2015 -- S 0078

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     STATE OF RHODE ISLAND

IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY

JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2015

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S E N A T E   R E S O L U T I O N

CONGRATULATING THE PILGRIM GIRLS SOCCER TEAM ON WINNING THE 2014

RHODE ISLAND DIVISION II GIRLS SOCCER STATE CHAMPIONSHIP

     Introduced By: Senators McCaffrey, Lynch, Paiva Weed, Walaska, and Felag

     Date Introduced: January 21, 2015

     Referred To: Recommended for Immediate Consideration

     WHEREAS, The Pilgrim Girls Soccer Team entered the 2014 Division II Rhode Island

State Tournament having won the Central Division with a stellar 13-2-2 league record and having

compiled a dominating 14-0-1 record in their last fifteen games; and

     WHEREAS, Pilgrim's leading player is Katelyn Vieira, a supremely talented striker who

scored an incredible, state-best 47 goals this season. Katelyn will be attending the University of

Rhode Island next season to play NCAA Soccer. Her mere presence on the soccer pitch terrorized

opponent's defenses and goalkeepers, forcing double teams, which open up scoring opportunities

for her fellow teammates; and

     WHEREAS, Pilgrim entered the tournament a very confident squad playing their best

soccer of the season, and it showed in their first two tournament games as they defeated Westerly

3-1 and clearly outclassed Scituate by the score of 5-1; and

     WHEREAS, Pilgrim's opponent in the championship game was Coventry, a team that

had compiled a dominating 13-0-3 league record on the way to easily winning the South Division.

In a highly anticipated rematch of their regular season game, which ended in a 1-1 tie, it was the

Pilgrim squad which dominated the play, led once again by the imposing Katelyn Vieira. She

contributed mightily to the breakthrough first goal of the game, scored in the second half, when

she and teammate Kendra Tantimonico put heavy pressure on the Coventry goalkeeper, causing a

loose rebound to roll to Hannah Johnson, who put the ball in the back of the net for the first goal.

Vieira later scored an insurance goal, which turned out to be the winning goal, when she beat the

Coventry goalie with a blistering shot, to lead the Pilgrim Girls High School Soccer Team to their

first State Championship since 2000; and

     WHEREAS, Winning a State Championship is an incredibly difficult achievement,

especially in a team sport. It requires every member of the team to unselfishly give all they have

toward the attainment of team goals, even if it comes at the expense of individual goals. The 2014

Pilgrim Girls Soccer Team had this characteristic in abundance as it was led by Co-Captains

Kendra Tantimonico, Madison Almonte, Hannah Page and Katelyn Vieira, along with team

members Hannah Johnson, Sophia Deluca, Molly Lynch, Arianna Moussaly, Alexia Martins,

Alyssa Andrews, Erin Plowman, Emily Heon, Emma Manosh, Corrine Rivera, Emma Reilly,

Hailey Rivera, Emily Fluette, Ellen Strain, Haley Buco, Caitlin Smith and Jeriann Evans; and

     WHEREAS, Winning a State Championship also requires having a coaching staff as

motivated and unselfish as the players and also capable of motivating their players to achieve

more than one thinks capable and being able to compose innovative schemes and to make the

necessary strategic decisions during the course of a game. The Pilgrim Girls Soccer Team was

blessed to have such a coaching staff led by Head Coach Tom Flanders along with the assistance

provided by Assistant Coach Rich Marrese and Team Manager Xavier Morgan; now, therefore be

it

     RESOLVED, That this Senate of the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations

hereby heartily congratulates the Pilgrim High School Girls Soccer Team on winning the 2014

Rhode Island Division II Girls Soccer Championship; and be it further

     RESOLVED, That the Secretary of State be and hereby is authorized and directed to

transmit a duly certified copy of this resolution to Pilgrim Girls Soccer Head Coach, Tom

Flanders.

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