SPORTS

Wizards upset Bolts

Posted 9/22/21

By ALEX SPONSELLER Despite holding two different leads, the Cranston East boys soccer team could not hold off host West Warwick and fell 3-2 last week. The Bolts entered the game on a 5-0 tear to start the season but struggled to contain the Wizard

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SPORTS

Wizards upset Bolts

Posted

By ALEX SPONSELLER Despite holding two different leads, the Cranston East boys soccer team could not hold off host West Warwick and fell 3-2 last week.

The Bolts entered the game on a 5-0 tear to start the season but struggled to contain the Wizard offense at times in the contest, especially in the second half when West Warwick scored two late goals to secure the win.

Trailing 2-1 midway through the second half, the Wizards would get back to back goals from Cristian Bernardo and Nick Pedus down the stretch to pull off the upset. East took a 2-1 lead early in the second on a goal by Nathan Carrillo, and entered halftime tied 1-1 thanks to a goal by leading scorer Carlos Andrade.

“I thought that West Warwick played with a lot of heart and were very inspired. They had a couple of quick kids, we made a couple of defensive mistakes and they made us pay for it,” said East coach Richard Grenier, who felt that a missed scoring opportunity in the second half turned the tide in West Warwick’s favor. “I thought the turning point in the game was when we had the ball in the box and Carlos had the shot but their goalie made a tremendous save. Had that gone in, we would’ve been up 3-1 and the game would’ve been over. They were able to recover from that and scored their next goal a few minutes later.”

Despite the loss, the Bolts are still atop the Division II standings and are in good position to secure a playoff spot. Grenier hopes to see the kids play with more composure moving forward as they prepare to enter the meat of their regular season schedule.

“We had our chances, but we just couldn’t put the ball across the line. It’s a shame because we have a very good team. West Warwick played hard and they deserved to win the game, but we are supposed to be the veteran team and we didn’t show poise in the last 10 minutes of the game,” Grenier said. “They forced us into a long ball style and that is not good for us. It was a good win for them, a bad loss for us. But that is why you play 15 league games. They forced us to play a game that we were not comfortable with, and that’s it.”

The Bolts were back in action against Burrillville on Tuesday afternoon, but the results were not available at press time.

Bolts, soccer, sports

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