SPORTS

Falcons ready to contend

Posted 9/1/21

By ALEX SPONSELLER After a tough 2019 season in which it failed to reach the postseason, the Cranston West boys soccer team turned things around in 2020 and reached the quarterfinals after finishing in first place in its division with a 4-1-1 record. "I

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SPORTS

Falcons ready to contend

Posted

By ALEX SPONSELLER After a tough 2019 season in which it failed to reach the postseason, the Cranston West boys soccer team turned things around in 2020 and reached the quarterfinals after finishing in first place in its division with a 4-1-1 record.

“I think that down year was a surprise to a lot of people, there was a lot of talent on that team. It shouldn’t have happened. It was a weird year which sometimes happens in high school sports. Things began clicking last year because everyone was playing that same brand of soccer that we wanted to. Playing on turf also helped, there was a lot of skill on our team but if the field is not doing what you want it to do, it’s hard to play the way you want to,” said West coach Ethan Lincoln.

Luckily for the Falcons, they return much of the same core in 2021 and have a roster that will feature almost entirely upperclassmen. Lincoln and company hope to ride the wave of last year’s strong finish into this fall and take the next step toward being a title contender.

“Hopefully it is a good jumping off point. I told the kids that last year was a COVID year, it was a strange year, so to use it to build toward this year. Just to focus on what we could build this into, and hopefully they will take that momentum from the end of last year,” said Lincoln.

Considering the large number of upperclassmen, the Falcons are well-aware of the potential they have in the next two years, and how important it is to take advantage of this window.

“If we’re going to do it, it’s going to be this year or next year. We have a big group of juniors and seniors, it’s a very talented group. They trust each other, there’s no infighting, they are all friends which I think is big,” said Lincoln.

With this week’s injury fund games approaching, the Falcons will be focused on work ethic and playing as a unit.

“It’s all about the effort and the work that they are willing to put in. There has always been some real technical ability on this team, even going back two years ago when we had a rough year. It’s going to come down to effort level,” Lincoln said. “We never struggled technically or tactically, we just got out worked. We have all the talent in the world, talent at every position, it’s going to come down to how hard we work.”

Falcons, sports, soccer

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