N.H. high school tournaments kick off; John Stark soccer scores upset over Pembroke

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It was a day of upsets as the balls started flying in the Division II boys’ soccer tournament yesterday.

No. 3 Goffstown, No. 4 Lebanon, No. 5 Trinity, No. 6 Pembroke, No. 7 Souhegan and Stark, in fact, had just muscled its way into the playoffs with a victory over eighth-seeded Con-Val in the season finale. Facing a must-win situation that day, the Generals stepped up in overtime for a 2-1 triumph.

No. 8 Con-Val endured surprising losses after promising regular seasons. While the sixthseeded Spartans were one of the upset victims, two other local teams were the ones pulling out the wins – No. 10 Coe-Brown beat Souhegan, 2-1, and No. 14 John Stark pulled off the biggest upset when it eliminated Goffstown, 2-0.

Then again, maybe the Generals’ victory wasn’t so surprising after all.

Yesterday’s win over the Grizzlies was another product of everything clicking at the right time.

“I’m just really proud of the team because they’ve gotten stronger as the season has worn on,” said Stark Coach Jeff Vogt, whose team had a 79 regular-season record. “I felt the pressure was on Goffstown because they were the higher seed.

“We had some confidence heading into the tournament, we really did. The players were motivated and got the job done.”

The Generals got the scoring started in the ninth minute when Jackson Easter’s free kickoff from midfield entered the Goffstown box and forward Serge Boucher headed the ball home. The first half featured aggressive play from both sides, but the Generals maintained a 1-0 lead by halftime.

“I told the team to just keep doing what we’re doing,” Vogt said. “We needed to play hard for 80 minutes for a chance to win.”

Stark didn’t waste time in gaining some insurance. At the 43rd minute, Nick Manor played a diagonal ball into the far post and Josh Morin’s header gave the Generals a 20 advantage.

The quick scores in both halves propelled Stark’s defense to regain possession when needed. Jackson, Thomas Zervos, Tyler LeGrand and Sean Doherty each provided strong efforts on the back line. Goalie Michael Prindiville tallied eight saves, including several corner kicks.

Stark will face 11th-seeded Oyster River in the quarterfinals on Sunday in Durham.

D-II BOYS’ SOCCER

NO. 10 COE-BROWN 2, NO. 7 SOUHEGAN 1, OT

Dewey Fanjoy scored a goal in overtime to give the Bears (9-8) a first-round upset of Souhegan (8-6-3).

The Sabers opened the scoring in the 30th minute, but Coe-Brown quickly responded two minutes later with a goal from Spencer Nowland (assisted by Alex Wimsatt).

The score remained the same until overtime, when Fanjoy broke through after picking up the ball outside the box and hitting an angled shot that found the net. Fanjoy was assisted by Nowland, who received the ball from a Quinn Chirse throw-in.

The Bears move on to face No. 2 seed Windham on Sunday.

D-III BOYS’ SOCCER

NO. 1 BELMONT 3, NO. 17 WHITE MTNS. 1

Austin Wilder’s direct kick from 35 yards out entered the box of the Spartans and Austin Haddock headed the ball in, giving the Red Raiders a 1-0 advantage 90 seconds into the match. White Mountains tied it in the 22nd minute after scoring off a penalty kick. However, Pedro Perez’s header off Wilder’s corner kick 10 minutes later gave Belmont a 2-1 lead at halftime.

That was all the top-seeded Red Raiders needed, as Brendon Johnson made it 3-1 off assists from Kevin King and goalie Kaleb Brace with five minutes left.

“We controlled the flow, tempo and aggression throughout the second half,” Belmont Coach Mike Foley said. “We had a lot of nice looks but some missed opportunities. But overall, it went according to script. We set the tone on the opening whistle.”

Brace finished with handful of saves but received much support from a dominant defensive front.

Belmont hosts No. 8 Prospect Mountain in the quarterfinals on Sunday at 2 p.m.

NO. 2 HOPKINTON 3, NO. 15 LACONIA 1

The Hawks (16-1) got through the second round behind a Doug Fleury hat trick.

Fleury kicked off the scoring in the 17th minute on a penalty kick that was awarded after Steven Auger was dragged down by the Sachems keeper when he broke through free on goal. Fleury made it 20 early in the second half after receiving a through ball from Riley McNicholas.

Laconia (8-10) answered in the 48th minute on an unassisted goal, but that proved to be the only blemish for a back four of Ned Metcalf, Bennett Mosseau, Brian Hauschild and Liam McNicholas that controlled play for the majority of the game.

Fleury saved his best goal for last with a ripped shot from inside the box in the 73rd minute.

Overall, Hopkinton created the majority of the chances, with 14 shots on goal to Laconia’s three. The Hawks hit both posts, had a ball cleared off the goal line and had a score called off for offsides.

Hopkinton hosts No. 7 Raymond on Sunday in the quarterfinal round.

NO. 3 BOW 6, NO. 14 H-D 0

Dan Crisman scored a hat trick as Bow (15-2) breezed through its second-round matchup with the Hillcats (9-9). The Falcons jumped out to a 4-0 lead at halftime behind goals by Ian Avery (in the eighth minute), two from Crisman (in the 11th and 15th minutes) and a 35th-minute tally from Christopher Ketchum.

Bow struck twice in one minute early in the second half to further pad its lead, via a third goal from Crisman and a score by Robert Lougee.

Assists came from Nikos Kalampalikis, Crisman, Avery (two), Philip Rizzi and Connor Rossignol (two).

The Hillcats couldn’t claw back after giving up the early goal to Avery on a marking mistake but improved their performance in the final 30 minutes to stop Bow from scoring again. Goalie Brett Bennett played a great game with eight saves.

Jordan Birtz and Timothy Bradley shared the shutout in goal for Bow, which will host No. 6 Gilford on Sunday in the quarterfinals.

NO. 12 KEARSARGE 3, NO. 5 NEWFOUND 0

The Cougars (9-7-1) added to the day of upsets, scoring three times in the final 20 minutes to oust Newfound (13-4-0). “You’ve got to give them a lot of credit for going 13-3,” Kearsarge Coach Rob Ragazzo said. “But we dropped a couple of games during the season that maybe we should have won. So we knew if we played good soccer, we’d have a chance, and that’s how it turned out.”

The teams played nip and tuck for a scoreless first half and first 20 minutes of the second half before Roudy Rehor found the back of the net from in close. Nick Bailey assisted.

Then, with the Bears forced to press the issue and take some chances, Kearsarge took advantage and scored a pair of pretty goals two minutes apart.

With about six minutes to play, Matt Pickman laid the ball back to Andrew VanHooydonk just outside the 18, and VanHooydonk chipped the ball over the keeper for a two-goal lead. Then, two minutes later, Bailey fed a pass to Jacob Donovan, who slotted the ball to the lower right corner for the final insurance marker.

Casey Laughinghouse made eight saves, a couple key ones with the game knotted early in the second half, and Reed Bell and Jeff Kozikowski cemented a strong defensive effort that helped send Kearsarge into Sunday’s quarterfinal at No. 4 Fall Mountain.

D-IV BOYS’ SOCCER

NO. 5 NEWMARKET 3, NO. 12 PITTSFIELD 2

Newmarket (13-4) scored three goals in a row during the first half to erase Pittsfield’s early advantage.

The Panthers (7-7-3) opened the scoring in the opening stages when Elias Doucette found the net on an assist by Wesley Ward in the second minute. The Mules struck back in the 12th minute and scored the next three goals to go up 3-1 by halftime.

Pittsfield made it a onegoal game in the 34th minute on a Tyler Stockman goal (assisted by Doucette), but the Panthers couldn’t find the net again in the second half.

Defenders Thomas Williams and Ryan Marquis played well and helped to keep the deficit at a single goal.

D-II VOLLEYBALL

NO. 5 COE-BROWN 3, NO. 12 LACONIA 0

The Bears (12-5) made quick work of the Sachems (512) with a 25-11, 25-9 and 25-9 victory in the first round.

Liz Peabody led Coe-Brown with 11 kills, while Emma Easler added eight. Sadie Steffen had 22 assists in helping the Bears win their fourth straight match dating back to the regular season.

“We played very strong,” Bears Coach Rick Veno said. “The girls came together as a team and had a nice effort.”

Katie Tomaszewski added six kills and Megan Rouillard had five aces.

Coe-Brown faces No. 4 Windham in the quarterfinals tomorrow at 6 p.m.

D-III VOLLEYBALL

NO. 4 HILLSBORO-DEERING 3, NO. 13 NEWFOUND 0

Katie White led a fierce Hillcats attack with 15 kills, 12 aces and eight digs in victories of 25-22, 25-15, 25-17.

The Bears (7-10) executed a balanced game plan early, but H-D (14-3) eventually took hold. Sets two and three featured White working well behind the service line. Virginia Philbrick (three kills, 12 digs) and Hannah Pepper (three kills, 12 assists) also provided solid efforts.

The Hillcats play the winner of last night’s Nute vs. Trinity game in the quarterfinals tomorrow at 6 p.m.

NO. 6 WINNISQUAM 3, NO. 11 INTER-LAKES 0

The Bears (13-4) advanced with a 25-20, 25-21 and 25-11 first-round victory.

Hannah Chapin (12 kills, five digs), Elyssa Clairmont (23 assists, four kills, one block) and Bailey Long (four kills, four aces, one block) led the winning effort.

Hannah Kilcoyne’s three aces proved critical late in the second set. She served points 21-25 for Winnisquam and after Lakers had grabbed the momentum.

Winnisquam faces No. 3 Moultonborough in the quarterfinals tomorrow at 6 p.m.

NO. 7 PORTS. CHRISTIAN 3, NO. 10 BELMONT 1

The Red Raiders (9-8) couldn’t take control after the match was deadlocked at 1-1 and eventually fell to the Eagles (13-4) by scores of 2523, 20-25, 25-17, 25-16.

Nicole Derosia put together a nine-point serving run for a second-set win. The Eagles limited Belmont by forcing critical errors after that.

Derosia ended with nine kills, 15 digs and five aces to lead the Red Raiders. Rachel Weeks had seven kills with a couple blocks up front. Megan Bailey had five kills, two digs and a team-high 23 assists.

NO. 2 FARMINGTON 3, NO. 15 JOHN STARK 0

The Generals (5-12) couldn’t get going against a tough opponent and were swept, 259, 25-11, 25-5.

Farmington (15-2) used its strong serving and hitting to its advantage to pick up the victory, but it wasn’t for lack of effort from John Stark.

“(The girls) went down swinging,” Stark Coach Lorraine Connell said.

Chelsea Fenner (seven digs, two aces) and Alex Story (two kills, two blocks) put in solid shifts for the Generals.