Overtime is Tiger time

Tigers beat Toll Gate 3-2 in overtime to win the D-III championship

Photos and story by Richard W Dionne Jr
Posted 11/6/18

Tiverton senior midfielder Sascha Duggan scored with 29 seconds left in overtime to give the Tigers a 3-2 Division III championship victory over Toll Gate at Bryant University on Sunday evening. …

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Overtime is Tiger time

Tigers beat Toll Gate 3-2 in overtime to win the D-III championship

Posted

Tiverton senior midfielder Sascha Duggan scored with 29 seconds left in overtime to give the Tigers a 3-2 Division III championship victory over Toll Gate at Bryant University on Sunday evening.

“To win the championship in my second season as a coach is a dream come true,” said Head Coach Lauren Tavares.

“I’m just so proud. I’m on cloud nine. I can’t wait to wake up and say that we are state champions,” she said.

For the Tigers it was their second straight overtime victory —they beat Pilgrim 1-0 in double overtime.

“Overtime is apparently our time to shine,” said coach Tavares.

“Off the record, I said Holy Bleep! I can’t believe that we scored. Again. In overtime. Again,” she said.

Duggan scored the championship-winning goal after passing in the ball during a penalty corner to senior forward Arianna Helger who stood at the top of the circle on the left side of the goal. Duggan immediately planted herself on the left goalpost.

“We’ve been working on posts forever,” said senior defender Amelia Peterson. “Our main focus has been to get on the post for the past week. To have her there and score was a big deal. She was at the right place at the right time.”

Helger attempted to cross the ball, but a Toll Gate defender got a piece of it.

No worry — junior midfielder Margeaux Souza was there to finish the cross to the front of the net.

Sophomore forward Angelin Santerre collected the ball and put a shot on goal, but Toll Gate goalkeeper Emma Newell made the save.

Hawking on the left post, Duggan saw the ball squeak past Newell and jammed the ball into the net for the 3-2 win.

“It was unreal,” said Souza. “I thought it was fake at first. I couldn’t believe my eyes. It didn’t even hit me for like a second that we were state champs.”

The championship is the Tigers first since 2001. Coach Tavares played for the Tigers in 2006 and 2007 when they went to the finals twice in a row and loss to Barrington and then North Kingstown.

“This is like nostalgia coming back here,” said coach Tavares. “Being on the coaching end and keeping them grounded and to remind them that’s it’s just a game.”

They played their hearts out this entire season,” she said. “I’m so proud of them. I think my girls were amazing. I still can’t believe it.”

The Tigers scored first

Tigers senior mid-defender Amelia Peterson blasted a shot from the top of the circle and beat Newell to score Tiverton’s first goal with 24:09 left to play in the first half. The goal came after Duggan passed the ball in after a penalty corner.

Souza, blanketed by a Toll Gate defender, collected the ball and slid a pass over to Peterson and she wristed the ball past Newell into the net to give the Tigers a 1-0 lead.

“She’s my MVP,” said coach Tavares. “She’s the epitome of the ‘hardworking, does not give up’ player.”

Falling down and climbing back

Toll Gate tied the score 1-1 minutes later on a goal by Grace Barta, with 19:23 left in the first half.

Tigers junior goalkeeper Emily Caraveo (10 saves) fell as she kicked out a save. Tigers junior defender Cherilyn DeFreitas tried to blast the ball out of the circle, but Barta blocked it and blasted the ball back on net before Caraveo could recover.

The Tigers fell behind in the second half, with 16:26 to play.

After a Tiverton time out, Isabella Ventre whacked home a rebound to give Toll Gate a 2-1 lead.

“Honestly, I was feeling a little discouraged,” said Duggan. “But never did it cross my mind that we were going to lose.”

“We came into this knowing it was going to be a tough game,” Duggan said.

“Lets try our best. There’s nothing to lose and everything to win. We were ready to have fun and work hard and that paid off today.”

Another big goal by Souza

It was junior Margeaux Souza who scored the Tigers’ only goal to win their semifinals game in double overtime.

With time ticking down to 9 minutes, the Tigers were awarded a penalty corner. Duggan passed the ball in to junior Jillian DaSilva at the top of the circle.

DaSilva immediately passed it over to Peterson who hacked the ball into the middle of the circle.

Junior forward Emma Franklin took a swing at it and missed, but Souza, drifting up to forward from her midfielder position, was there and knocked it by Newell and a defender to even the score at 2-2 with 8:24 to play.

“It was insane,” said Souza. “Everyone was getting frustrated. I was feeling so much pressure, because I knew that we had to tie the game.”

“She crept up. She is so ball hungry and wants to win so badly that she tends to forget her position and just kind of drift,” said coach Tavares. “She has that intensity, that ‘get me the ball, so I can get it on goal.’”

“I knew that when the ball was pushed to me, I had to one time it and hit it into the goal. I just executed it,” Souza said.

A repeat?

The Tigers will graduate four seniors in the spring, but will have nine juniors turn seniors for next season.

“I want state champs again next year, said Souza. “This is so amazing.”

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