​CUMBERLAND – The objective was obvious. How it happened didn’t matter.The road to a championship is rarely a straight line and the Cumberland girls soccer team are ready to take the path in whatever direction it goes.Two weeks ago the Clippers hit the road and buried Chariho, but they knew Wednesday’s quarterfinal rematch wouldn’t look like the regular-season game. It wasn’t. Cumberland struck first, the Chargers had an answer, but the Clippers settled their nerves in the second half with Miya Garland playing the role of hero in a 2-1 win and earning a semifinal spot.“We’re really excited that we won and we’re just ready to move on to the next team,” Garland said. “Hoepfully we win that one and move on to the final.”“We’ve been working really hard and we knew we were the better team going in,” Cumberland’s Shea Maher said. “It just feels good to have that win and know we can move on.”Cumberland didn’t beat Chariho, it survived. The game was tied at 1 at the half, with the Clippers feeling like they should have been up more and the Chargers feeling good after a goal by Eily Simmons – who didn’t play in the 4-1 loss to Cumberland on October 15 – with 3:38 left in the first half that tied the game.Cumberland had trouble connecting passes at the right moments. Forwards found space, but balls were played either a touch long, out of reach, or a touch short, allowing Chariho’s defense or goalie Savana Fitzgerald to cover things up.The Chargers had a chance to change the game 2:12 into the second half, going on the attack where Clipper keeper Francesca Stoothoff made a diving save, but remained on the ground, surrounded by players from both sides, as the ball caromed to Morgan Brucker.With no time to think, Brucker reacted and the kick went high and banged hard off the crossbar. Cumberland survived the play and nearly 15 minutes later, got the break it needed. It came when Garland unleashed a shot from 35 yards out, a brilliantly struck ball toward the upper right corner of the goal. Fitzgerald tried to punch the ball up and got a hand on it, with the ball hitting the crossbar and then the ground.Before a rebound attempt could be made, the linesman raised his flag to indicate the ball had completely crossed the line, making it a goal.“It’s put it on frame and hope for the best,” Garland said. “I try to get a little bit top, over the keeper. It worked.“… I think it crossed the goal.”With no VAR in the RIIL, who thought what didn’t matter.You need plays like that to win games. Cumberland was the aggressor throughout the night, playing through the defense. The game’s first goal was a combination of speed, strength and sisterhood, as Paynter Maher played a ball through a tackle and fired off a perfect cross to freshman sister Shea, who one-timed the shot into the net for the score.“We’ve been talking about it in practice, about getting it to the top of the box,” Shea Maher said. “I figured