The Bishop Hendricken soccer team was ousted from the Division I Semifinals by North Kingstown for the second straight season, as the Skippers used a first-half goal to cling on to the 1-0 victory.

The second-seeded Hawks controlled the pace for much of the first half and even for significant portions of the second. Hendricken came up with a handful of scoring opportunities down the stretch, including four corner kicks, but the Skipper defense would hold up.

Hendricken would also tally a shot on net early in the second period which its sideline felt crossed the line, but after a referee discussion, the officials held the no-goal call.

It was the first and only time in 2023 that Hendricken was shut out, and coach Mickey Rooney was disappointed considering the Hawks’ periodic dominance in the contest.

“This is the first game that we didn’t score a goal. I thought the first half we completely dominated, but the goal came against the run of play, and that happens. The second half, they came at us and we lost our focus. Overall, it’s a cruel sport. There are statistics, but the only one that really counts is how many goals go in,” said Rooney.

The two teams squared off early in the regular season and fought to a 3-3 tie. The Hawks and Skippers appeared to be on a collision course throughout he regular season as well, as the two teams were in a dogfight for playoff seeding.

The Hawks will now flip the page toward 2024 and will have some key returners including leading scorer Marcello Perretta. Hendricken will be graduating five seniors, with the group being headlined by captain Xavier Wilkens, who has developed into one of the state’s elite overall players.

Rooney was proud of the senior class and its impact on turning the program back into an elite unit the past two seasons, and is confident that there will not be much of a drop off in next year’s roster.

“It was disappointing for them. It’s a real good bunch of lads that we had. We got great leadership from them and they’re going to be missed,” said Rooney. “We have a young group coming back, so we’ll try to find the right combination that will work for us next year.”

The No. 3 Skippers took on top-seeded La Salle in the state title game with the Rams coming out on top with the 1-0 victory. The Hawks finished the season with a 12-2-2 overall record.