As Portsmouth adjusts to life in Division II girls soccer, title expectations are renewed
MIDDLETOWN — After playing 16 consecutive seasons in the state’s top division, the Portsmouth High School girls soccer team — the lone Newport County squad to play in Division I — dropped to Division II this year after a fourth consecutive losing record.
The Patriots went 8-32-11 the last four seasons after compiling 10 consecutive winning records — and a pair of state championships — in Division I prior to the downturn.
Lauren Bulk began her four-year varsity playing career at Portsmouth as a freshman in 2008, when the winning-record streak began. Now she’s heading into her fourth year as the varsity head coach. Two weeks before the season began, Bulk opined to The Daily News about the team’s move.
“We need a good reset. I hope it allows us to take care of things and have a nice competitive year,” Bulk said.
The reset fittingly began Tuesday night at Gaudet Middle School as Portsmouth scored two second-half goals and downed Middletown 2-0.
“It’s so weird. I haven’t played them in forever,” Portsmouth senior co-captain Emily Maiato said. “It’s great to play an island rivalry. They played really hard, so it was definitely a challenge for us.”
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Sonia Staroscik and co-captain Kaitlin Roche scored a goal each, Kaelyn Mahoney and Olivia Costa had an assist apiece and keeper Maiato made five saves.
“They’re definitely a really hard team,” Roche said. “I feel like this game was really good because it was a lot more even. When we were in D-I, it was a lot harder. They were a little bit more advanced, which is fine. But this was a much more even-matched game and we pulled out the win, which was really good.”
Teamwork is key for Portsmouth
Bulk said when she suited up for Portsmouth, the players — regardless if they were freshmen or seniors — always played as a team. At some point during her stint as coach, that camaraderie faltered for some reason.
“So that’s where the mental thing comes in,” Bulk said. “You have to be able to talk it through. Go through this reset that is coming together as a team. We have the skill. I know we have the skill. But it’s the teamwork that we need to work on. And we have a great flow going as far as teamwork goes.”
Roche said, “We just need to get our rhythm back, and this is where we’re going to start. We’re going to start here. We get our rhythm back then hopefully we’ll move back up.”
Play the cards you’re dealt
Portsmouth is used to playing against strong programs at schools like Barrington, La Salle, North Kingstown, South Kingstown and Cumberland. In Division II, the Patriots will face North Providence, West Warwick, Scituate and Lincoln, among others. The schedule is out of Portsmouth’s control.
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“I would love to be in D-I, but D-II is where we were put now and so we’ve just got to make do with what we’ve got,” Maiato said. “I think there’s still some challenges for us here, so we’re definitely not going to cruise through D-II. I think they’re still going to be really good competitors and we’re really going to have our work cut out for us.”
Roche’s insurance goal against Middletown came with six minutes left. She had other opportunities to score, but was denied by the Islanders' defense or by keeper Ginnie Hamilton, who made nine saves.
“I think the competition here is going to be really good,” Roche said. “I know there’s a lot of hard teams that we’re going to play.”
Patriots are a confident group
Coventry, which made the move from D-I to D-II this season, Burrillville, Mount St. Charles, North Providence and Bay View are the next five teams Portsmouth will face. After the Patriots recovered from a slow start and beat Middletown, they’re ready to face the season.
“I have a good feeling about this team this year,” Maiato said. “I think we can really make some damage in this division. I’m really confident in our girls.”
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“I think we’ll do pretty good,” Roche said. “It’s kind of hard to say because we haven’t played any of these teams yet. But I think as long as we try our best – 110 % every game, 110 % every practice – we should have a good outcome.”
Bulk would like to see her team play as a cohesive unit, remain drama-free and earn a bunch of wins. She’s confident that will happen.
“I think the girls would be successful in Division I if they played together,” Bulk said. “And we’re playing together now. So I think we’re going to be very successful.”
This article originally appeared on Newport Daily News: RI high school girls soccer: Portsmouth moves down to Division II
