The Black and White

by Ava Holland

On September 27th, the 4-4-0 Patriots took on the 5-0-3 Division II leading Avengers in a quick-paced and very competitive matchup. After losing their preceding two matches to both St. Raphael’s and Smithfield, the Patriots were hoping to bounce back and upset the #1 team.

Although it was a battle to the end, the Patriots ultimately fell short of the win.

As the first half got underway, the Patriots displayed a strong defensive presence as East Greenwich’s offense attempted to connect. As the Avengers invaded their territory, the back line held up well— and with the efforts of players including junior defenders Gabriel Holland and Patrick Rowe, who both made a few big plays to keep the opponents at bay, they were able to prevent scoring opportunities and allow their offense to build.

However, despite the defensive performances and generation of play through the middle from other Patriot standouts (including senior captain Alex Rodrigues and junior David Ferrante), the offense had difficulty capitalizing and it was not long until East Greenwich struck, scoring their first goal in the 22nd minute of play.

As the half went on, the Avengers went on to display more of their offensive talent, scoring 2 additional goals to put them up 3-0.

In the second half, the Patriots returned with force, and put up a few notable scoring opportunities from senior captain Haiden Riess and junior Jacoby Foster.

However, they continued to come up just short of putting points on the board, leaving East Greenwich to take up the bulk of the possession.

From there, the Patriots fought until the end, remaining coordinated as a group and resilient in their defensive efforts even after another EG goal in the 72nd minute.

The final score was 4-0 to the Avengers.

The Patriots will return to the Morry on October 1st at 5pm to take on Coventry High School.