Portsmouth wins Division I girls' soccer title in a shootout

PROVIDENCE — A tight, close and competitive Division I girls’ soccer championship game between Portsmouth and LaSalle came down to a shootout Sunday afternoon, Nov. 13, with the penalty kick of the Patriots' Abigail Kaull proving to be the winner in the Patriots’ 2-1 win at Rhode Island College.

Portsmouth won the shootout, 5-3, giving the locals their third D-I state title in school history and second in the last three years.

In the first half, the Patriots controlled much of the play when their own Marykate McGuire made a nice move on the Rams’ goalie to put Portsmouth up 1-0 at the half. In the second half, an early goal for LaSalle evened the score at one.

“These girls want to be on the team and they are all in which showed today,” Portsmouth head coach Jim Blaess said.

To begin action, LaSalle took the opening kickoff and shortly after earned a corner kick that was cleared nicely by Portsmouth’s Kaull. Just several minutes later, Portsmouth earned their first offensive possession as Meghan Smith proceeded to have three consecutive throw-ins, but failed to gain any quality scoring chances. In the 14th minute, a free kick for Portsmouth taken by Caelan Corey was nearly headed in by McGuire, but was stopped by the Rams’ goalkeeper.

Just two minutes later, the Patriots earned a free kick from just outside the box which was later put in off of a rebound by Sophia Piffard. However, the goal was wiped away due to an offsides penalty on Portsmouth. As the half reached its halfway mark, LaSalle earned their first quality scoring opportunity as a Ram sprinted into the box uncontested forcing goalie Alexia Amaio to run out of her box and make a save.

Just a couple minutes later, a free kick for LaSalle just outside the box was saved by a diving Amaio as the Rams started to gain momentum. In the 28th minute, a great run through the Patriots’ offensive zone by McGuire forced the LaSalle goalie to making a diving save to her right. Portsmouth’s Jane Kaull proceeded to sprinted across midfield and pass to McGuire near the net who made a move to beat the Rams’ goalie and give her team a 1-0 lead heading into halftime.

To start the second half, the Patriots maintained possession right away as McGuire got another shot on goal that was easily saved. In the 48th minute, as things started to get physical, LaSalle earned a free kick that forced Amaio to make an excellent save. However, this allowed the Rams to have a free kick just seconds later that was headed into the open side of the net to tie the game at one a piece. Portsmouth proceeded to look rattled and struggled to gain momentum over the next few minutes.

McGuire then got the Patriots back on track with a shot on goal. Patriots’ keeper Amaio made another nice save in the 56th minute as she dived to her right to keep the pressing Rams off the board. Just a minute later, a shot by Portsmouth’s Claire Williams was saved by LaSalle as the Patriots started to gain momentum back. With just six minutes remaining in regulation, LaSalle earned a corner kick that sailed out of bounce due to the strong wind with the possibility of overtime becoming more realistic. One last clearing play by Corey and the two teams headed for overtime tied at one.

With two 10 minute overtime periods on tap before a shootout, Portsmouth took the opening kickoff and offensive possession. In the 85th minute, the Patriots earned their best chance on a throw in by Williams that was later turned aside by a Rams’ defender. Besides a few routine saves for each goalie, both teams played it safe as they headed for a second ten minute overtime.

In the second extra period, with the wind at Portsmouth’s back, the Patriots struggled to gain offensive possession. With fatigue wearing down the Patriots, McGuire was able to earn her team one last corner kick in the 97th minute which was quickly cleared out of the zone by LaSalle. Despite some last second chances by Portsmouth, the two teams headed to a shootout that would decide the championship.

With Portsmouth kicking first in a five round shootout, Kyla Shea stepped up first and drilled one inside the left post. LaSalle then answered right away with a shot of their own that snuck in the left post to even the score at one a piece after one round. Meghan Smith stepped up next for the Patriots and drilled one off of the right post that bounced in. Amaio proceeded to make a huge diving stop to keep her team up 2-1 after two rounds. Junior standout McGuire was then stopped, but Amaio later made another save to keep Portsmouth up 2-1 after three rounds.

Sydney Reaper stepped up for the Patriots next and did not waste any time as she scored one easily on the right side. LaSalle, in a must score situation, snuck one under Amaio to cut the Patriots’ lead to 3-2 after four rounds. Abigail Kaull stepped in for Portsmouth in the fifth and final round with a goal winning her team their second championship in just three years. With all eyes peeled, she tapped one in on an outstretched LaSalle goalie as the Patriots began to celebrate.

Portsmouth, seeded fourth in the tournament, only allowed the one championship game goal in their three playoffs outings, including a 5-0 shutout of Lincoln in the quarters and a 2-0 whitewash of top-seeded Cumberland in the semis.

“The defense has been that way all season long,” Coach Blaess said. “Over the past several years we have been in the mix every single year. We have built a culture here for the future.”

The Patriots finished their campaign with a 15-2-2 mark in league games, avenging one of those setbacks Sunday as they suffered 3-0 loss to LaSalle in early September. For the defending champion Rams, their season came to a close with a 14-2-3 overall record in D-I contests.