Michael Monti, who led Division II South with 19 goals in the regular season, notched the Avengers' first two goals, and Scott Douglas scored the other on a breakaway. All three of East Greenwich's goals came in the second half.

East Greenwich dominated the game from start to finish. The score could have been a lot worse, but Lincoln goalie Evan Walsh played outstanding, stopping the Avengers first 12 shots to give the Lions a chance.

Walsh kept East Greenwich off of the scoreboard until there was 17:16 remaining in the game when Monti, after receiving a pass from Benjamin Berger, went top shelf from five yards out.

Five minutes later, Monti headed in a pass from Robert Bialy, and Douglas sealed the victory when he scored on a breakaway with 4:50 left.

The Avengers dominated the time of possession and played most of the game on Lincoln's side of the field.

East Greenwich entered the playoffs as the top seed, going 15-0-1 in the regular season where the produced the top scoring offense in the division and had the best defensive, outscoring their opponents, 80-8.

The Lincoln players left Rhode Island College with their heads held high. Last year's state champs made a remarkable run through the playoffs.

Entering as the North's fifth seed, the Lions knocked off fourth-seeded Pilgrim in the preliminary round of the playoffs, and then upset two teams who they failed to beat during the regular season -- top seeded Shea, 2-1, in the quarterfinals, and third-seeded Central, Central, 3-0, in the semis.

East Greenwich dominated the first half. The Avengers did everything but throw the kitchen sink at Lincoln goalie Evan Walsh in opening stanza, but Walsh came up with one spectacular save after another. He currently has nine saves.

Among their numerous opportunities to score included Benjamin Berger's nifty footwork in the 20th minute when he split two defenders and fired away from five-yards out.
Walsh made an acrobatic diving stop.

In the 25th minute, Michael Monti beat his defender but Walsh came out and challenged him, making a diving save to keep the game scoreless.

Then the unthinkable happened during injury time. East Greenwich starting forward Scott Douglas and defender Brian Doyle collided with Lincoln midfielder Zack Perry, and Douglas and Doyle got injured on the play and had to be helped off of the field.

Their return is questionable.

TIVERTON -- Dominated in their two regular-season matches against Tiverton, Barrington showed up for the quarterfinals of the Division II Girls Volleyball Championships Tuesday night and shocked the undefeated Tigers, 3-2, in one of the biggest upsets of the RIIL fall sports season.

The Eagles' 25-23, 25-20, 23-25, 19-25, 15-12 triumph before a noisy crowd at Tiverton High was the latest of several playoff upsets in the RIIL, but it didn't surprise Barrington coach Ron Enos.

"I came in confident," he said as his players celebrated their stunning victory. "We won our last five regular-season matches. We won a tight game against Bay View. We won a tight [playoff] game against North Smithfield. We're playing our best volleyball now."

The Eagles were clearly the better team in this match. They led early in the first game, rallied from a five-point deficit, broke a 22-22 tie and held on for the win. After breaking a 2-2 tie they led the rest of the second game. They led for most of the third game until Tiverton fought back and won five of the last eight points. The Eagles led by seven points midway through the fourth game, but Tiverton came back with a 19-6 run. And they led from start to finish in the fifth game.

Most of the match Barrington played loose and Tiverton tight. The Eagles seemed excited, the Tigers tense. The Eagles played great defense, the Tigers struggled.

"We hoped we could pull it off. It was like when the Giants beat the Patriots," Barrington setter Alyssa Madwed said.

Tiverton dominated D-II South this season, posting a 16-0 record, winning 48 games and losing only 8. The Tigers blitzed the Eagles, 3-1, in their first match in September and shut them out in their second encounter a month later. Barrington was 4-6 at the time.

"I know this team. They refuse to give up. They refuse to quit," Enos said. Against Tiverton Tuesday night, he added that "they played tremendous defense and didn't give up a huge run."

Jessica Boukarim was a towering presence at the net for Barrington with 12 kills, 2 blocks and 2 block-assists. She also served 5 aces.

"They couldn't stop her," Enos said.

Madwed had 10 kills, 18 assists, 5 digs and a block assist.

Gina Anderson, the libero, had 9 digs and 2 assists. And outside hitter Chelsea D'Angelo had 11 digs.

Tiverton appeared to hit its stride late in the third game. Asked if his team was off its game at the start, coach Brian Goldberg said, "That's an understatement."

"It's very hard in sport to beat a team three times. They got excited to play and we didn't. They were playing with house money, and we were nervous. We were undefeated. We were expected to go to the state final. They were carefree, and that was the difference," he added.

At 14-12 in the fifth game, Anderson, perhaps the shortest player on the court, made a great save at the baseline with her back to the net on Barrington's third hit. Tiverton middle hitter Shayna Carmichael tried to end the point with a kill, but the ball landed out.

"We wanted to play our best and hope for the best," Enos said.

And they did.

Last weekend, they each successfully defended their Class A titles and on Sunday, the Bishop Hendricken boys and La Salle girls will return to Ponaganset High School and attempt to defend their state crowns, as well, at the Rhode Island Interscholastic League Cross Country State Championships.

La Salle will go first, with the girls' race set to kick things off at 1:15 p.m. Led by sophomore sensations Molly Keating and Emily Papazian, the Rams can expect a fierce challenge from Barrington. Paced to their third-straight Class B crown by Abigail Jones, the Eagles have topped the coaches' poll rankings all season and topped La Salle for their second straight Metropolitan Division title during the dual-meet season.

The girls' field also will include Suburban Division champion and Class A runner-up Cranston West, Class C and Northern Division champion Smithfield and Southern Division champion North Kingstown, among others.

Hendricken will get its turn at 2:15 p.m. The Hawks - who have been led this season by Jake Sienko and like the Barrington girls have consistently held the top spot in the boys coaches' poll - will be facing a boys' field that also includes recently-crowned class champions Lincoln (Class B) and Smithfield (Class C), Metropolitan Division champion and Class A runner-up La Salle, Northern Division champion Cumberland and Southern Division champ North Kingstown.

Based upon their performances on the same Covered Bridge Trail last weekend, here are some of the top runners to watch at the state meet:

BOYS
Jake Sienko, Bishop Hendricken, 16:08 (1st in Class A race)
Robert Allen, Cranston West, 16:17 (2nd in Class A race)
Zach Fraielli, La Salle, 16:32 (3rd in Class A race)
Brian Doyle, Bishop Hendricken, 16:41 (4th in Class A race)
Mike MacKenzie, Bishop Hendricken, 16:45 (5th in Class A race)
Dan Appenfeller, Mount St. Charles, 17:02 (1st in Class C race)
Mike Martin, North Smithfield, 17:12 (2nd in Class C race)
Alex Gallo, North Providence, 17:14 (1st in Class B race)
Robert Parker, St. Raphael, 17:17 (3rd in Class C race)
Adam Coogan, North Providence, 17:26 (2nd in Class B race)

GIRLS
Molly Keating, La Salle, 18:46 (1st in Class A race)
Abigail Jones, Barrington, 19:16 (1st in Class B race)
Samantha Chace, Toll Gate, 19:33 (2nd in Class B race)
Emily Papazian, La Salle, 19:34 (2nd in Class A race)
Kendall Feaster, South Kingstown, 19:45 (3rd in Class B race)
Arianna Colella, Cranston West, 19:55 (3rd in Class A race)
Molly Malinowski, Barrington, 19:59 (4th in Class B race)
Michaela Hackett, Cranston West, 20:08 (4th in Class A race)
Alex Hackett, Cranston West, 20:09 (5th in Class A race)
Danielle Renzi, La Salle, 20:14 (6th in Class A race)
(Later diagnosed as having a stomach virus, Stephanie Beaudette, a standout from Bay View, collapsed during the Class B race and is questionable for Sunday)

La Salle and South Kingstown will play for the Division I Championship, Sunday at noon at Rhode Island College.

LA SALLE (4): McKenzie Meehan 3, Patricia Guay, Allison Kelley; assist - Kelley 2, Daria Capaldi. EAST GREENWICH (0).
Halftime - LS, 1-0. Saves - Caroline McCabe, LS, 5; Alexandra Place, EG, 4.

East Greenwich, 17-0-1, will play in the division final Saturday at Rhode Island College, its first final since 1998 and the second in school history. The Avengers will face either Lincoln or Central, the other semifinalists who just started their game.

Berger scored two goals and Mike Monti one for a 3-0 lead in the first half. Douglas assisted on each. He scored on a direct kick in the second half.

EG's stingy defense kept the pressure off goalkeeper Alex Serino, who made only three saves.

Chariho will play Hendricken on Saturday for the Division I state championship.

Tyler Zegarzewski and Nick Dubee scored for Chariho, while Andrew Hess scored North Kingstown's only goal.

He may not have bagged much candy, but University of Florida women's swimming coach Gregg Troy definitely received a big treat on Halloween.

That's when North Kingstown High senior and U.S. Olympic swimmer Elizabeth Beisel told Troy that she will be attending Florida next fall.

Beisel's call to Troy last Saturday telling him that she would be in Gainesville next year means the Gators have won the recruiting battle for one of the top young swimmers in the world.

Virtually every major college swimming program in the country wanted Beisel, and why wouldn't they? Over the past 15 months the 17-year-old Saunderstown resident has placed in the top five in two events at the Olympics, won two individual titles at the U.S. National Swimming Championships and won a bronze medal at the World Championships.

Shortly after she returned home from the World Championship in Rome this past August, Beisel narrowed her college possibilities to three schools -- Florida, the University of California at Berkley and the University of Texas. She made official visits to all three colleges over the past six weeks.

"It was hectic," said Joan Beisel, Elizabeth's mother of her daughter's college search. "She went on a visit every other weekend since September. It was a tough choice for her. They're all great schools and great programs."

Beisel, who was born and grew up in Saunderstown, first appeared on the national, and world, swimming radar screen three years ago when, as a 14-year-old high school freshman, she earned a spot on the U.S. women's team that competed in the world championships in Australia. She finished 12th in the 200-meter backstroke.

A year later she became the youngest member of the U.S. Olympic women's swimming team, and placed fourth in the 200-meter individual medley and fifth in the 200-meter backstroke at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing.

Then this past summer she became both a national champion and a world medal winner as she won both the 400-meter IM and the 200-meter backstroke at the U.S. Championships in June, then took the bronze medal in the 200-yard backstroke at the World Championships in Rome in August.

And when she wasn't competing in the Olympics or the Worlds or the U.S. Championships, she was swimming for the North Kingstown High swimming team in the R.I. Interscholastic League.

She has won two individual championships (the maximum possible) at each of the past three state high school championship meets.

Hendricken will play in the Division I final Saturday at Rhode Island College against the Chariho-North Kingstown winner.

What makes Ponaganset High School a good venue for the Rhode Island Interscholastic League's Class and State Cross Country Championships?

The question was recently posed to boys and girls cross-country coaches throughout the state in an e-mail questionnaire from the Providence Journal.

The responses - and the accolades - soon came pouring in.

"Outstanding venue - outstanding people - a true community commitment to a project that has been extremely successful," said East Providence coach Kevin Monagle.

"Top notch to say the least," added Smithfield coach John Marchand.

"Having the Class and State Cross Country meets at Ponaganset has been outstanding in every way," said Mt. Hope coach Andrew Sabourin.

And Sabourin admits he wasn't sure he was going to feel that way. Having enjoyed the experience of racing at Bryant University when he was competing for Barrington High School in the early 1990s, he says that initially he was disappointed when he heard that the two meets were going to be held somewhere else.

That disappointment quickly disappeared, though, after bringing the Huskies boys and girls teams to the first class and state meets hosted at Ponaganset in 2003. Sabourin loves everything about the experience his runners have received each time they race there . . . . right down to the bus ride.

Journal photo/Frieda Squires
Leaders in the boys' race at the 2008 State Championships

"For many schools it may be the longest they ride with the entire team together for the whole season and that's really where you get to know your team," he said.

"I love the races at Ponaganset," agreed Monagle. "From the day the team travels to practice at the facility - where we are greeted with hot chocolate for everyone - to race day, to the excitement of the races and awarding of the championships. The people at Ponaganset make this a very special day."

Indeed, coaches could not say enough good things about Chieftains coaches Jim Caron and Susan Shippee and the army of volunteers that they assemble to serve as the host to thousands of runners at the class and state meets, being held at Ponaganset for the seventh straight year.

When the RIIL began searching for an alternate site for the races, a group of individuals at the Foster-Glocester Regional High School began working extremely hard to make their course one that would be suitable to hold two events of that magnitude. Through their efforts and with the help of a sizeable grant from the Department of Environmental Management secured by Dr. Gail Lawson, they achieved their mission, creating not only "a nice race course, but as it turns out, one of the nicest in New England," said Mount St. Charles coach Cliff Matthews.

"I can remember when the Ponaganset course was just a path in the woods, (with) some parts barely big enough for two people to run side by side," said Lisa Bucci, a former Chieftains runner who now coaches the boys cross country team at Hope. "Before our home meet, we would have to go through the wooded path with neon spray paint and paint the rocks and roots so that the other runners wouldn't trip and fall. . . . The team would joke about `how fast' the course was because you weren't paying attention to the actual running, you were just trying to avoid tripping!"

Journal photo/Frieda Squires
The top girls emerge from the covered bridge at the 2008 State Championships.

With those obstacles removed and the trail widened, the Covered Bridge Trail - which has been accurately measured by USA Track & Field regional course certifier Ray Nelson - now lends itself to some truly quick performances, with times clocked at Ponaganset over the past several years ranking among the fastest in the history of the Class and State Championships.

In addition to being spectator friendly, the Ponaganset course, says Toll Gate coach Norm Bouthillier, "contains all the items that make cross country racing special and unique: the covered bridge, the open fields, the woods, the foot bridge and a fast finish on the track in-field. . . . . Jim Caron and friends have constructed a state-of-the-art course for all of us to enjoy."

"At the time, we didn't know what we were a part of," said Bucci, who along with her fellow captains wrote letters that were included in her school's grant request so many years ago. "But in retrospect, I am so happy I could be even just a small part of the amazing transition."

But it's more than a good course that makes Ponaganset such a special place to race each fall, the coaches say.

"Probably the biggest reason that we all enjoy going to Ponaganset is their overwhelming hospitality and dedication in making the Class and State meets a memorable experience for both the athlete and spectator," said Lincoln boys coach John Menna.

Coaches this year were provided with detailed maps, including an animated diagram, of the course designed by Ponaganset volunteer John Murphy and his son Adam. The weekend before the class meet, teams also received an open invitation to come and practice on the course and were greeted at the end of their workouts by hot chocolate and oatmeal.

Journal photo/Bill Murphy
Ponaganset boys cross country coach Jim Caron

"The atmosphere at Ponaganset is awesome," said Lincoln girls coach Sue Carlson. "You feel like you're running on your own home course. The folks at Ponaganset make you feel like you're part of their family."

"You really can feel the warmth even on those chilly November days," added Chariho boys coach Bill Haberek.

"Ponaganset, based on what they do for us every year, should be an automatic selection for the Dick Reynolds sportsmanship award every year," declared Cumberland boys coach Tom Kenwood. "Jim is a tireless individual whose goal is to make the Ponaganset course the best experience our state's runners will have. They go the extra mile . . . . I believe when the day comes that we can't use Ponaganset, the sport will be set back tremendously."

The semifinals of the boys MetLife Soccer Classic Tuesday and Wednesday look a little different after quarterfinal upsets.

In Division I, Barrington and Central Falls are gone. Barrington, the 2008 state champion, 2009 East champion with a 16-1-1 record, second seed in the tournament and winner of 10 in a row, lost to seventh-seeded North Kingstown, 2-1. Central Falls, the North champion with a 11-4-2 record and the fourth seed, fell to fifth-seeded Bishop Hendricken, 1-0.

As a result, the Division I semifinals Tuesday at Cranston Stadium pit top-seeded La Salle (18-1) against Bishop Hendricken (13-6-1) at 6 p.m. and third-seeded Chariho (16-3) against North Kingstown (11-6-3) at 8 p.m. La Salle defeated Cumberland, 4-1, in the quarterfinals. Chariho beat South Kingstown, 1-0.

La Salle defeated Bishop Hendricken, 4-0 and 4-1, in their two games this season. Chariho beat North Kingstown, 5-1 and 4-1, in their two matches.

The semifinal winners will play for the state championship Saturday at 1 p.m. at Rhode Island College.

In Division II, Shea's highly anticipated match against East Greenwich will not occur, thanks to Lincoln's 2-1 upset victory in the quarterfinals.

Shea was 15-1 and the North champion during the regular season but succumbed to the Lions in the playoffs as it did in the 2008 final. Lincoln, only 7-7-2 and fifth in the North during the season, defeated Pilgrim, 2-1, in the preliminary round.

So the Division II semifinals Wednesday night at Bishop Hendricken will feature undefeated East Greenwich (16-0-1) against Smithfield (11-3-3) at 6 p.m. and Lincoln (9-7-2) and Central (10-5-3) at 8 p.m. The winners will play for the division championship Saturday at 3 at RIC.

East Greenwich blanked Narragansett, 3-0, in the quarterfinals, and Smithfield defeated Middletown, 1-0.

East Greenwich and Smithfield did not play in the regular season because they are in different divisions. Central edged Lincoln, 1-0, and they tied in their second match.

In Division III, top-seeded Tiverton (11-1-3) will play fifth-seeded Exeter/West Greenwich (8-5-2) in the first semifinal Tuesday at 6 p.m. at North Smithfield High School. The Tigers, the 2008 champion, defeated Davies, 4-1, in the quarterfinals. E/WG got by fourth-seeded St. Raphael, 1-0.

Third-seeded Prout (10-3-2) and second-seeded West Warwick (11-2-2) will follow at 8 p.m. Prout defeated Ponaganset, 3-1, in the quarterfinals, and West Warwick romped over Burrillville, 6-0.

Tiverton and E/WG split their season series, as did Prout and West Warwick.

The Division III finalists will play Saturday at 5 at RIC.

mszostak@projo.com / 277-7340

First round games in the eight-team Division II playoffs will be played either Friday, Nov. 13 or Sat. Nov. 14.

Division II is the only one of the four Interscholastic League football divisions that plays an eight-team tournament. Only four teams qualify for the playoffs in Divisions I, III and IV. The semifinal round games in those divisions will play on Tuesday night, Dec.1 as will the semifinal round games in Division II.