It was a terrific night of results for the Bristol Warren Regional School District soccer programs as the Kickemuit Middle School girls' team repeated as state champions while both the Mt. Hope High School girls' and boys' clubs won quarterfinal round playoff games Thursday, Oct. 29.

At Cranston Stadium, KMS was the first of the outfits to claim victory, the second-seeded locals defeating top-seeded Burrillville, 2-0.

A few minutes later, the sixth-seeded MHHS girls' squad edged third-seeded Lincoln on penalty kicks, 5-4, in a Division I state championship tourney contest that the Huskies and host Lions finished 80 minutes of regulation and 10 minutes of overtime level at 3-3.

And to cap the night, the fourth-seeded MHHS boys' team opened its 2026 Division II championship tourney with a 1-0 victory over visiting and fifth-seeded Coventry at Roger Williams University.

KMS notes
The youngest group of Huskies and fellow unbeaten Broncos played a relatively even contest for the better part of 45 minutes before the locals exerted their will and talent en route to winning consecutive titles.

KMS head coach Thea Brum was not only effusive in her praise of the Huskies, but also for the Broncos as well.

"These girls are honestly unbelievable and we are so beyond proud of them. We didn’t make a single substitution because each and every girl out there knew what they needed to do for 60 minutes and gave everything and more. That was definitely the most competition we have had in the past couple of years and the girls absolutely rose to the occasion."

Gianna Faria finally broke the deadlock for KMS, scoring the game's first goal in the 47th of 60 minutes.

The sequence actually began with a Burrillville throw-in. The Huskies' Mya Salvatore stepped up to keep the ball in play, sending it forward where Ellie Williford got a touch and sent a pass to Faria, who did the rest. Faria got past a couple of Broncos' defenders with some nice, two-touch dribbling then beat the Burrillville keeper for the score.

Of Faria's goal, Brum said, "Gianna is known for feeding great balls to our forwards and can also rip a shot from anywhere, the past couple games we told her her goal would come when needed and that’s exactly what happened today. She is an unbelievable player who brings so much to this team and really helps pull everyone together."

Mylah Borges later just about iced the victory for the locals, adding what proved the insurance tally in the 54th minute.

The goal came off some KMS pressure, which led to a corner. Salvatore took the kick, delivering it to the back post where Borges got just enough of a header on the ball to send it into the turf then bounding over the Broncos' goalie.

(Assistant) Coach Krista (Varrichone) and I always say that set pieces win and lose games," Brum said of Borges scoring sequence. "Emma Overy and Mya Salvatore consistently deliver absolutely beautiful corner kicks. We always tell the girls we need to capitalize on those and we did exactly that. Mylah put her head on a perfect corner from Mya and put it in the back of the net, such a beautiful play."

The Huskies not only claimed back-to-back state championships, they did so by going undefeated once again. The locals were 15-0 in their 2025 title run. This fall, they finished 14-0. KMS also completely shut out their 2026 playoff opposition, outscoring their four postseason foes, 18-0.

"These girls are truly next level and we are so lucky to coach them," Brum added. "We couldn’t be any prouder. Most importantly we are so happy to be a part of creating these core memories for such an amazing group of girls. These are the moments they will truly remember for the rest of their lives and being able to share them with them is something we will always cherish. We are so excited to see what next year brings."

MHHS girls' notes
As for the Mt. Hope girls' varsity squad, the Huskies avenged an earlier 4-2 home loss to Lincoln, by turning the tables on the Lions in the playoffs.

The locals never trailed during regulation. Mt. Hope went out in front 1-0 off a sweet play started with a throw Aubrey Cummings by in the fourth minute.

The ball caromed off a Lincoln player high to the Huskies' Brooke Avila, who drove a header deep into the Lions' end where Emma Goglia outraced two defenders then beat the keeper with a ripping shot from about 15 yards out.

Lincoln, though, notched the leveler in the eighth minute, a relatively benign shot from the right side finding the far corner of the net.

Again, Mt. Hope went back out in front in the 18th minute after some nifty passing between Goglia and Sara Nencka to set up Kendra Ascoli for a shot from the right wing. The Lincoln goalie made the save on Ascoli's heavy boot, but Nencka was there to poke home the uncontrolled rebound.

Out of halftime, in the 62nd minute, Nencka added her second of the night to put the Huskies up 3-1. This time, Ascoli sent a curling cross also from the right side to her mate, who was at the back post and easily touched it into the open net for the goal.

The Lions, however, wouldn't go quietly. Another relatively innocent shot found the back of the net in the 66th minute to trim the hosts' deficit to one. A long kick from about 40 yards out bounced high off the artificial surface and over the outstretched hands of Mt. Hope keeper Moira Ware.

Lincoln continued to press forward when the opportunity arose in an attempt to find the tying tally. The Lions almost did so twice in the final 10 minutes. The first was a clear miss of a shot off a cross at the open far post. The second was a tremendous defensive play by Mt. Hope's Julia Fox, who deftly cleared the ball off the line defending a Lincoln corner.

A third time did prove to be the charm for the hosts, who finally scored the equalizer in the 75th minute. Ware made the initial save of a shot, but couldn't contain the rebound, which was banged home to make it 3-3.

The 10 minutes of overtime —  two five-minute periods — went off without either side having any true scoring chances until the last 10 seconds when Ware's hesitation on another long through-ball almost cost her. Centerback Elise Lanoie, however, saved the game, literally, for the Huskies as she, too, booted the ball off the line as extra time ticked to a close.

Each of the first four penalty-takers for both teams calmly finished off their chances; in order for the Huskies Emma Goglia, Maya Goglia, Lanoie and Cummings.

Nencka took the first of the fifth-round spot kicks, likewise effortlessly punching a shot into the upper right 90. Her Lincoln counterpart, in turn, didn't get off the best of shots, making Ware move slightly to her right to make a diving save and sending the Huskies into the semifinals.

"The girls were mentally locked in for the entirety of the game. They played for each other," said MHHS head coach Kerri Giarrusso.  "Lincoln is a great team, but so are we. I told the girls go earn your spot in the semis, and they did just that. PKs, all five made and Moira needed to save one. And she did on the last shot.

"All I can say is I am so proud of this team, but our job isn't done yet. Now we have to go earn our spot in the finals."

Mt. Hope's opponent in the final four is second-seeded Cumberland. The Clippers defeated seventh-seeded Chariho, 2-1, in their quarter. The Huskies lost to Cumberland, 2-0, in their only regular season meeting back on October 6. The semifinal encounter is set for Tuesday night, Nov. 3, at Rhode Island College with a 7:30 p.m. kickoff.

MHHS boys' notes
The Mt. Hope boys' club earned its spot in the D-II semis with the one-goal victory over the Knotty Oakers, courtesy of Colin Kiselka's tally in the second half in the 57th minute.

Gavin Avila assisted on the goal. Cole Tavares made five saves to post the clean-sheet in the MHHS net.

"The boys played a great game, stuck to the plan and played hard through the entire game," said MHHS head coach Tucker Shepard. "Everyone did their job and it was a full team win."

The Huskies advanced to their final four game, which will be played Thursday night, Nov. 5, at Johnston High School. Mt. Hope awaits the winner between top-seeded Smithfield and eighth-seeded Central Falls to find out whom it will face in the 5:30 start.

The Huskies played both teams to draws during the regular season, 0-0 with CF on October 9 and 1-1 with the first-place Sentinels on October 15.