Tiverton Girls' Soccer Defeats Westerly

Reports by Tiverton Girls' Soccer Coach Mike Janick

The Tiverton High School girls' soccer team held off a determined Westerly High School team by a score of 2-1 last night in the Ocean State Summer Cup play.

"As the score indicates, this was an extremely close game with both teams remaining scoreless in the first half," said Janick.

At the 10-minute mark during the second half, Olivia Bergandy picked off an errant pass in Tiverton’s defensive zone and broke downfield. She precisely passed through two Westerly defenders to Lia Thornton, who finished the play with a blast past the Westerly goalie from 25 yards out.

Westerly rose to the challenge and after the ensuing kickoff, worked the ball downfield where a cross from the left side squirted through to the middle of the field and a Westerly player drilled a rising shot just under the crossbar and tied score.

Play resumed with each team threatening another goal, but no further scoring ocurred until there were just three minutes left to play. Caroline Wilson scored the eventual game winner off another feed from Bergandy.

Strong defensive play for Tiverton was provided by Jackie Wilson, Maya Bergandy and Kayla Paull. Goalkeepers Haley Higginbottom and Elizabeth Janick were both tested and rose to the challenge. The victory allows Tiverton to improve their summer league record to 3 – 1.