Health & Fitness
ROCKY HILL SCHOOL FINISHES SECOND IN NEPSAC CLASS D TOURNAMENT
For the third time in five years, Rocky Hill School's boys' varsity soccer team traveled to a New England Preparatory School Athletic Council (NEPSAC) championship game. Sunday morning, November 17, the Mariners took on Hyde School of Maine in the Class D finals.
Every move that one team made was countered by the other team. What Rocky Hill lacked in height, they possessed in ball control and speed. Back and forth the game went with each team unable to score throughout 90 minutes of regulation play, thanks to fine defensive work and goalkeeping. Sophomore Daniel Samudio (Pawtucket) and senior co-captain Juan Giraldo (Providence) were especially impressive in Rocky Hill's defensive third. Senior co-captain Kamusu Zean (Providence) was a dominant presence in the midfield.
After almost 10 minutes of sudden-death overtime, the Mariners' season ended as an unmarked Hyde defender sent a perfectly placed head ball to the far post to earn the 1-0 victory.
Saturday afternoon, Rocky Hill School posted a 7-0 victory over MacDuffie School from Granby, MA in the NEPSAC semifinal match. Phil Nihan (Newport/Jamestown and sophomore Jared Barroso (Central Falls) had two goals each. Giraldo and Zean both tallied one, while Quintin Harris (Cranston) also added one. Rocky Hill's defense of sophomore goalkeeper Douglas Cochran (East Greenwich), Samudio, sophomore Ben Lanowy (Newport), and Garrett Teeters (Middletown) contributed to the shut-out win.
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In a thrilling NEPSAC quarterfinal game Wednesday, November 13, Rocky Hill beat Christian Heritage from Trumbull, CT. Harris and Giraldo scored in regulation and the teams headed into overtime tied 2-2. Through the 10 minutes of overtime, neither team could score, and penalty kicks ensued. Garrett, Barroso, Giraldo, and Zean put their shots past the Christian Heritage goalkeeper. Fine goalkeeping by Cochran secured the Rocky Hill victory.
Rocky Hill coaches Patrick Mellor and Doug Poskitt want to recognize the contributions of seniors Giraldo, David Golding (East Greenwich), Harris, Michael Levy (Warwick), Nihan, Teeters and Zean for their leadership this season.