Woonsocket continued its surprising run through the Division III boys soccer state tournament as the seventh-seeded Novans moved one win from their first state title with a 2-1 victory over third-seed Burrillville on Wednesday night at Tucker Field in Cumberland.
The Novans, who also eliminated second-seed Cranston East earlier in the tournament, will face top-seed Davies on Saturday at 7 p.m. at Rhode Island College. Woonsocket High head coach Andrew Rao and able assistant Al Prestly made it a point to arrive at Cranston Stadium a bit early before their Villa Novans faced Cranston East in a R.I. Division III Tournament quarterfinal on Monday afternoon.For Burrillville's Varsity soccer starter David Frickel the opportunity to play in Wednesday night's Semifinal game isn't one he takes for granted.
Photo by Ernest Brown @ Call
“I didn't know what to expect on the carpet,” Rao stated of the stadium's field turf. “The dimensions seemed awfully small, much smaller than Barry Field. Our field is, like, 110-by-65 (yards), and this was more like 100-by-50.
“Again, I didn't know what to expect,” he added. “It's more like playing indoor soccer.”
On this day, Woonsocket could have been considered a stellar indoor/outdoor “futbol” team. Rao's kids adjusted to the more diminutive dimensions and ousted the second-seeded Thunderbolts, 4-1, before a crowd of maybe 80.
Senior Omar Castro-Dreher played the role of offensive hero, posting a hat trick, while classmate and captain PaOusman Jobe managed a pair of assists. As far as Rao was concerned, though, his defense dominated the contest.
“I can't say enough about those guys,” he offered, singling out Jobe, seniors Assan Touray and Ronaldo Ledezma Marquez and junior Daniel Garzon-Orejuela. “They did a great job of neutralizing their big scorers. I don't know their names, but our kids were phenomenal at clearing the ball and creating turnovers.”
Those creative threats included senior captains Jimmy Vang, Kevin Pantoja and Tiago Pacheco, all of whom had a most difficult time trying to penetrate the penalty box, despite outstanding ball-handling and passing skills. The evidence was more than obvious, as the seventh-ranked, upset-minded 'Novans held Cranston East to only one shot on goal in the first half and seven total.
With the triumph, WHS (10-4-2 overall) earned a semifinal berth opposite third-seeded Burrillville, which mustered a 2-0 victory over No. 6 Exeter/West Greenwich during another Monday quarterfinal. That tilt is slated for 8 p.m., Wednesday at Tucker Field in Cumberland.
“It came of no surprise that Omar scored three,” Rao admitted. “He and (senior) Garrett Lambert each led the team with 12 goals during the regular season.” Source: Jon Baker @Call and Pro-Jo Staff report.
"It's going to be something I will remember forever,” said Frickel.
That's because his parents moved out of the state a few weeks ago deciding to let him live with a teammate so that he could go for his dream of attempting to win a State Championship.
"It means a lot considering this will be the last time I get to play with my friends. It's nice to be able to be here one last time,” said Frickel.
Teammates tell ABC 6 News that having Frickel around added some extra motivation.
"I've based our games kind of on him because when I did find out he was moving and we found out it was as long as he stayed we all kind of said oh yeah we are going to the championship. We're going to do whatever and he's going to stay with us as long as he can,” said Darren Jenks.
Frickel's coach, Brian LaFauci, says the sophomore has left a lasting impact with this group of guys.
"To have him stick around and be part of this for the whole way through it means a lot to me, it means a lot to him. It is great for the whole team,” LaFauci.
The team lost to Woonsocket Wednesday night, but players say they're incredibly proud to have made it that far. Source: Samantha Fenlon ABC 6 News Facebook Public Share
Final Score: Woonsocket Villa Novans 2 Burrillville Broncos 1
The Novans took a 1-0 lead at halftime on an Omar Castro goal. Castro had 12 during the season and a hat trick on Monday. Woonsocket quickly made it 2-0 in the second half when Andi Hoxha scored five minutes in. Burrillville got its goal from Jared Cabral with four minutes remaining in the game.
Losing is life, and I'd much rather our Broncos learned it under the High School soccer lights than under a lot of the other environments in which to get that lesson. I don't need every player to be an All-Star or have the same success as last years Bronco record 4 State Championships in different sports to show our Bronco pride. The team is well coached and the division is competitive and life will go on. Thank You, for your performance during the 2015 soccer season and the memories will
now be entered into the Bronco High School legacy.
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