Central Falls, Classical head to the D-II boys soccer championship

JOHNSTON — Central Falls might have that magic. And Classical survived on grit.

The Warriors were relentless for 80 minutes against Mt. Hope to continue their unexpected playoff run. A pair of goals from Daniel Rios Aceituno paced a 3-1 comeback in a Division II semifinal victory over the Huskies.

Peter Breen closed out an unending night between Classical vs. Central in the second semifinal. The senior’s penalty kick lifted the Purple to a 0-0 (6-5) victory after eight penalty rounds on a breezy, Nov. 5 night at Johnston High School.

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The eighth-ranked Huskies and third-ranked Purple advance to the championship at Rhode Island College on Sunday at 2:30 p.m.

It’s the first title appearance for Central Falls, who are looking for their fifth championship overall, since it won a D-III crown in 2005. Classical advances to a title round for the first time since 2014 when it won a D-II championship. Central Falls won the season meeting against Classical, 4-1, in Providence in mid-September.

“I told the team to keep our head up,” Rios Aceituno said. “Just keep it up and keep pushing. We’ve been working hard in practice every day.”

“Right before I take that kick, I know what I’m going to do,” Breen said. “I feel calm. If the goalie guesses right, he guesses. But if he doesn’t, that’s awesome and we’re in the championship on Sunday.”

Read on below for more on the D-II boys soccer semifinals.

Central Falls strikes late

The Warriors dominated possession in the first half against No. 4 Mt. Hope but trailed at halftime after a clinical set-piece header from Gavin Avila in the 17th minute. After turning back No. 1 Smithfield in penalty kicks in the quarterfinals, the upset kings still had plenty of fuel for the final 40 minutes.

Kevin Ramos Pedroza provided the first cross that Rios Aceituno cleaned up with a header to the left corner with 27 minutes left. Second-chance opportunities were the Warriors’ best scoring looks against Mt. Hope keeper Cole Tavares. The senior stood on his head, but Central Falls broke through and was onto the championship from there.

“We just told [each other] that we have to stay calm,” Oscar Veliz Catalan said. “It doesn’t matter what the scoreboard is, we just have to keep our head up. It doesn’t matter if it’s 2-0. Just keep our head up.”

Rios Aceituno provided the helper on the second goal with a tough angle to the short post before Veliz Catalan buried for the go-ahead goal with 8:03 left. Rios Aceituno added the insurance with five minutes left.

“We came from last season, we came from not winning a game [in D-I],” Veliz Catalan said. “We came [into the year] with a good mindset, and I feel like this year really means a lot.”

Classical wins in shootout

Goalie Senai Zerit knew penalty kicks were coming early into the second half and everyone at Johnston knew they were in for a long night. The stadium lights were on a timer to shut off at 10 p.m. and that deadline was even pushed back twice.

Zerit and Breen made sure a third extension wasn’t needed. Zerit made his second save of the shootout before Breen delivered the winner. Celebration ensued at the 15-yard line as Classical denied Central a third straight penalty-shootout win in these playoffs.

“It’s just a lot of emotions,” Zerit said. “At the beginning of the penalty shootout, I’m just trying to stay calm and just stay confident and not let the doubt come into my mind.

“I knew when there was 30 minutes left in the second half [penalty kicks were coming]. We weren’t really breaking through, it was really a stalemate because Central wasn’t really attacking a lot. They were kind of sitting back and defending because they’ve already won two shootouts in the past. I think they were really pushing for the shootout, thinking they could take it.”

Both teams moved down to the state’s second league this year after finishing at the bottom of the D-I table. The Purple finished this season with their first winning record since 2019.

“This feels pretty great,” Breen said. “We have not had a winning record in a long time. … We’ve lost a lot in the last years, so it just feels crazy.”

This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Central Falls, Classical head to the D-II boys soccer championship

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