Panthers shut out ’Bolts in quarterfinal win

Matt Metcalf
Posted 11/5/15

The Johnston girls’ soccer team kicked off what it hoped would be a deep playoff run with a Division III quarterfinal matchup against Cranston East on Saturday afternoon.

The second-seeded …

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Panthers shut out ’Bolts in quarterfinal win

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The Johnston girls’ soccer team kicked off what it hoped would be a deep playoff run with a Division III quarterfinal matchup against Cranston East on Saturday afternoon.

The second-seeded Panthers proved to be too strong for the No. 10 ’Bolts, rolling into the semifinals with a convincing, 5-0 win.

It didn’t take long for Johnston to take a lead that it wouldn’t relinquish.

In the sixth minute, Panthers’ freshman Bianca Robbins, who is second in the state in goals with 34, bent a shot from the right side of the box over East keeper Bryanna Cardona to make it 1-0.

Just a minute later, Robbins put away a rebound on the doorstep off of a shot from Danielle DeAngelis to up Johnston’s lead to 2-0.

For the remainder of the half, though, East was able to keep Johnston’s high-powered offense in check.

East’s best offensive chance of the first half came in the eighth minute when Cheyenne Tillison took a free kick from outside the box. The right-footed shot was labeled for underneath the crossbar, but Johnston keeper Jordan McHale was able to leap and get a hand on the shot, sending it over the goal for a corner.

But after nothing materialized from the corner kick, Johnston continued to apply the pressure.

In the 25th minute, Lindsey Frein made a cross into the box, where Gabriella Scarcella volleyed a shot off the right post.

Johnston would find the back of the net soon after, as Scarcella put a through ball in to Robbins, who got behind the ’Bolts’ back line and placed a shot into the lower left corner to give the Panthers a 3-0 lead at the half.

Johnston continued to dominate time of possession after the break as well.

“That’s the gameplan,” Johnston head coach Tim Sprouls said of playing a possession game. “It’s tough to be discipline because they’re excited and want to get the ball down the field quickly, but they do a good job with possession and passing.”

Nine minutes into the second half, Johnston made it 4-0 when Robbins made a nice cross to Scarcella, who one-touched a shot past Cardona to the back of the net.

The chemistry on the field between Robbins and Scarcella was evident in Saturday’s victory.

“They’re both very skilled,” Sprouls said. “They’ve played together in youth leagues, and it shows. Gabby has terrific energy and really drives the team. To me, she’s our Most Valuable Player, she’s our leader on the field.”

Brenna Rojek tried to help East cut into its deficit with a shot in the 53rd minute that nearly cleared the outstretched arms of McHale. However, Johnston’s senior keeper was able to tip the shot off the crossbar before gathering the ball and punting it forward to end the threat.

While East was having trouble generating chances, Johnston certainly was not.

Robbins got in all alone against Cardona in the 60th minute and took a shot that looked like her fourth goal of the afternoon, but Cardona came up big on the point-blank chance.

Johnston’s freshman striker would find the back of the goal for a fourth time eight minutes later, though, when she finished off a cross from Natalie DeAngelis to increase the Panthers’ lead to 5-0.

“This was just a great team win,” Sprouls said.

The Panthers would move on to play No. 3 Middletown in the semifinals on Tuesday night at East Greenwich High School. Unfortunately, they would fall to the Islanders by a final score of 2-0 behind a pair of goals from Riley Turcotte.

Middletown will play top-seeded West Warwick for the D-III title on Sunday at 4 p.m. at Rhode Island College.

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