Portsmouth girls win in opening round of D-I soccer playoffs

We came in really fired up; the girls wanted to keep the season going.”

Jim Blaess, head coach

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Junior midfielder Claire Williams tries to break free of a Cumberland defender as she speeds toward the goal in the second half of Tuesday night's game.

Junior midfielder Jane Kaull moves the ball toward the goal against a Clippers defender.

Sydney Bryske, a sophomore striker, moves the ball down the sideline on a breakaway.

Jessica Chen, a junior midfielder, moves the ball downfield as a Cumberland player bears down on her.

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PORTSMOUTH — The Lady Patriots did all of their scoring in the first half and still shut out Cumberland High in the first round of the Division-I Rhode Island state soccer championships Tuesday night at Portsmouth High.

The Patriots, the No. 6 seed, advance to play third-seeded South Kingstown on the road Thursday night, Nov. 2. That game begins at 5 p.m. at Curtis Corner Middle School, 301 Curtis Corner Road, Wakefield.

The two goals in the game both came in the first half — one by Claire Williams, a junior midfielder, assisted by senior midfielder Mariana McManus. 

The other came from Sydney Bryske, a sophomore striker, on an assist by Williams.

“We played a real nice possession game,” head coach Jim Blaess said after the game. “We came in really fired up; the girls wanted to keep the season going. We really worked hard on those offensive patterns over the last couple of days and it paid off early.”

Although there was no further scoring by Portsmouth in the second half, players were still getting good shots on goal, he noted.

On Thursday, the Patriots will be looking to avenge their 3-1 loss to the South Kingstown Rebels on Oct. 18.

“We played a very good game against them and they’re a very strong team,” said Mr. Blaess. “We just failed on defending their corner kicks and shutting them down. We’ve been working on it all season and I think we’ve corrected that problem, and hopefully we can figure out a way to win on the road.”