The Bristol and Cranston U12 girls’ soccer teams faced off last month at the Bristol Town Beach and Sports Complex in a battle to win the Rhode Island U12 Gold State Title. Going into the game, …
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The Bristol and Cranston U12 girls’ soccer teams faced off last month at the Bristol Town Beach and Sports Complex in a battle to win the Rhode Island U12 Gold State Title. Going into the game, the two teams were close in the standings, with Cranston finishing first in the regular season and Bristol a close second.
The home team took a quick lead at the beginning of the game, with Thea Jackson scoring a goal by going down the left side of the Cranston defense after gaining possession at midfield. Cranston turned things around quickly, scoring three goals in 15 minutes.
After halftime, Bristol dominated. Jackson sped by two defenders then got taken down in the box, resulting in a penalty kick for Bristol. The Bristol “go-to” kicker, Mia Hanson, made the shot, cutting the team’s deficit to one.
Not more than 10 minutes later, Jackson struck again to even the score at 3-3.
Then Sarah Nencka scored to give Bristol a lead of 4-3 with 10 minutes left in the game. But Cranston managed to tie the score before the final whistle, ultimately sending the match into a penalty kick shootout.
After both teams missed their opening penalty kicks, Thea Jackson, Sarah Nencka, and Sophia Borges all made their shots for Bristol, while Cranston did the same. Bristol goalkeeper Mackenzie Lema then seized the moment by deflecting a high shot off the crossbar. She then stepped out of the net to take her team’s final shot. She beat the Cranston keeper, and Bristol won the U12 Gold state title.