Vets transfers help Pats shut out Titans

By Jacob Marrocco
Posted 9/15/16

Pilgrim senior star Paula Cavanagh was her usual self on Tuesday afternoon, but there were some familiar faces who plagued Toll Gate field hockey head coach Jim Areson the most. Warwick Vets transfers and seniors

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Vets transfers help Pats shut out Titans

Posted

Pilgrim senior star Paula Cavanagh was her usual self on Tuesday afternoon, but there were some familiar faces who plagued Toll Gate field hockey head coach Jim Areson the most.

Warwick Vets transfers and seniors Brittney Boyd and Kayla Morin each scored once in Pilgrim’s 3-0 victory over the Titans at home. The two previously played under Areson when he coached the ’Canes up until the school’s closing this year.

“It’s funny, when they’re seniors they really start to get it,” Areson said of his former players. “Brittney, Brianna [Boyd], Kayla and Morgan [Oliver], they're just starting to get it. It’s good, they played hard. Life’s about adventures. They’re starting a new adventure, and I’m starting a new adventure.”

While the two sides played to a scoreless tie for most of the first half, Pilgrim’s experience would eventually give it the edge. The Pats struck first when Cavanagh fed a cross to an unmarked Brittney Boyd, who easily found the back of the goal. Cavanagh was involved in all three goals on the day.

“The transition’s been good,” Pilgrim head coach Stephanie Shields said. “It’s definitely been a challenge to bring girls that have been playing under one system basically, but Jim’s a great coach. They’ve got the basics down, the skills, so it’s just kind of fitting them in to the system we’re playing and helping them mesh with our girls as well.”

Brittney Boyd herself had a chance to add on when she found Morin on a similar cross, but the pass was too strong and trickled by her stick.

The Pats (2-2) went into the break ahead by just a goal, but it wouldn’t stay that way for long after the intermission.

Less than a minute into the second half, Cavanagh collected a tally of her own as she beat goalkeeper Mary Greenwell for some insurance.

“She definitely helps move the ball,” Shields said of Cavanagh. “I think everyone realizes that, but I think everyone else, too, has stepped up to put themselves in a good position to be a support for Paula, be in the right position to receive the ball and to pass her the ball.”

Pilgrim continued to pepper Greenwell with shots from that point. Karly Evans and Hope Frye each had some opportunities go wide, and the Pats as a whole had nine corner hits to Toll Gate’s one.

Greenwell would play formidably in net for the Titans, including a diving save towards the end of the game that would keep it 2-0.

“That’s a beautiful save,” Areson said.

Again, though, Pilgrim proved to be resilient. A scrum in front of the net during the last few minutes produced another goal after Morin collected a ricochet and put it past Greenwell.

The Titans (0-4) have yet to score on the young season, but their youthful roster is coming together. There are only three seniors and four juniors on the squad, with the rest being first- or second-year players.

“It’s a whole new experience for them, too,” Areson said. “I have to get used to them, they have to get used to me, but they are very coachable. They work hard. They play hard. Things just have to play a little quicker.”

Toll Gate will look to respond today on the road against Rocky Hill (1-3) at 3:15 p.m. before traveling to winless Woonsocket (0-4) on Monday.

The Pats picked up a pivotal win before a grueling stretch of four games in seven days. They travel to Cranston East on Friday and Lincoln School, which dropped from Division I, on Monday. Pilgrim returns home for Classical on Wednesday before a trip to Burrillville on Friday, Sept. 23.

“This is a good win, it puts us back to .500 and it’s a good place for us to be going into the big week,” Shields said.

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