For Cranston West's Oceanna Orlandi, a good night means a clean sheet
CRANSTON — Oceanna Orlandi’s idea of fun on the soccer field is a little different.
Scoring goals is generally what every kid wants to do when they start playing in the youth ranks. Cranston West’s junior keeper is in the business of preventing them, and she does it at an elite level.
The Falcons posted their latest clean sheet on a perfect Thursday night at home, battling to a 0-0 draw with East Greenwich in Division I. Orlandi made five saves for her third shutout in four league matches to begin 2023. The returning All-Stater has conceded only once, that coming in a 2-1 win at Moses Brown this week.
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“I just want a shutout,” Orlandi said. “I want the whole team to have a shutout.”
Two-time champion North Kingstown, perennial finalist La Salle, Cumberland, Chariho, Mt. Hope — that handful of sides and a few others figure to be dangerous atop the league. Cranston West could prove a difficult playoff opponent in November for a different reason. The Falcons aren’t explosive in the final third, but few teams would relish the thought of playing a 1-0 squirmer or going to penalty kicks with Orlandi standing on the line.
“I’m very comfortable if she does because of how amazing she is as a goalie,” Cranston West center back Jordan Costa said. “It’s nice to be able to have that security.”
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Orlandi emerged as a star last season and has done nothing but improve her game over the summer. She made a pair of diving stops in the opening seven minutes against the Avengers, denying Ella Kauffman and Eva Dufresne off the right wing. Cranston West wasn’t seriously threatened in its own penalty area from there.
“We’re already starting to get our chemistry,” Orlandi said. “I fully trust our defense, and I trust my abilities, too.”
Orlandi made the change from defender to keeper when she was 11. One of her youth coaches was looking for a volunteer between the posts, and it was love at first sight. Orlandi was a dancer and a gymnast as a toddler before choosing soccer — that natural balance and athleticism has served her well with the Falcons and at club level with the Rhode Island Surf.
“I just knew I liked diving,” Orlandi said. “I built on that. I had the natural reflexes to be one.”
Orlandi cuts a distinct figure on the pitch — lime green uniform contrasting with her teammates in red or white. Black gloves cover her hands down to the wrist. And if that doesn’t make her stand out, Orlandi’s running monologue will get your attention at some point.
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“Up!”
“No turn!”
“Man!”
“Here we go, red!”
No periods. All exclamation points. It sounds a lot like leadership in real time.
“I like being vocal because I see the whole field,” Orlandi said. “I feel like it’s very helpful for my teammates and for me.
“If I see a run, I’m going to tell you to get it, because that’s less work for me. I think it just helps everybody on the field, including myself.”
Cranston West’s defense is well organized and experienced despite featuring a lone senior. The Falcons play four across the back — cocaptain Gabriella DiFilippo and Sadie Butler on the left and right, Costa and Ava Thurber in the center. Costa in particular catches the eye, a physical, confident player who reads the game nicely.
“I pay attention to the angles a lot when I’m playing,” Costa said. “You have to as a defender. You have to see the angle they’re going to take, if they can shoot, if they’re going to play a through ball.
“Making those quick decisions is crucial.”
The opposing penalty area is the sticking point at the moment. Cranston West (2-0-2) is still searching for some consistent scoring punch — four goals in four matches, two apiece in wins over South Kingstown and the Quakers. Harper Cohn’s shot toward the lower right forced a diving stop from East Greenwich keeper Elizabeth Johnson in the 53rd minute, as the improving Avengers (0-3-2) grinded to a second point in their last three matches.
“Being able to finish in the final third is what we’re working on,” Costa said. “We can keep them from worrying about having to get hundreds of goals — we'll secure it for them.”
EAST GREENWICH (0): No scoring.
CRANSTON WEST (0): No scoring.
Halftime — 0-0. Saves — Elizabeth Johnson, EG, 6; Oceanna Orlandi, CW, 5.
On X: @BillKoch25
This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Cranston West, East Greenwich goalkeepers shine in scoreless tie
