A lot of these kids have played soccer and basketball, a lot of good athletes,” Flanders said. “We’re just proud that they all come together with this lacrosse team. Field hockey players, basketball players, soccer players – they all come together to get Pilgrim into a final.”

The Pats will be seeking their first-ever title on Saturday against Chariho. They lost to Narragansett in the championship game last year.

In two match-ups with the Chargers this season, Pilgrim lost a tough 12-11 game and then fell 17-7.

They’re eyeing another upset.

“Just fantastic stuff,” Flanders said. “We’re thrilled. It’s going to be a fun week.”

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