Sports
Skippers Loss to Rebels Marred by Red Cards
A 2-1 lead turned into a 4-2 loss after the Skippers were assessed a red card.
NORTH KINGSTOWN – Nobody likes to see an official’s call affect the outcome of a sporting event. But in Thursday night’s girls’ soccer game between North Kingstown High and South Kingstown High, that’s exactly what happened.
Down 2-1, the Rebels scored three goals after a red card was assessed to the Skippers’ goalkeeper, en route to a 4-2 victory.
The penalty occurred with 21:46 left in the game, forcing North Kingstown to replace sophomore Morgan McBrier with backup keeper Andrea Cooper. The Skippers also had to play the remainder of the game with one less player.
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“A red card should be used with extreme discretion,” said Skippers’ head coach Randy Jones, who was angered by the call. “There was no yellow card given. There was no warning. I assume the official felt that our keeper slid in too aggressively to make the save.”
South Kingstown’s Emily McClarnon tied the game at 2-2 on a penalty kick that was awarded on the play.
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Four minutes later, North Kingstown suffered another blow when Bridget Skerry had to be helped off the field by teammates after being inadvertently kicked in the head. Skerry did not return to the game. The Rebels received a yellow card on the play.
South Kingstown took the lead for the first time with 11:23 remaining when freshman Rachel Murphy kicked the ball from the right side of the field into the left portion of the net. McClarnon tacked on an insurance goal during stoppage time.
“Both teams played a hard-fought game,” said Rebels’ head coach Jim Kelly. “For North Kingstown, this was a tough way to lose. But, I’m proud of how our team played.”
Despite being down 2-0 at halftime, South Kingstown passed and shot well in the opening period. In fact, the Rebels outshot the Skippers 10-7 in the half, with eight of the attempts being on goal, compared to only three for North Kingstown.
“I told our players at the half that we’re getting some great scoring opportunities and eventually some of them will go in,” stated Kelly. “But you do have to credit NK’s keeper. She was very strong.”
Coming off a tough 2-1 loss to Coventry at home on Monday, the win over the Skippers boosted the Rebels’ morale.
“I’m really pleased to see the way our players came together following the loss,” said Kelly. “It showed a lot of character. They’re great kids.”
North Kingstown will try to regroup when they play on Monday at Smithfield. Returning to the lineup after a two-game absence will be tri-captain Maddy Damm. The Skippers’ leading scorer pulled a leg muscle when she stood up 10 minutes before North Kingstown’s game against East Greenwich last Friday.
Scoring five goals in each of their four wins, it was Skerry and Annie Susla who provided the scoring punch for the Skippers against South Kingstown. Savannah Jones assisted on Skerry’s goal and captain Nicole Perez assisted on Susla’s.
With McBrier sidelined for the next game, North Kingstown may have to alter its gameplan.
“We’ll make sure Andrea Cooper gets a lot of work in this weekend,” said Jones. “We might not play as aggressively on offense. Instead, we may fortify our backfield a little bit more.”