East Greenwich girls lacrosse advances by taking control in second half
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EAST GREENWICH — It proved to be only a matter of time before Tessa Charello-Ingegneri and the rest of the attacking girls lacrosse crew that calls Carcieri Stadium home got going Wednesday evening.
East Greenwich was relentless coming forward around its junior standout, and an early Barrington lead in this Division I semifinal was gone by halftime.
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The Avengers took control for good on a Charello-Ingegneri goal just 19 seconds into the third quarter and never looked back. They booked a return to the title round for the first time since 2023 after surging to a 16-9 victory over the Eagles.
Charello-Ingegneri finished with eight goals and had plenty of support from a lightning quick unit up front. Ava Halvorsen bagged a hat trick while Rell Ambler and Courtney Cavanaugh scored twice each to pull Barrington back after the visitors opened a 5-1 advantage in the opening eight minutes.
“When we came together after the first quarter, we just kind of collected ourselves,” Charello-Ingegneri said. “We told each other to focus, slow it down, look for the open person and make the right play.”
East Greenwich did exactly that more often than not the rest of the way, and its reward is a weekend date with Moses Brown at Brown University. The Quakers rolled to their own semifinal victory against La Salle and will attempt to deny the Avengers the same way they did when East Greenwich’s current seniors debuted.
“I was just really excited as a freshman to be going to the state championship my first year,” East Greenwich attacking midfielder Lindsey Rowe said. “And obviously Moses Brown was a really good team — they still are now. I know that we’re going to have to work hard and play our game.”
The Avengers broke this one open for good in the third, with Frances Hershberger finding Ambler to make it an 8-6 game and Rowe setting up Cavanaugh on a tic-tac-toe break started by Hershberger. That transition game was largely absent early, with Kendall Blaney controlling the draw circle and the Eagles working deliberately in possession.
“It’s a team game,” Charello-Ingegneri said. “Trying to do this all by myself would never work. Everybody has to work together in order to win and succeed.”
Rowe and Maddie Asay both played key roles in limiting Barrington (11-5) after its quick start. Their extended pressure out of defense and into the midfield was largely focused on Ashley DaCosta, who fired home all but one of her five goals by the midpoint of the second quarter. Her shot capping an extended offensive set gave the Eagles a 6-3 lead with 6:14 left, but East Greenwich (14-1) went into the break on a three-goal run.
“I think we just started communicating a lot better and working a lot better together,” Rowe said. “We were able to pick up a lot of those cutters coming across the middle.”
The Avengers now get a chance to atone for their lone defeat of the season to date. Moses Brown dispatched the Rams in a 16-2 thumping on the East Side and will be looking to make it four consecutive crowns. East Greenwich will need to make some adjustments after suffering a 17-5 setback against the Quakers at home on May 14.
“I think that was just a learning opportunity for us,” Charello-Ingegneri said. “It helped us with what we needed to work on. I think we’re ready to face them again.”
BARRINGTON (9): Kendall Blaney 2, Ashley DaCosta 5, Molly Reagan, Claire Capozza; assists — Lily O’Neill 2, Tessa Lapinski 2, Capozza, Sophia Scandura.
EAST GREENWICH (16): Tessa Charello-Ingegneri 8, Rell Ambler 2, Lindsey Rowe, Courtney Cavanaugh 2, Ava Halvorsen 3; assists — Cavanaugh 2, Halvorsen, Frances Hershberger, Rowe 2, Charello-Ingegneri, Maddie Asay, Ambler.
Halftime — 6-6. Saves — Emme Robinson, B, 6; Ella Mercurio, EG, 13.
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This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: East Greenwich girls lacrosse advances by taking control in second half