EPHS lacrosse teams struggle out of the gate in 2019

Boys pick up first win, girls still in search of initial victory

By Mike Rego
Posted 4/26/19

EAST PROVIDENCE — The East Providence High School lacrosse teams were off to a slow starts to their respective Division III regular seasons at the start of the new week as each settled into …

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EPHS lacrosse teams struggle out of the gate in 2019

Boys pick up first win, girls still in search of initial victory

Posted

EAST PROVIDENCE — The East Providence High School lacrosse teams were off to slow starts to their respective Division III regular seasons at the beginning of the new week as each settled into their 2019 campaigns.

The boys went winless in their first six games before recording a win in a game played April 24, while the girls were kept without a victory during their initial five attempts.

Girls’ preview

The EPHS girls closed last week with a 0-5 record. The Townies finished with records of 0-13 and 2-11 in Division II the previous two years. Under the most recent Rhode Island Interscholastic League realignment of girls’ lacrosse, East Providence dropped down a group to D-III for this spring and next.

Among their results to date, the girls recently fell to visiting Providence Country Day, 11-6. Ella McCusker scored five of the PCD goals, helping her team level its record at 2-2. Kylee Hicks scored twice for the Knights while Rose DiSanto had two assists and keeper Alison Rivard made 15 saves.

Alyssa Dias had two of the EPHS goals. Ellen Phillips, Lily Palumbo, Olivia Williams and Katie Costa accounted for the other tallies. Alexis Rosa was credited with 18 saves. 

Dias, a sophomore, and Williams, a freshman, were the team leaders in goals scored as of the PCD contest with five apiece. Phillips, a senior, had scored four times. Senior co-captains Lily Palumbo and Kylie Bahry each had found the net three times.

Freshman Hayley Lonergan along with sophomore Amy Tewksbury joins the aforementioned players in the EPHS midfield and attack group. Three more seniors — co-captain Taylor Heck, Jaime Sousa and Christiana Rebollo — compose the Townies’ defensive core with freshman Brianna Lonergan. Two sophomores, Rosa and Mary Ellen Pinson, have to date split goaltending duties. Among the top reserve field players are sophomore midlefielder Emily Gorski and junior attack Katie Costa.

“We have great senior leadership. The whole team has a great attitude,” said head coach Stacie Pizzi. “They have great spirit. Even though we don’t have any wins yet, they never give up.”

The Townies were expected to see a few more positive signs to this point in the spring after being realigned, though they continue to hold out hope as a team of possibly reaching the postseason at the end of the year. If not, the focus will turn to more realistic aims.

“We always strive to make the playoffs, especially after being moved down,” Pizzi added. “I just hope we get a couple of wins under our belts. But we’ve had some good things happen so far. We have girls who scored their first ever goals, defenders who have scored goals. If we don’t make the playoffs we’ll focus on personal goals, improving our skills, the small things.”

Boys’ preview

The EPHS boys broke through into the win column late last week with a 10-8 victory over then fellow winless side Johnston. The Townies entered the new week with a 1-6 record in the league.

After going 3-10, 1-13 the last two years, respectively, the locals were kept in the D-III under the most recent RIIL realignment plan. E.P. will remain in D-III for the this season and next at least.

It wasn’t only a struggle for the EPHS boys’ team to record a win in the early going. The Townies found it difficult to score goals. Through their first four games, they only scored four times with tallies from junior attack Kaleb Almeida, junior “middie” (midfielder) Owen Charron, senior co-captain and multi-position player Noah Kollett and junior middie Cole LaValley. Senior co-captain and member of the attack John Voll had also tallied an assist.

The other senior on the roster expected to contribute is defenseman Jacob Belanger. Middie Jeff Clark and defenseman Ricky Maciel are the juniors in the mix. Sophomores of note are defensemen Sean Baird, George Benzinger, Jamel Lust and Josh O’Leary along with attack Griffin Poland and middies Jiovani Lima and Mattheus Ferreira. Freshmen expected to see action are middies Alex Crowley and Denzy Sauco, attack Riley Feeney and defender Kael Conaty.

Junior Kyle Xavier saw the bulk of the time early in net for the Townies. Freshman Mason Fox has seen increased action of late.

The goals tally began to pick up the last couple of outings, leading to the 10 the Townies potted in their win over the Panthers. Charron led the offensive output with a hat-trick. LaValley and Voll each netted a pair while Kollett, Clark and Maciel added the others. Fox earned the win in net, making eight saves.

“I like their commitment to the game. We’ve had virtually no absences. They keep coming to practice striving to get better every day,” said head coach Angelo Pizzi.

Of what he will consider a successful spring for EPHS boys’ lacrosse, Pizzi added, “That we are better by the end of the season than when we began, that their skills get better and their acumen and understanding of the game improves by the end of the year.”

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MIKE REGO

Mike Rego has worked at East Bay Newspapers since 2001, helping the company launch The Westport Shorelines. He soon after became a Sports Editor, spending the next 10-plus years in that role before taking over as editor of The East Providence Post in February of 2012. To contact Mike about The Post or to submit information, suggest story ideas or photo opportunities, etc. in East Providence, email mrego@eastbaymediagroup.com.