Crusaders oust Falcons from D-II girls’ lacrosse playoffs

Matt Metcalf
Posted 5/28/15

The sixth-seeded Cranston West girls’ lacrosse team had upset on its mind when it met third-seeded Prout at East Greenwich in the quarterfinals of the Division II girls’ lacrosse playoffs on …

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Crusaders oust Falcons from D-II girls’ lacrosse playoffs

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The sixth-seeded Cranston West girls’ lacrosse team had upset on its mind when it met third-seeded Prout at East Greenwich in the quarterfinals of the Division II girls’ lacrosse playoffs on Friday afternoon.

But unfortunately for the Falcons, they ran into a hot goaltender and some bad luck.

Crusaders’ netminder Laura Doyle stymied West, turning aside an astounding 15 of the 18 shots that were sent on net.

But if Doyle’s play didn’t make it tough enough for the Falcons to score, she had some help as well, as West hit six posts in a losing effort.

Doyle’s play, along with Prout’s potent offensive attack that was spearheaded by Casey McGowan and Erika Lyons, proved to be too much for the Falcons to manage, resulting in a 12-3 defeat.

Of those 12 goals, McGowan and Lyons combined for nine, with McGowan netting five and Lyons burying four.

“Both teams played well,” West head coach Mike Soscia said. “Erika Lyons and Casey McGowan played outstanding. Offensively, either their goalie came up big or we hit the post, but they’re a good team. It was a fun game to be a part of.”

Both teams seemed timid to start, forcing play on the offensive end, while appearing afraid to be the first team to surrender a goal.

But after over 11 minutes of scoreless play, Prout finally broke through for the game’s first goal, with McGowan sneaking a shot past Yvette Goudiaby to give the Crusaders a 1-0 lead.

However, it didn’t take long for West’s top offensive threat, senior captain Tarah Okolowitcz, to answer back, beating Doyle just under three minutes after McGowan’s tally to tie the game.

Unfortunately, that would be the closest that West would come to taking a lead.

McGowan buried two more goals over the next two minutes to push Prout’s lead to 3-1.

The Falcons had plenty of quality opportunities to respond, but every chance was either turned aside by Doyle or the iron beside her.

Lyons would add another goal for the Crusaders with 3:08 remaining in the first half to give her squad a 4-1 lead heading into halftime.

The three-goal deficit wasn’t impossible to overcome, but Prout came out firing on all cylinders in the second half to assure that the game was out of reach.

Lyons, McGowan and Michaela Cottam all found twine in the first three minutes after halftime to up Prout’s lead to 6-1.

With the way that Doyle was playing in net, that five-goal deficit felt like something much greater for West.

Trying to do too much at once, the Falcon offense began to force things once again.

“We tried to slow it down because we can’t run and gun with this team,” Soscia said. “They play too fast for us. They transition well – that’s what they’re known for. We had opportunities, but they played great defense too and shut us down pretty good.”

Jolie Rouleau answered for the Falcons to make it 6-2, but Prout then responded with the next five goals. Lyons scored two, while McGowan, Michaela Cavanaugh and Katelyn Angeli each netted one during that stretch.

Okolowitcz scored her team-high second goal with 2:47 remaining in the game to make it 12-3, but the game was already determined at that point.

It was a bitter ending for West’s group of seniors, who fought until the final buzzer.

“These particular seniors that played in this game played outstanding and led by example,” Soscia said. “Yvette, my goalie, started playing goal during the second game of April vacation. She stepped up to the plate and played outstanding today. Tarah, Haley (Nardolillo) and Jess (Storti) all played well tonight. They did the little things, but we couldn’t capitalize.”

The Falcons concluded the season with a record of 6-7 – good for second in Division-II-North. West dropped down to Division II this season after registering just a 3-10 record in Division I in 2014.

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