The 2026 season came to a close for the Mt. Hope High School girls' soccer club with a 6-0 shutout loss to Cumberland in a Division I state championship tournament semifinal round contest played Tuesday night, Nov. 3, at Rhode Island College's Alumni Field.

The second-seeded Clippers were hard off the boil from the outset, pressing the sixth-seeded Huskies throughout the first half although they only led 1-0 at the break. Cumberland did his a cross bar before breaking the deadlock in the 17th minute.

The Clippers began to break open the game almost immediately out of intermission, scoring on a curling shot from the left wing in the 42nd minute and the one-sided result ensued.

"I think we can all agree that it wasn't our night," said MHHS head coach Kerri Giarrusso of the semifinal setback. "Tough one to swallow. Every single player on the varsity roster played a huge part at some point throughout the season to get us to the D-I final four.

"I told the girls to keep their heads held high and be proud of what they accomplished as a team. Cumberland is a very good team and the final game vs. LaSalle is definitely going to be a good one."

The Clippers (15-1-2) advanced to the 2026 state title game opposite the aforementioned top-seeded Rams Saturday, Nov. 7, back at RIC. Kickoff is at noon. LaSalle (13-1-3) similarly claimed a decisive semifinal win Tuesday, a 4-0 victory over fourth-seeded North Kingstown. For the Huskies, they finished the fall with an 8-7-4 overall record.

About the matchup and if the two best sides in the league did, in fact, reach the final, Giarrusso said, "Two of the best teams going head to head for the state title. They both only lost once during the regular season and going on last night scores I would say yes."