PENACOOK – Sean O’Brien knows his team has enough talent to make some noise this season.
But with losses in its last four games – including three by a single goal – he also knew his guys were in need of little reminder.
That reminder came Friday as the Merrimack Valley boys’ lacrosse team willed its way to a 14-9 victory over Pembroke behind a well-rounded offensive effort.
The Pride improved to 4-5 with its first win this month, while Pembroke fell to 3-6.
“We really felt like we needed this win to get us headed in the right direction again,” said O’Brien, whose team started the season 3-1. “The kids have been working hard all week long, and that showed out on the field today.”
Merrimack Valley shot its way to a 6-2 halftime lead, and extended that advantage to eight goals by the start of the fourth quarter. But that’s when things started to get interesting.
The Spartans – who entered the game in the midst of a four game skid – refused to give in, and cut the deficit to 12-9 with less than four minutes remaining. Glenn Dion (four goals, assist), scored twice in the final quarter, including his team’s final tally with 3:49 remaining.
“That’s pretty much been our M.O. all season,” said Pembroke Coach Tim Vasconcellos of his team’s late-game effort. “They’ve shown that resilience day-in and day-out.”
O’Brien agreed, saying Pembroke’s late charge was far from a surprise.
“They’re a good team and they’re well coached,” he said. “If you give them even a little space, they’re going to put it in the net.”
Merrimack Valley saw five different players shoot their way into the box score, led by a four-goal effort from Chris Carmichael. Warren Campbell (two assists) and Alex Lacy (assist) added three goals apiece for the home team, followed by Dillon Arrant (two assists) and Chase Mercier (two assists) with two scores each.
Matt Jarvis earned the win between the pipes, finishing with 14 saves, including six in the decisive final quarter.
“This was an important win for us because we think we’re a pretty good lacrosse team,” said O’Brien, whose team will host John Stark (5-5) on Tuesday. “I’m hopeful this is one we can build on.”
Pat Berry (three goals, assist), Jacob McDonald and Richard Hammond also scored for Pembroke, while Peter Caraway turned aside seven shots in net.
“Now it’s a matter of putting together a full game,” said Vasconcellos, whose team will travel to face Kingswood (0-8) on Monday. “We’re not far.”
From coaches’ reports
John Stark 15, Milford 7
Key players: John Stark – Jake Blanchette (6 goals, 2 assists), Parker McQuarrie (4 goals, assist), Drew McQuarrie (goal, 6 assists), Steven Medvetz (2 goals, 2 assists), Nick Aleksonis (goal), Matt Bennetter (goal)
Highlights/key moments: Behind Blanchette’s eight points and Drew McQuarrie’s seven, the Generals won their second game in a row and hit the .500 mark for the season. Noah Champman won 90 percent of his faceoffs to help the offense’s dominant performance.
Records: John Stark 5-5; Milford 0-9
Campbell 20, Coe-Brown 2
Highlights/key moments: When these two met early in the season, it was only an eight-goal differential. But Friday was just one of those days for the Bears.
Coach’s quote: “We came out flat today and we’ll have to get back to work tomorrow.” – Coe-Brown’s Ryan Hanavan
Records: Coe-Brown 2-6; Campbell 3-7
Londonderry 17, Concord 5
Key players: Concord – Becca Proulx (3 goals), Jess Nelson (goal), Tori Pelletier (goal), Morgan Sisson (good game in net)
Highlights/key moments: Despite the scoring differential, Concord’s offense and defense both had shining moments in the game. The Tide have lost four of their last six, but have a chance to move up in the standings with upcoming games against Salem, Merrimack and Nashua South.
Coach’s quote: “The offense did a great job being patient and waiting for the right moment to score.” – Concord’s Steph Johnson
Records: Concord 4-6; Londonderry 7-4
John Stark 16, Pembroke 7
Key players: John Stark – Lizzie Brandt (5 goals, 4 assists), Danielle Galli (4 goals, assist, 6 draw controls), Allie McKean (strong defense); Pembroke – Emilee Harlow (3 goals)
Highlights/key moments: Pembroke took a quick 2-0 lead but the Generals came back to get a 7-5 halftime lead. The Spartans cut that lead to one early in the secnod half before Stark reeled off five goals in five minutes to take control.
Coach’s quote: “We struggled early, which has been a pattern in a few recent games. But we got it together in the second half with great draw control from middies Galli, Liz Neal, Jill Douzanis and Sara Medvetz.” – John Stark’s John Warner
Records: John Stark 7-3; Pembroke 2-9
Bow 19, Bishop Brady 5
Key players: Bow – Taylor Darrell (7 goals, 3 assists), Amanda Murray (3 goals, 4 assists), Maggie Vogt (2 goals, 3 assists), Sofia Darrell (3 goals),
Highlights/key moments: Bow pushed its winning streak to five thanks to an explosive offensive effort. Brady has now lost three in a row.
Records: Bow 7-2; Bishop Brady 2-8
Dover 6, Concord 3
Key players: Concord – Stephen Moran (4 IP, 2 ER), Noah Wachter (2 RBI), Christian McClellan (RBI)
Highlights/key moments: Concord mounted a late comeback, trimming the Dover lead to 8-5 in the sixth, but the game was called for weather and the score reverted back to the last full inning played. The Tide was threatening with a runner on second with only one out in the inning.
Coach’s quote: (Moran) did a great job in relief to keep us in it. We had the bases loaded twice with no outs and were only able to get one run in each inning. We are just missing that one big hit.” – Concord’s Scott Owen
Records: Dover 6-6; Concord 4-9
Belmont 8, Raymond 7
Key players: Belmont – Matt Pluskis (4-for-4, 4 RBI), Griffin Embree (3-for-4, run), Doug Price (2-for-4), Jonny LeClair (1-for-4, RBI, SB, run), Cole Contigiani (4 IP, 1 ER, 1 K, 2 hits)
Highlights/key moments: Raymond took a 4-0 lead in the bottom of the third, but the Raiders came back with five hits and five runs in the top of the fourth. Two of those runs came home on a single from Pluskis, who later scored from second on a passed ball on what Coach Matt LeBlanc called, “the heads-up play of the year.”
Raymond answered with two in the bottom of the fourth, but Belmont re-took the lead when another two-run single from Pluskis keyed a three-run sixth. It was the eighth-straight win for the Raiders and the loss snapped Raymond’s four-game winning streak.
Records: Belmont 11-1; Raymond 7-5
Bow 6, Somersworth 1
Key players: Bow – Jeff Bell (7 IP, 1 ER, 2 K, 5 hits; 1-for-3, 2 RBI), Jack Corriveau (2-for-3, run, walk), Connor Blandini (2-for-4, run), Ben Kimball (2-for-4, 2 RBI, run, double)
Highlights/key moments: It was scoreless through four innings before the Falcons plated five runs on five hits in the fifth. The big blow was a two-run double from Kimball.
Records: Bow 7-3; Somersworth 3-7
Concord 18, Dover 0
Key players: Concord – Caitlyn Shea (4 IP, win), Emily Redlon (3 hits, 3 RBI), Izzy Dunn (2 hits, 4 RBI), Sam Clapp (3 hits, 4 RBI), Zoe Honigberg (3 hits, 2 RBI)
Highlights/key moments: After a scoreless first two innings, Concord scored seven combined in the third and fourth innings on 15 hits. Shea pitched a three-hitter and Dunn threw one inning of relief.
Coach’s quote: “Good team win. Nice to see (our) bats come alive.” – Concord’s Duke Sawyer
Records: Concord 5-8; Dover 3-10
Belmont 14 , Raymond 2
Key players: Belmont – Megan Prescott (7 IP, 7 K, 0 BB), Nicole Antonucci (4-for-5), Taylor Lavallee (2-for-4), Jordan Sargent (home run), Shannon Davies (home run)
Highlights/key moments: Prescott didn’t allow a baserunner until the sixth inning as the Raiders won their fourth straight game.
Coach’s quote: “Nice to continue with strong offense and great pitching.” – Belmont’s Bill Clary
Records: Belmont 8-4; Raymond 5-7
Bishop Brady 12,
Farmington 0, 5 inn.
Key players: Bishop Brady – Aniecia Vargas (double, triple, 2 runs), Jess Beeso (triple, 2 RBI, run), Gwen Tupman (hit, RBI, 2 runs), Jamie Cookingham (hit, 2 RBI, run), Lily Rivera (5 IP, 7 K), Jackie Hill (hit, RBI), Abby Santis (hit, 2 runs)
Highlights/key moments: Rivera pitched a one-hit shutout, getting plenty of run support after a slow start to earn the win. The Giants have won two in a row since losing to Campbell on Monday.
Coach’s quote: “We came out flat in the early innings with low energy, but we picked it up in the fourth and fifth innings. The defense was solid today behind Lily.” – Bishop Brady’s Freddy Rivera
Records: Bishop Brady 7-3; Farmington 0-12
Somersworth 6, Bow 5, 9 inn.
Key players: Bow – Sara Anoli (2 hits), Maddie Constant (5 IP, 8 K; 2 hits), Sam Benoit (2 hits, HR), Katie Vozella (2 hits), Lauryn Colby (2 hits),
Highlights/key moments: Constant allowed just one hit in her five innings in the circle. Benoit smacked a homer to dead center, but in the ninth inning Somersworth got the game-winning hit on a single to left.
Coach’s quote: “Overall, it was a well-played game by both teams. Battling nine innings back and forth, between having a two-run lead to tying up the game, the girls worked hard and kept their heads high the whole way and never gave up. Even with the loss, I think this was one of our better games played as a team.” – Bow’s Kenzi Allis
Records: Bow 2-7; Somersworth 1-8
Conant 5, Kearsarge 0
Key players: Kearsarge – Maddie Folcik (4 IP, 1 K, 4 hits), Rachel Breault (hit)
Highlights/key moments: Conant scored in the first off an RBI double and never relinquished the lead from there. The Orioles scored two in the second, one in the third and one in the fifth.
Records: Kearsarge 3-8; Conant 8-2
John Stark 3, Keene 0
Key players: Cody Lemay (strong game hitting and on defense), Sawyer Lemay (well-managed game at setter), Rob Blouin (good setting), Griffin Caswell (outstanding defense), Aedan McCarron (excellent bloking and hitting), Robbie Yelle (excellent blocking and hitting)
Highlights/key moments: Stark withstood late rallies by Keene in game one (26-24) and game two (25-20), and went back and forth in game three, resulting in a 28-26 win for the Generals.
Coach’s quote: “This was a really great team effort from start to finish. We kept things simple and focused on keeping the ball off the floor and in the court. We were able to get production from all of our hitters and our newer players were able to contribute at key points in the match.” – John Stark’s Dave Simeone
Records: John Stark 7-5; Keene 4-6