BGYSA
U14 Girls are 2007 Superliga RI State Champions
On Sunday June 10th, 2007 the BGYSA U14 Girls team defeated Smithfield in the Superliga RI Championship match by a score of 2-1. The team, coached by Don Farias and Chris Lupini, entered the Championship round with a top-place finish in their bracket with a 6-1-1 record. The BG girls had previously lost to and tied Smithfield 2-0 and 2-2 during the regular season, setting the stage for a victory and a title. The team was excited at finally leaving the pitch victorious over their Smithfield rivals.
The game got off to an intense start early on when Grace Decost, the team’s top goalkeeper, had to leave the net after a collision with a Smithfield striker at the top of the 18. Angelina Lupini filled in nicely, adding 8 saves to Grace’s 3, with both keepers holding Smithfield scoreless until halftime.
As the second half progressed, both BG and Smithfield played tight defense and defended the net tenaciously. Liz Coburn took over as the BG keeper and turned away 6 Smithfield strikes before they finally put one in on a breakaway for the game’s first goal. Trailing 1-0, the BG girls rallied and moved the ball well but could not find the corner of the net. Tiffany Alves finally drove the ball toward the 18 past 2 defenders before dishing the ball off to Angelina Lupini who scored the tying goal off her left foot.
The BG defense locked down in hopes of shutting Smithfield down and at least forcing overtime. The defensive unit consisted of anchor sweepers Janessa Choquette and Laurissa Galipeau, stoppers Sarah Barry and Jess Brown, and wings Kate Barber, Kati Michalik, and Katherine Zuba. The defense shut down Smithfield’s power forwards with support in the middle from defensive-minded halfbacks like Angelica Paquette, Shannon Murphy and Sarah Barry, who kept the ball up in the offensive zone. The offensive team was made up of Tiff Alves, Ellie Farias, Laurissa Galipeau, Ally Gloria, Megan Hurst, Angelina Lupini, Shannon Murphy & Angelica Paquette. The two forwards and top three halfbacks drove the ball into range well, but could not get the go-ahead score. That is, until Laurissa Galipeau won the ball in the middle of the pitch, drove through the Smithfield defense and scored from the 18 with a rocket shot. This put BG up 2-1 with 5 minutes to play. The girls held Smithfield the rest of the way to take the title.
Congratulations BG Girls! Also, congratulations to the Smithfield finalists who played tough and with great sportsmanship all season long.
The U14 Girls Classic Blue Division Superliga Champions are:
| Tiffany Alves |
Ally Gloria |
| Kate Barber | Megan Hurst |
| Sarah Barry | Angelina Lupini |
| Jess Brown | Kati Michalik |
| Janessa Choquette | Jess Michalik (injured reserve) |
| Liz Coburn | Shannon Murphy |
| Grace Decost |
Shaina Nero (injured reserve) |
| Ellie Farias |
Angelica Paquette |
| Laurissa Galipeau
|
Katherine Zuba |
