​Young East Club


looks to make Noise!

​By Alex Sponseller (Cranston Herald)

     The Cranston East boys soccer team had a big season last year, clinching the top seed in Division II and advancing to the quarterfinals where it would fall 1-0 to Mount Pleasant.
The Bolts will feature a new-look squad in 2020, fielding a roster with just two seniors and plenty of underclassmen.
     
     “We graduated 11 seniors from last year’s team which lost only two games overall. Those seniors also won the Division III title when they were sophomores, so we are losing a group that had won a lot. Now, we return a young group with only two seniors, but last year our JV team lost just once. The kids are prepared mentally. We’re young and some of these kids are varsity inexperienced, but they are talented and have played a lot of soccer, so we should be competitive again,” said East coach Richard Grenier.
     
     The team has also been getting used to the new COVID-19 adjustments, which include mandatory mask wearing, no huddles and no throw ins.
Lenk added:“It’s definitely been tough, it’s different. But I’m excited to step up as a captain, we lost a lot of seniors so we’re going to need the underclassmen to step up.”

     Although the Bolts will have a big challenge ahead in trying to make up for the lost production from last year’s All-State captain Kerin Murillo, they are confident that they will be able to get goals in a variety of ways, and may even be well-served in the long run.
“We’ll see what happens.  Carlos Andrade is a junior and he saw a lot of action, we expect him to do big things up front. I’m not asking anyone to replace a three-time All-State player like Kerin Merillo. You can’t replace him. The thing is though, when we would get in a tough spot, we would always look to Kerin and try to get the ball to him, even when he was double and tripled team. We don’t have that guy this year, so we may be a little more balanced,” said Grenier.

     “Last year we had a couple of All-Staters, now this year, no one will really know who our star player will be. The ball will be spread out evenly, goals will be distributed evenly which helps,” added Lenk, who is happy to also be able to enjoy his final season despite the pandemic. “I’m pretty excited, I’ve been playing soccer since I was 3 so to be able to play my last year is special.”

     Grenier looks forward to seeing his club compete for a title once again, but takes satisfaction in simply being able to play at all.

     “Maybe it’s because I’m beginning my fifth decade of coaching and I’m getting older, but I think the real championship is being allowed to play during this pandemic,” said Grenier.   “Just being out here with the kids, being able to play, to me is winning. We are always looking to succeed and we will be competitive again, but being out here right now is the success.”

Bolts and ​Titans Tie!
​

     Although the 'Bolt outshot the Titans of Toll Gate 21-9, their Division II Non-League match ended in a 0-0 tie.   
     Both goalkeepers played well with Thunderbolt David White turning back seven shots and the Titan's Jayden Pereira stopping 9 shots.  ​

Game Preview

​​Bolts top Titans 1-0!
​

  In a game that was featured on Yurview Television (Cox Contour - Channel Four), Cranston East (3-0-2) defeated Toll Gate, 1-0. 
     Once again, the game featured tough defense and stellar goalkeeping by both sides.  Jayden Pereira was a force in net, saving 10 shots before his fellow teammate David Barry saved 8 shots in the final 18 minutes of play. 
     David White earned his second shutout of the year with 8 saves.  
     Junior Christian Mestre scored the winning goal with 3:27 left in the match.  Louis Reyes found Mestre in open space.  As the Toll Gate keeper  charged, Mestre calmly  volleyed the ball into the net with his left foot inside the 18 yard line.  ​

Video of Game

NFHS Network Live

Note:  Starting with their home non-league game against Toll Gate, all  home soccer games (Varsity & Junior Varsity) can be seen live on the NFHS Network.  If you want to see a game that has already been played, however, you will have to subscribe to the NFHS Network for $9.99 per month (30 days).  You cancel the subscription at anytime.  

​East tops West, 2-1!

     The young Thunderbolts of Cranston East continue to surprise their Division II opponents. 
     In their first of two games against the Falcons of Cranston West, the 'Bolt won an exciting match, 2-1.
     The Green and White, who graduated 11 seniors and replaced 10 starters, moved their Division II Sub-Division record to 2-0-1 (7 points) and their overall record to 2-0-2.  
     With solid defense  (Joe Lenk, Nathan Carrillo, Christian Mestre & Connor McDonough) limiting the Falcons to five shots in the first  half, East took  a 1-0 lead into intermission when Mestre scored on a free kick from 45 yards out with 14:17 left.
     In the second half,  both teams had several chances, however goalkeepers David White (East) and Matt Cataldi (West) played very well in net.  The Falcons tied the game when winger Nathan Evans sprung free from the right side on a free kick by Vinny Turchetta and headed the ball past White to tie the game 1-1.  
     With 3:27 left, however, Mario Meletz sent a ball into the box at the twelve yard line where fellow junior Carlos Andrade scored for a 2-1 lead.  
     White, who posted nine saves, made two key spots in the final minute to preserve the victory.   

​Mestre scores from

43 yards out!

Meletz to Andrade for

Winning Goal!

Young Bolts Tie


​Blue Wave

 Led by the solid goaltending of sophomore David White and a tough defense, Cranston East started their 2020 "Covid-19" season with a 1-1 tie against the Blue Wave of Hope.  
     White, he blocked a penalty shot in the first half for the Bolt, recorded nine saves in his varsity debut.
     The Thunderbolt defense anchored by veteran sweeper Joe Lenk, the only senior on this year's roster, limited Hope to 12 shots on goal.   In fact, the only goal scored by Hope was on an eye-opening 30-yard direct kick  with 22 minutes left in the game from sophomore Jerison DeLeon Urizar, who placed a shot in the upper 90 just over the outstretched arms of White. 
     Playing well in the first varsity start at fullback were marking backs Christian Mestre and Connor McDonough.  Sophomore Stopper, Nathan Carrillo, also played well in his first varsity appearance. 
     Carlos Andrade, who was tripped in the box eight minutes into the first half, scored the Bolts only goal on a perfectly placed penalty shot.  ​

​East turns back

Kilties, 4-1!

   Led by the unselfish play of the Thunderbolt, where four different players scored in the game, they won their first Division II "Sub-Division" game of the year, 4-1, over the Kilties of Mt. Pleasant.  
     Offensively, the balanced 'Bolt attack received goals from Mario Meletz (assisted by Nadeem Chaudhry), Kale Benton (assisted by Louis Reyes), Donovan Rodriguez (assisted by Carlos Andrade) and Michael Lopez on a free kick.  ​

After graduating eleven seniors from last year's league champions and replacing ten starters, the Thunderbolt turned to their only senior on the roster, captain Joe Lenk, for his leadership as they finished with just one loss in Division II play (4-1-4).

Carlos Andrade, the talented junior captain for the Bolt, led the team in scoring this past season.

​East wins City Cup!

Bolt lose to Avengers in Quarterfinals.

 The Cranston East boys soccer team fell in the Division II Quarterfinals, 3-0, to East Greenwich on Monday evening at East Greenwich.
     The Avengers would get a goal from Stephen Timperely less than 14 minutes into the action to take a quick 1-0 advantage and would carry the lead into the halftime break. East Greenwich added two insurance goals in the second half to secure the win.
     The East defense played well throughout much of the second half but would surrender its second goal with 11:10 remaining on a goal from Andrew Mega.
     The Avengers’ third score came with just 15 seconds remaining in regulation on a another goal from Timperely, who netted the score on a corner kick.
     Cranston East goalie David White recorded 12 stops in net while Carter Andrews stopped four shots for the Avengers.
     The Bolts finish their season with a 4-1-4  record in Division II play.  Monday’s loss was their first on the road in two seasons.
     East Greenwich, who starts nine seniors on a senior-laden team,  also defeated Westerly in the semi-finals,  2-0.   
     Going into the Division II Championship, the Avengers are 10-0-0 in D-II play (12-0-0 overall).   
​
     East and West squared off last week in their season finales and walked away with a 1-1 draw, which gave East their second consecutive City Cup Championship thanks to a 2-1 victory earlier in the season.
     Dylan Zarone put West on the board with a goal in the first half, but Mario Meletz would knot things at 1-1 in the second.     
     Neither club could net a game-winner in the final minutes of action.
     White finished with 11 saves for East while Matt Cataldi recorded 12 for West.  Ben Mariorenzi also chipped in a pair of saves for the Falcons.

Feature on Captain Joe Lenk

Cranston East 


All-Division


​Selections

     The Cranston East Boys Soccer Team, may have been one of the youngest teams in Division II teams with only one senior on their roster,  however, they finished with a 3-0-3 record in sub-division play and 4-1-4 in Division II play.  Their only loss in Division came in the quarter-finals against the East Greenwich Avengers.  
     With the nucleus of the team returning in the Fall of 2021, East will be one of the favorites next year.   The following players earned All-Division recognition from the Rhode Island Soccer Coaches Association:

Joe Lenk - Senior

Carlos Andrade - Junior

Mario Meletz - Junior

Christian Mestre - Junior

Josue Molina - Junior

Louis Reyes - Junior 

Cranston East ​Coaching Staff

Head Coach Richard Grenier

Assistant Coach Matthew Grenier

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​Assistant Coach Jake Leander

​The 'Bolts, who had a 31-game streak without being issued a card from 2013-2015, have averaged less than four cards (3.75) per year (142 games) since 2013.