Masters No Match for Girls’ Soccer Squad [Video]

The Narragansett High School girls’ soccer team scored in the fourth minute and never looked back in a 10-0 victory on Monday afternoon against the Masters Regional Academy of Smithfield.

Freshman Chelsea Sahagian did the honors on the first goal, putting one in 3:28 into the first half. It turned out to be the only goal the Mariners (7-1, 6-0 Division III) would need, as goalies Liz Castro and Ceili O’Connell combined for a shutout in goal against the Warriors (2-3, 2-3 Division III).

At the 12 and 14-minute marks, Narragansett scored goals on shots by senior Emily Wright and junior Dolci Wagner. Sahagian added another goal in the 15^th minute, and senior Jackie Iannucci had two assists.

Narragansett head coach Kathryn Mahoney subbed liberally after the first four goals, despite there being 65 minutes left.

Sahagian played defense, Castro went in as a forward, and Wright and Iannucci had the team focus on passing the final 20 minutes instead of actively trying to score.

Castro said that although she’s the starting goalkeeper for varsity, she’s actually more used to playing in the field in town leagues.

“I enjoy playing in the field,” she said. “It’s cool being able to talk to my teammates.”

With the lopsided nature of many Division III games, Castro admitted that playing forward let her mind stay in the game a bit more.

“It’s definitely tough playing goalie, because your mind kind of checks out,” she said. “When we play a game like this, I really have to focus more.”

Also scoring goals for the Mariners were senior Hailey Kisseberth, sophomore Grace Castro, sophomore Cat Tierney, junior Chandler Lemay and senior Holly McConnell. Wright, freshman Chrissy Tucker, junior Abby Soscia and freshman Sarah Lubic had assists.

Competitive Balance Issues Persist in Division III

Like most of their previous games this year, Monday’s affair had a lopsided result. However, the Mariners are stuck in an odd middle ground.

Despite winning the Division III championship last year and only losing a few players to graduation, the Mariners’ roster is still small.

Varsity only has 20 players, meaning Mahoney can’t sub out every starter regardless of how large the lead gets. Narragansett also has trouble fielding a junior varsity team – Only 14 of its players are eligible, meaning varsity starters are sometimes forced to play defense on junior varsity in order to play a game at all.

As a result, Narragansett is properly matched when it comes to team size with a program like Masters, a seventh thru 12^th private school.

This is the fourth year in the RIIL for the Warriors, who went a combined 9-31-4 in their first three years in Division III play. Masters only plays six RIIL sports – boys’ and girls’ soccer and basketball, baseball and softball.

However, the big disparity comes in terms of player skill, where the Mariners have had especially strong and experienced squads this year and last.

Narragansett is averaging more than six goals per game. This is without junior Maggie Salomone, a starting forward from last year’s team who is injured this year, and junior Carla Porras, a dynamic forward and another starter from last year who decided not to play this year.

With such a small squad, there is always a risk of yearly turnover leading to a shift from powerhouse to also-ran.

The girls’ middle school team is struggling this year, and the Mariners will graduate three senior starters. Three other starters are juniors, so each of the next two seasons will feature transitions for Narragansett.

In an attempt to play her starters for an entire game, Mahoney said she was contacting some area teams in higher divisions – North Kingstown, South Kingstown and others – for a scrimmage or practice session. In past years, the Mariners played in the Chariho Invitational, which featured Division II Chariho and Westerly, but the event is not being held this year.

Up Next

The Mariners play 4 p.m. Friday at Central (0-6-1, 0-6-1 Division III). Narragansett’s next home game is at 5 p.m. on Oct. 5, when the Mariners host Central Falls (0-2-1, 0-2-1 Division III). Their next game against a team with a winning record is at 4 p.m. on Oct. 14, when the Mariners host Middletown (5-0, 5-0 Division III) in a rematch of last year’s Division III final.