By STEVE MAZZONE

Sports writer

WOONSOCKET – Rarely did it get the ball past midfield, and after the first 40 minutes of play, it managed just one shot. But despite being over-matched by Woonsocket High in Friday’s Division IV-North contest, Central Falls trailed the Villa Novans by just two goals, including a fluke tally from just past the center line.
The “close affair” didn’t worry first-year WHS head coach Kathleen Fagnant, but it did point out one minor early-season flaw for the defending state titlist.
“I wasn’t really concerned about the 2-0 score but shooting is something we’ve been working on,” she said. “They get excited. They get right in front of the net. They get so excited. They get so worked up and then they miss. So we do have to work on that.”
Other than its shooting touch, Woonsocket is still managing to stay right on pace to last year’s success when it went 14-0-2. The unbeaten Villa Novans broke open its contest with the Warriors after the break on Friday, scoring two more times en route to a 4-0 victory at the Wolney Family Soccer Facility.
The win improves the Villa Novans’ league mark to 3-0-1, while the Warriors dropped to 1-3-0. Even though Fagnant says the offense hasn’t quite hit its stride, her squad still has out-scored its rivals 20-3 in its four tilts.
Woonsocket’s lone non-win this fall came last week when the Novans fought to a 1-1 draw with Tolman, the state runner-up last year. The Villa Novans coasted to a 6-0 verdict over Shea, another tough league foe, in their season-opener.
“It’s looking good,” Fagnant said. “Our goal is to have another undefeated season. I think the chances of that are great. Tolman is our toughest competition we faced. We got Rogers left. We’ve already faced what I think are the three toughest teams from what we faced in previous years – Shea, Central Falls and Tolman. With the playing that we’ve done so far, I think we have a good shot of playing the championship.”
Kaitlyn Bijese gave Woonsocket an early 1-0 advantage against the Warriors when the junior defender unleashed a shot from just past midcourt that took one bounce and found the corner of the net.
“The ball came out. It was a little over the half and she just shot a cannon right into the goal,” Fagnant said. “It bounced right in on the side of the goalie. It was just a perfect midfield kick. That happens.”
The Villa Novans would take their 2-0 lead at the 23rd minute when junior Kaylee Staples booted an unassisted shot from the right side, about 15 yards away from the cage. Woonsocket held a 13-1 advantage in shots in the initial half.
CF coach Michael Swain was satisfied with his squad’s effort, despite the Villa Novans’ dominance.
“I told them to play with heart and no matter what the score is to keep on playing and pressuring the ball,” Swain said. “They did well.”
The Warriors did come out a bit more aggressive than the Villa Novans in the early stages of the second half. But eventually Woonsocket returned to its dominant ways, controlling the ball and giving the Warriors few opportunities to get past midfield.
Senior Kristin Cahill gave her teammates a 3-0 lead, scoring at 51 minutes on a feed from senior Sam Landry. Landry scored the fourth and final goal on a penalty kick with about 15 minutes remaining.
Fagnant gave her defense of senior Nicole Boucher, sophomore Caitlyn Marcoux, sophomore Allyson Cartier and senior Bethany Majewski a good deal of credit for the shutout. The quartet gave CF limited opportunities to get near the cage.
“Our shooting is great, but our defense is unstoppable,” she said. “The four people that we have in the back you can’t get anything by them. They are just unbelievable.” 
Woonsocket returns to the pitch on Wednesday when it plays host to Davies Tech. Central Falls battles Shea at the Higginson Ave. Complex, also on Wednesday.
***
Central Falls 0 0 – 0
Woonsocket 2 2 – 4
First half – 1. W, Kaitlyn Bijesse (unassisted) 6:00; 2. W, Kaylee Staples (unassisted) 23:00.
Second half – 3. W, Kristen Cahill (Sam Landry) 11:00; 4. W, Landry (penalty kick) 65:00.
Saves – W, Kayla Cullerton 2. CF, Valerie Florez 23.  Shots – W 25. CF 2.