Offensively, both the Bishop Brady and Campbell boys’ lacrosse teams were clicking on Wednesday. The teams traded goals the entire game, neither could build a lead of more than three, and in the end Brady came away with a 14-13 win.
Bryce Johnson continued his excellent season, scoring six goals and adding three assists for a season-high nine points. Rich Sullivan had two goals and an assist, while Cooper Johnson and Colby Garcia each scored twice.
“This game was a must-win for us,” Brady Coach Justin Loring said. “Campbell is almost a mirror-image of our team and getting this win is a huge step in getting a spot in the playoffs.”
Brady (4-3) started well, going up 4-1 late in the first with two goals from Cooper Johnson, a goal from Garcia and one from Sullivan. Campbell (2-4) struck back with two goals to end the quarter, though, taking advantage of its good play off of faceoffs.
Brady opened the second with two goals to build another three-goal lead, but once again Campbell came back and tied the game at 6-6. With time running out in the second quarter, Bryce Johnson scored to give Brady a 7-6 halftime lead.
“At halftime, we talked about keeping our offensive rhythm going,” Loring said. “I was worried about the third, though, as we’ve been slow starters following the halftime and have been plagued with having one terrible quarter per game.”
The third quarter looked as if Campbell had taken momentum, scoring just 15 seconds in on a shot right at the crease. The Cougars kept up the pressure, maintaining possession for almost the entire first six minutes of the quarter. Brady turned it over twice in that span, allowing two more goals and falling behind 9-7.
“Once they scored that goal from right on the crease, I told our other coach the third was going to be our bad quarter,” Loring said. “I thought about taking a timeout, but we weren’t playing poorly, we just struggled to get the ball away from them. Their halftime adjustments really countered our defense well.”
Brady rebounded late in the third with a goal by Garcia to cut it to 9-8. With about 30 seconds left in the quarter, the Campbell goalie made a save on an outside shot. As he stepped out of the crease, Bryce Johnson snuck around behind him, knocking the ball out of his stick and flipping it into a wide-open net to tie the game before the fourth.
The teams traded runs in the fourth, with Brady going up 12-10 and Campbell answering with three of its own to retake the lead, 13-12. With about three minutes left, senior captain Nick Stuart took the ball in the offensive zone and ran around the entire box looking for an opening. Once he got to the top of the box, he dodged inside and put it past the goalie to tie the game.
It looked like the game was going to overtime in the final minute, but Brady caught a lucky break on a pass by Sullivan to a cutting Connor Dougherty. Dougherty came from behind the net and Sullivan’s soft pass went high, but the goalie failed to track it and the ball went over everyone and into the net for the go-ahead goal with 29 seconds to play.
Campbell forced a takeaway on the faceoff, getting a good shot off, but goalie Craig Newcomb got a piece of the ball with 6.5 seconds left to preserve the win.
“This was the most entertaining game we’ve played this year,” Loring said. “Campbell challenged us with their outside shooting, but we were able to get a lucky at the end. I’m proud of the way we handled adversity and fought during such an evenly-matched game.”
From coaches’ reports
Goffstown 5, Bow 4, OT
Key players: Bow – Colin Buck (goal, assist), Brendan Ulrich (3 goals)
Highlights/key moments: Bow jumped to a 2-0 lead and took a 3-2 lead into halftime. Ulrich scored with 15 seconds left to send the game to overtime. Goalie Chase Chamberlin was outstanding in net and in the clear.
Records: Goffstown 4-1; Bow 1-4
John Stark 17, Keene 6
Key players: Stark – Parker McQuarrie (6 goals), Jake Blanchette (4 goals), Matt Bennetter (3 goals, assist), Nick Aleksonis (goal, 2 assists), Ethan Vezina (7 saves)
Highlights/key moments: The Generals got to .500 in a wet contest in Weare.
Coach’s quote: “We’re entering a tough stretch now. Hopefully we can keep playing better lacrosse each game.” – Stark’s Howard Roever
Records: Stark 3-3; Keene 0-9
Hollis-Brookline 11,
Merrimack Valley 10
Key players: Merrimack Valley – Matt Jarvis (13 saves), Dillon Arrant (goal, 5 assists), Alex Lacy (2 goals), Warren Campbell (2 goals), Evan Martin (2 goals)
Highlights/key moments: After falling behind 4-0 in the first quarter, MV rallied in the second and took a 7-4 lead going into halftime. Hollis-Brookline tied things up in the third and the game went back and forth in the final frame. Jarvis, “was our best player in the game,” MV Coach Sean O’Brien said.
Records: Hollis-Brookline 5-2; Merrimack Valley 3-3
Kearsarge 15, Gilford 3
Key players: Kearsarge – Lucas Muzzey (3 goals, 3 assists), Justin Norris (3 goals, 2 assists), Tate Nurme (3 goals, assist), Zander Hauck (3 goals)
Highlights/key moments: Kearsarge broke on top 4-0 after the first quarter and extended its lead to 7-2 by halftime. The Cougars shut out Gilford in the third to balloon the lead to 13-2.
Coach’s quote: “I thought we did a nice job spreading the ball around. It is great to get three goals from four different sources.” – Kearsarge’s Zach Matthews
Records: Kearsarge 6-1; Gilford 1-6
Hopkinton 13, ConVal 4
Key players: Hopkinton – Sam Schuster (5 goals, 2 assists), Joe Cullinan (5 goals, 2 assists), Owen Kanter (2 goals, 2 assists), Gerry Donahue (goal, 2 assists, great defense, 8 ground balls, 11 takeaway checks), Derek Amoth (12 saves)
Highlights/key moments: ConVal scored two quick goals in the first, but Hopkinton answered with 10 straight before halftime, making it 10-2 at the break. Hopkinton maintained a lead despite of a strong effort from ConVal.
Coach’s quote: “We played a terrific game today. Our offense was very opportunistic, and our defense played great 1-on-1 in order to shut down their very strong dodgers and shooters. Gerry Donahue had a phenomenal game and was dominant in transition. Our attackmen (Schuster, Cullinan, Kanter) put the pressure on their defense and never let up.” – Hopkinton’s Deacon Blue
Records: Hopkinton 4-3; ConVal 2-2
Bedford 4, Concord 3
Key players: Concord – Noah Wachter (5 IP, 7 H, 2 K, 3 ER), Stephan Moran (1 IP hitless relief), Moran and Jake Kelly (2 hits each), Ethan Dupre, Kurtis Stadnicki and Christian McClellan (RBI each)
Highlights/key moments: Concord went down 3-0 after the first. The Tide rallied and had the bases loaded in the third, fifth and sixth innings, but was unable to come up with the big hit. Concord left 12 runners on base, but played error-free defense.
Coach’s quote: “We played a very good game. Noah pitched very well and our defense made zero errors. We had plenty of opportunities but were unable to come up with the big hit.” – Concord’s Scott Owen
Records: Bedford 8-2; Concord 4-4
ConVal 5, Merrimack Valley 4
Key players: MV – Brian Nylen (3-for-4, 2 RBI), Billy Dipre (4 IP in relief, 2 ER)
Highlights/key moments: Nylen’s single to center plated two Valley runs to tie the game at 4 in the fourth. Cole Laliberte kept the game tied with an outstanding running catch in left-center.
Coach’s quote: “Well-played game in less than ideal conditions. Hard-fought, back-and-forth contest. The Pride will use this effort to jumpstart their second half of the season.” – MV’s Sean Wheeler
Records: ConVal 6-2; MV 2-6
Souhegan 14, Pembroke 0
Key players: Souhegan – Joe Grassett (5-inning no-hitter); Pembroke – AJ Gagnon (reached on an error, steal)
Highlights/key moments: Souhegan’s Grassett dominated with a run-rule, five-inning no-hitter.
Records: Souhegan 6-2; Pembroke 0-8
John Stark 13, Hollis-Brookline 1
Key players: Stark – Derek Goldrick (2-for-4, HR, 5 RBI), Egan Nickerson (2-for-3, RBI, 2 steals), Callahan Loos (win, 4 IP, 1 R, 3 H, 3 BB, 3 K; 2 RBI)
Highlights/key moments: The Generals scored early and often, plating three runs in the first, aided by four Cavalier walks and Dickerson’s RBI single. Stark then put five on the board, highlighted by Goldrick’s two-run homer. The offense sealed the deal in the fifth by plating five more runs to end the game early.
Coach’s quote: “Very solid all-around game for us today. This was the offense I was envisioning for us at the beginning of the season. After a real sluggish start to the season, we have really turned the corner with 32 runs over the last three games.” – Stark’s Dennis Pelletier
Records: Stark 6-2; Hollis-Brookline 2-3
Coe-Brown 11, Sanborn 1
Key players: Coe-Brown – Brody Ashley (6 IP, 2 hits, 4 BB, 3 K), Noah DuBois (2-for-3, 6 RBI, triple), Andrew Therrien (2-for-4, 3 runs), Dylan Andrews (1-for-3, 2 RBI)
Highlights/key moments: The Bears scored one in the first and four in the third to take control early in Sanborn. It was the second straight win for the Bears after they had lost two in a row.
Records: Coe-Brown 5-3; Sanborn 4-5
Campbell 4, Kearsarge 2
Key players: Kearsarge – Jake Vierzen (6 IP, 6 H, 3 K, 2 BB, 4 R), Brad Underhill (2-run homer)
Highlights/key moments: Campbell scored two in the first, and two again in the third on a big two-out. Underhill hit a two-run homer to cut the gap to two in fourth. Kearsarge left the bases loaded in the sixth.
Coach’s quote: “I liked the way we competed out there today. The guys were excited for the challenge against the two-time defending champs and played a solid game.” – Kearsarge’s Travis Pelletier
Records: Kearsarge 5-4; Campbell 7-0
Berlin 10, Winnisquam 6
Key players: Winnisquam – Hunter Tierney (triple, RBI), Christian Serrano (double, RBI), Tim Harmon (2 hits, RBI), Devin Martinez (4 IP, left with 5-4 lead)
Highlights/key moments: Winnisquam used a five-run third to build a 6-4 lead. With two outs and nobody on, Berlin scored twice to tie it. In the seventh with two outs and nobody on, they scored four runs to pull ahead.
Coach’s quote: “We couldn’t make a big pitch when we needed it in the sixth and seventh. We were pitching from behind most of the day and you can’t do that against a good hitting team.” – Winnisquam’s Fred Caruso
Records: Winnisquam 2-5; Berlin 4-4
Hopkinton 4, Bishop Brady 3
Key players: Hopkinton – Ben McManus (4 IP, win, 3 hits, 4 K, 0 BB). Josh Angell (1-for-2, 2 RBI, BB). Brady – Max Lamora (3-for-4, 2 doubles), Martin Hecka (2 hits), Alex Gamache (6 IP, 3 hits, 8 BB, 5 K, 3 ER), Alex Andrews (double, run)
Highlights/key moments: Brady took a 2-0 lead in the top of the first on a two-run double from Lamora. The Giants pushed their lead to 3-1 in the fourth and the Hawks cut it to 3-2 in the fifth when they scored a run on three walks and a fielder’s choice. Hopkinton got a boost from its defense in the sixth when right fielder Kolin LaPage hit Angell with a cut-off throw and Angell cut down a runner at the plate. Angell carried that momentum into Hopkinton’s half of the sixth when he delivered the game-winning two-run single.
Coach’s quote: “It was a good game in some crappy weather.” — Hopkinton’s Dave Chase
“The weather was miserable. Gamache battled all day without his best stuff. Considering the conditions it was a hard-fought, well-played game, they just maanged to score one more run than us today.” – Brady’s Skip Foy
Records: Hopkinton 4-4, Bishop Brady 3-4
Belmont 9, Prospect Mountain 5
Key players: Belmont – Matt Pluskis (3-for-4, 5 RBI), Cole Contigiani (1-for-2, 2 RBI, 3 runs), Doug Price (2-for-4, double, 2 runs), Cam Magerer (2-for-4), Caleb Drouin (3 IP, win, 3 hits, 3 BB, 2 ER)
Highlights/key moments: The two teams were tied, 4-4, when Belmont broke things open with four in the fifth. Drouin led off the fifth with a walk and eventually scored on a passed ball, Pluskis had a two-run single and Josh Guptill scored on an error. Prospect Mountain scored two in the top of the sixth, but the Raiders answered with two in their half of the frame and held on to hand the Timberwolves their first loss of the season.
Coach’s quote: “It’s a big win for us. We knew going in that we were going to have our hands full, and for us to get a win on a day when we walked 10 batters and had six errors, that’s a character-building win.” – Belmont’s Matt LeBlanc
Records: Belmont 7-1, Prospect Mountain 6-1
Bow 9, Raymond 8, 8 inn.
Key players: Bow – Ben Kimball (4 IP, win, 1 run, 2 hits, 8 K, 3 BB; 1-for-4, 2 runs), Jack Corriveau (2-for-4), Jeff Bell (1-for-2, RBI, run, BB), Brendan Winch (3 runs)
Highlights/key moments: With things tied at 4-4, the game was delayed after three innings due to heavy rain. Raymond scored four runs when played resumed on the soaked field, but the Falcons clawed back one run at a time to earn the extra-inning win. Bow tied things in the seventh when Bell, who singled, and Kimball, who reached on an error, scored on a combination of passed balls and stolen bases. The Falcons scored the winning run in the eighth on four walks, the final one from Bell.
Records: Bow 4-2; Raymond 3-4
Coe-Brown 9, Milford 0
Key players: Coe-Brown – Brian Gordon (8-3), Gareth Owen (8-6), Jared Carlson (8-1), Tom Mellor (8-0), Nate Griffiths (8-0), Tyler Holman (8-1), Gordon/Owen (8-4 doubles win), Carlson/Mellor (8-0), Griffiths/Holman (8-2)
Highlights/key moments: Coe-Brown bounced back from its first loss in resounding fashion with a sweep of Milford.
Records: Coe-Brown 7-1; Milford 2-5