By Michael Letendre

PLAINVILLE – The Bristol Eastern girls soccer team finally made its 2023 debut on Tuesday night and while the program fell at Plainville by a 2-0 final, the locals showed bits and pieces of what the squad could become this season.

With the recent weather playing havoc as practice and game schedules have been shuffled about, Eastern finally got a chance to play and hang with the Blue Devils over early parts of the showdown.

But the Lancers’ offense just couldn’t generate a scoring drive throughout game play.

There was plenty of back and forth early between the CCC South programs, but the Blue Devils did a better job of possessing the ball when running their sets.

“We definitely struggled to connect multiple passes,” said Eastern coach Scott Redman. “I thought the last five or ten minutes, we did better than the whole game. I thought in the first half, we had a good connection out of the buildup off the goal kick and the last five or ten minutes, we created a couple chances, connected on a few passes.”

Eastern’s Emma Stavens – one of Eastern’s two captains along with Megan Krok – did a tremendous job playing centerfield on defense and most of Plainville’s drives were snuffed out.

Plainville keeper Lilianna Brachle also met every challenge, as did the home team’s defense, which limited the Kingstreeters to just a couple shot on goal on the evening.

Eastern goalie Hailey Beebe (four saves) was a bit busier than her counterpart as Plainville held a 7-1 advantage in shots over the first forty – an edge that lasted the entire match.

The Blue Devils showed good possession but Eastern’s defense, highlighted by stops from Gabby Piendak, Maggie Kozikowski, Corinne Sutula, Jadalisse Morell and Staves did just enough to muddy the waters throughout match play.

Plainville was forced to operate from tougher angles over the first half and that allowed Eastern to keep the squad off the scoreboard for a long stretch of the first period.

Eastern’s first corner kick just 10 minutes in didn’t produce a shot and the scoreless affair went into the second twenty at 0-0.

Midway through the first session, the home team notched its first score of the evening.

The Blue Devils cashed in on a goal with 16:35 to play in the first as Arianna Clifford – outside of the Lancers’ goal box – slipped a shot just over Beebe’s head as the home team captured a 1-0 push.

“We knew a couple girls could shoot from distance and we needed to close down space,” said Redman of Plainville. “We should have closed down a little bit better.

With 11:15 left in the first, Plainville’s Julianna Carlina shot a laser from the 25-yard line that bounced off the right upper crossbar but the 1-0 score remained.

And then Beebe made a great stop of a head-on shot by Clifford moments later as the Blue Devils could not double its tally.

Eastern’s Kate Patterson, Maria Perrone, Alaina Joy, Mya McCallop-Glover, Cara Lusitani and Kron all made gains over the final five minutes of the half but could not find pay dirt as Stavens made a late stop to keep the match a 1-0 contest at halftime.

Plainville kept the pressure on over the second half but found that second goal elusive.

However, the Blue Devils made incursion after incursion into the Lancers’ territory but the defense – a bit overworked – met every challenge.

“I think fatigue also played a role a little bit,” said Redman. “We’re definitely not in midseason shape and we don’t have a deep bench. As the kids get tired, of course, your touch fails you a little bit and I think that was evident.”

Eastern had a corner kick with 24:26 left to play but after the first through ball didn’t find a connecting foot, a rebound came to Lusitani.

However, a tying score did not materialize off the play.

Finally, Plainville scored with less than 21 minutes to go as Marrissa Miller tapped a ball to herself and from thirty yards out, she looped a missile by Beebe – who nearly blocked and stopped the attempt – as Plainville grabbed a 2-0 edge.

“The second goal, I mean she took it from about 30 to 35 yards out and it was a pretty good placement,” said Redman of Miller’s insurance goal. “Hailey still got her hands on it but that’s obviously tough for her up top. She did the best she could. Like I told the girls, at some point you also have to tip your cap and say, ‘hey, the kid hit a good shot.’”

With 15:54 remaining, a failed Eastern clear nearly led to a third Plainville goal but a straight on shot was saved by Beebe.

Eastern just couldn’t possess the ball enough though over the final five to ten minutes as the visitors finally made some gains offensively.

At the 8:04 mark of the second, Kron took a great shot at the net, but Brachle blocked the ball for a huge stop to maintain the shutout.

Eastern’s Shannon Philippon, playing the entire match, showed some gumption late but the home team kept its collective feet on the gas until the very end as Plainville held off pesky Eastern by a 2-0 final.

“I think the effort didn’t lack in the second half,” said Redman. “You could see it with ten seconds left. Shannon [Philippon] kind of gave it up and sprinted back 20 yards, recovered and blocked a shot. If that’s the effort we’re going to get from a kid who didn’t come off the field, I’ll take that and we’re going to get drastically better throughout the year.”

“So, I applaud the effort. They really didn’t hang their heads too much and they definitely didn’t stop working until the final horn.”

NOTES…The Lancers are back in action on Thursday as the program makes its home debut. Eastern welcomes Lewis Mills at 3:45 p.m. from Alumni Field in Bristol.

Bristol Eastern Girls Soccer – CCC South confrontation

PLAINVILLE 2, BRISTOL EASTERN 0 

from Tinty Stadium, Plainville

Scoring 1 2 – F

Bristol Eastern 0 0 – 0

Plainville 1 1 – 2

Individual Scoring – First Half

– Arianna Clifford (Plainville), 23;25

Individual Scoring – Second Half

– Marrissa Miller (Plainville), 59:04

Shots on Goal: Bristol Eastern 2; Plainville 15

Saves: Hailey Beebe (Bristol Eastern), 4; LiliAnna Brachle (Plainville), 1

Corner Kicks: Bristol Eastern 2; Plainville 2

Records: Plainville 1-0 overall; Bristol Eastern 0-1.