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Rogers advances to girls soccer championship. A first-year goalie helped get them there.

steve rogers, newport daily news
·2 min read

The Rogers High School girls soccer team became the first local fall sports squad to qualify to play for a championship defeating Central 2-1 in a shootout in a Division IV semifinal match on Monday night at Cranston Stadium.

Rogers keeper Katie Guinan made nine saves during regulation and then stopped three penalty kicks during the shootout to secure the win.

“She had never played goalie before this year,” Rogers coach Jim Kelly said. “We did not expect her to make three saves. It was just amazing. All of a sudden the angels appeared and she made the saves.”

Maeve Crowley, Fallon Bagley and Julia Connelly notched penalty kick goals for the Vikings with Connelly sending home the game-winner.

“I said before she shot it, ‘She’s money,’” Kelly said. “She plays sweeper for us but she just nailed it. It’s a good thing we practiced penalty kicks all week.”

Katie Guinan, seen here in a game on Oct. 26, made three penalty kick saves to help send Rogers girls soccer to the championship game.
Katie Guinan, seen here in a game on Oct. 26, made three penalty kick saves to help send Rogers girls soccer to the championship game.

Central’s Marissa Osorio-Johnson scored a goal about eight minutes before halftime to put the Vikings in a hole.

“Central was full of fire,” Kelly said. “They were quick and they were aggressive. They had the wind the first half.”

With the wind at their backs, the Vikings got the tying goal. Bagley teed up a corner kick and Crowley knocked it in 14 minutes into the second half to tie the game. Rogers then got the advantage in the shootout and Connelly’s goal gave the Vikings their 16th consecutive victory.

The Division IV-A No. 2 seed Vikings will take on Division IV-A No. 3 seed Providence Country Day for the Division IV title on Saturday at 6 p.m. at Cranston Stadium. The Knights upset top seed Johnston 2-1 in the other semifinal.

Saturday’s title game will be the fourth and final championship match of the day at the site so the start time may be later than expected. Rogers defeated PCD 1-0 and 2-1 during the regular season so the Knights will have vengeance on their mind.

“It’s going to be a tough one, a tight one,” Kelly said. “They have some fundamental players. They just don’t smash the ball. We’ll see how it goes.

“I know our group is one of the best. They’re together, focused and they have fun.”

This article originally appeared on Newport Daily News: Rogers girls soccer advances to championship game against PCD