N. Kingstown and Chariho battle in a rematch of last year's playoff game in girls lacrosse
NORTH KINGSTOWN — The wins and losses are one thing. The internal standard is another.
That's the focus for North Kingstown in the opening month of this Division II girls lacrosse season. The defending champions are searching for their own ceiling and another title with equal intensity.
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Friday night brought a contender to Perry Athletic Complex, and the Skippers met the challenge. They pulled away late in the second quarter and never looked back in a 20-10 victory over Chariho, a rematch of a semifinal meeting last spring.
“Honestly, we just knew this was going to be our biggest competition — them and Burrillville, for sure,” North Kingstown midfielder Phoebe Pullyblank said. “We knew we had to come out on the field and be ready to go.”
North Kingstown sputtered a bit last time out and was nearly punished for it. The Skippers pulled out a 9-8 overtime victory against Cumberland and immediately went back to work.
The Chargers saw their early 3-0 lead vanish quickly, as North Kingstown stormed to an 11-6 advantage at the break. The hosts did all the scoring in the final 8:14 of the half, snapping a 6-6 tie. Chariho was hit with four yellow cards in the second and played shorthanded for the majority of the remainder.
“We needed to get our cuts in line,” North Kingstown attacker Jordan Parris said. “We needed to get our passes down the field. Our (defense) — monumental the whole time.”
Parris and Mya Macchioni each netted goals late in the second quarter and Camy Clarke struck early in the third. The Skippers banked the first four after halftime and built a nine-goal cushion. It was running clock for the majority of the fourth quarter, and four different players finished with at least a hat trick.
“I will pass the ball to anybody on that side of the field,” Parris said. “If a defender comes down and switches with a middie, I’ll pass to them to get a goal. I know any one of us can get open, because we practice that every day.”
North Kingstown (4-0) is hunting consecutive winning seasons for the first time since 2011-13. That was a golden era for the program — Division I champion the first year, real factor in each of the next two. The Skippers endured a 2-9 finish between its last two championships. Consistently bringing in talented first-year contributors like Macchioni will be key to sustaining success going forward.
“It’s almost like taking in your own child,” Pullyblank said. “You teach them your ways and you want them to get better and better. Once I leave next year, I want my coach to have a good program after me.”
Chariho (6-1) is on its way to a fourth straight winning season and should be a threat in the playoffs. Emily Ballard led the Chargers in this one with four goals, including the 100th of her career. The defense had allowed just 22 goals through its opening six matches, but North Kingstown found its share of openings.
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“We practice every day,” Pullyblank said. “We practice on weekends. We just work for it. It’s so nice when it finally unravels in your favor.”
CHARIHO (10): Brie Macaruso, Kayden Jaillet 3, Chaia Elwell, Megan Ballard, Emily Ballard 4; assists — M. Ballard 2, E. Ballard 3. NORTH KINGSTOWN (20): Lauren Carter, Phoebe Pullyblank 3, Camy Clarke 3, Mya Macchioni 5, Jordan Parris 8; assists — Finola Gately, Clarke, Natalie Ringler, Macchioni 2, Parris.
Halftime — NK, 11-6. Saves — Kya Perrin, C, 4; River Andersen, NK, 9.
On X: @BillKoch25
This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: NK gets off to a slow start, then runs past Chariho in girls lacrosse
