By BRANDEN MELLO

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WEST WARWICK — Three games into the 2008 season, West Warwick High boys’ soccer coach Richard Grenier has been spot on his team’s strengths and weaknesses – and that’s not a completely good thing.

The Wizards, who improved to 1-1-1 after yesterday’s scoreless tie with The Prout School, have been dynamic in the back as Matt DeBlois, Jeff Sampaio, Richard Lizotte and Derek Hebert have all been superlative. On the other hand, the Wizards are still trying to find the right combination in the center of midfield.

“We don’t have the total package, yet, but early in the season and it’s enough to work with,” Grenier said. “This is going to be a talented team in October. We don’t know the best combination in midfield; that has not been answered yet. I’m going to be honest with you, the pieces in the midfield aren’t there yet.”

Clearly, Grenier was happy to post the shutout and his team nearly snatched all three points in the 77^th minute when Lizotte, stepping up from his stopper position, unleashed a shot with the outside of his right foot from 40 yards. The ball dipped and swerved toward Nick Tabachini’s far post before just sliding by the post for a goal kick. West Warwick still became the first team to take a point off Prout after the Crusaders started the season 2-0.

Prout would probably have felt aggrieved if Lizotte’s wondershot had flown into the back of the net because the Crusaders forced DeBlois to make 10 saves and the visitors had six corner kicks they couldn’t convert into a goal.

“(DeBlois) is a pretty good goalie and they have a good defense, they are pretty well balanced back there,” Prout head coach Tim Ryan said. “It was tough. Things didn’t really click for us early on. It was a good game. It could have gone either way.”

Lizotte, who played in the midfield early in the second half, actually created a chance for the Wizards in the first minute when his marauding run led to a chance for Christian Medeiros. The junior forward had a good look at the goal but he pulled his shot wide.

Medeiros, who scored a hat trick in West Warwick’s 7-0 win over Fatima last week, struggled to connect with speedy freshman Max Motroni up front. Neither forward found a way to unlock Prout’s flat-back three defense.

“You can see that (Motroni and Medeiros) haven’t played together,” Grenier said. “There are times, on the field, especially in the second half, where we would try to open up their fullbacks and shoot our midfielders through the hole. You can just see that they aren’t making the runs.”

Grenier said the most frustrating aspect of the first half was his team’s tepidness. While Prout was aggressive to balls in the air and 50-50 balls, the Wizards shied away from those situations and allowed Prout to control the game.

The best chance of the half fell to Prout after Kyle Murphy committed a foul along the left side of his own 18-yard box. Prout senior Brandan Kotlow perfectly hit an in-swinging ball which eluded everyone in the box and went off the post before it was cleared.

Michael Jacome also had a chance late in the half to break the tie, but his shot flew over DeBlois’s net. For, Ryan, the missed opportunities were the story of the game.

our finishing is where we fell short. The ball bounced around in the (six-yard box) a lot and we just couldn’t get a hold of it.”

The best chance early in the second half fell to West Warwick junior Edar Valdez. Valdez, at the top of the box, hit a rasping, left-footed shot which was saved by Tabachini. Valdez was one of the few players who shined in the midfield after Grenier substituted him in early in the first half.

The Wizards finally turned the battle in midfield into an even contest when Lizotte moved up from his stopper position. The tall, agile senior consistently beat Robert Stout and Jacome to 50-50 balls to start West Warwick attacks.

“Richard is so good defensively and the decision is we always want to get a shutout, but we’re hoping to get a couple of goals,” Grenier said. “I was happy, especially in the second half because we played with more intensity. We’re still having difficulty running through the ball.”

Lizotte nearly grabbed a surprise winner with three minutes left when he collected a loose ball, took a dribble and uncorked his 40-yard shot. West Warwick will look for its second win of the III-South season Tuesday against winless Rogers.