Titans edge Pats to move into first

Matt Metcalf
Posted 10/6/15

It’s only a shade over halfway through the regular season, but when the Pilgrim and Toll Gate girls’ soccer teams faced off on Thursday night at Bend St., playoff intensity was on display. …

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Titans edge Pats to move into first

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It’s only a shade over halfway through the regular season, but when the Pilgrim and Toll Gate girls’ soccer teams faced off on Thursday night at Bend St., playoff intensity was on display.

Not only was it a rivalry game, but the two teams came in battling it out for first place in Division II-Central, with the Pats (9-1) a half of a game ahead of the 8-1 Titans.

But it was Toll Gate that sat atop the standings by the end of the night, as it used first-half goals from Hannah McNulty and Emma Seidenberg to hold off the Pats, 2-1.

The Titans dominated possession in the first half, attacking the Pats’ defense with their speed.

Because of this, it didn’t take long for Toll Gate to mount a lead early in the game.

Near the 10-minute mark, Marisa Giard got a step on a Pilgrim defender and fired a shot that hit directly off the post. Fortunately for the Titans, the rebound bounced out to the right foot of their most talented goal scorer at the top of the box, as McNulty drilled a shot into the lower left corner of the net to put her team up 1-0.

“They just came out firing,” Toll Gate head coach Lonna Razza said of her team’s start. “They were just amped up all week for this game.”

The field continued to be tilted as the half wore on too.

Nearing halftime, the Titans gained possession and worked their way into Pilgrim’s end, crossing a ball into the box that was headed by Seidenberg and past Hannah Page to up Toll Gate’s lead to 2-0.

But in the second half, the field tilted in Pilgrim’s favor.

The Pats went to work looking to chip into their two-goal deficit in the final 40 minutes of play.

However, all of their shots early in the half either missed just wide or were stopped by Toll Gate keeper Ani Armenakyan.

Alexia Martins had a chance from the top of the box that narrowly missed the left post. Jordan Petrucci, Alexis Vieira and Kendra Tantimonico also had scoring opportunities in the early and middle stages of the second half that would fall by the wayside.

It wasn’t until the final minute that Pilgrim was able to cut Toll Gate’s lead in half.

Martins made an entry pass into Tantimonico, who was in good position near the goal and fired a shot to the upper left corner past Armenakyan to make it 2-1.

The whistle sounded to end the game seconds after play resumed, though, allowing the Titans to escape with the win.

The second-half play for the Pats was encouraging, but it wasn’t enough to overcome their struggles in the first half.

“We came out and played a little tentative in the first half, but the second half was much better,” Pilgrim head coach Tom Flanders said. “We just couldn’t get things going and couldn’t get a rhythm. It was definitely a tough first half. We’re battling through some things right now, but we’ll take a day’s rest then get back at it and see what we can do next week.”

Razza was proud of the way that her defense withstood Pilgrim’s pressure in the second half to hold the lead.

“The defense was unbelievable tonight, especially with the players they have in Jordan [Petrucci], Kendra [Tantimonico] and Vieira,” Razza said.

Although Toll Gate took over first place by a half of a game in the standings, Flanders isn’t worried about his team. He knows that the most important time of the season is still ahead.

“A 2-1 loss in the regular season isn’t the end of the world,” Flanders said. “It’s just one of those days. If we won 2-1, I wouldn’t be going crazy, and if I lost like I did today, I’m not going crazy either. I’m not worried about this group. I just have to get them focused and healthy and everything will be fine.”

Toll Gate will return to action on Wednesday night at 7 p.m. when it travels to Tiverton.

Pilgrim, on the other hand, hosted Warwick Vets on Monday, but results were unavailable to press time. It will then travel to East Providence on Friday for a 6:55 p.m. start.

Although the Titans hold the slight advantage in the standings right now, the subdivision title may very well be decided on Oct. 15 when Pilgrim hosts Toll Gate at 3:30 p.m.

“That game will probably be a little more intense than this,” Razza said of the Oct. 15 matchup. “They won’t want to get beat by us twice, especially vying for the top of the division. It’s going to be like a playoff atmosphere again.”

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