The seniors on the Bishop Brady boys’ soccer team set a high goal before the start of the season. The Green Giants didn’t want to just reach the Division III playoffs like they did last year. They want to win the whole thing.
A high bar indeed, but Brady is pointed in the right direction after winning the first two games of the season, including Friday night’s 5-0 win over Hillsboro-Deering, which played in the D-III title game last year but fell to Gilford in overtime.
So far, Brady has outscored its first two opponents, 9-1, including a season-opening victory on the road against Mascenic on Tuesday.
“It’s exciting and certainly is a goal (to reach the championship game),” said first-year Brady Coach Mike Ling. “But I’ve been coaching long enough to realize weird things happen at the most inopportune times. The big thing right now is to keep focusing on just playing well. … There’s a long way to go.”
The focus was there Friday in a game that was much closer than the final score entailed. Through the first half, Brady had only a 1-0 lead despite keeping control of the ball and putting plenty of pressure on the Hillsboro-Deering defense.
The Giants broke the game open in the second half with four goals and strong defense, anchored by junior goalkeeper Bryce Johnson, who has stepped up as Brady’s go-to netminder this year.
Tony Wright scored twice to lead Brady in scoring, while Colin Plante added a goal and two assists. Giacomo Rapparini and Matthew Quirk each added a goal apiece. Manish Giri (2 assists) and Wes McIntosh (1 assist) also chipped in.
“You wonder if we can ride that goal scoring wave, but that doesn’t necessarily happen consistently,” Ling said. “There are moments in matches with a dry spot, and then a flurry of scoring. The boys all get on the same wavelength and produce something really special. They have great chemistry.”
The onslaught of offense in the second half carried Brady away to a convincing win, leading Hillsboro-Deering Coach Joe Donnelly to make a comment that Brady’s seniors would appreciate.
“It was a match between boys and men,” Donnelly said. “My lads put in a valiant effort but were no match for a very talented Bishop Brady squad. They have all the pieces to make a deep run at the title this year.”
(Nick Stoico can be reached at 369-3309, nstoico@cmonitor.com or on Twitter @NickStoico.)
Coe-Brown 4, St. Thomas 0
Key players: Coe-Brown – Don MacCallum (2 goals), Mitchell Wade (goal), Corbin LeBlanc (goal), Ethan Barbeau (assist), Mike Mulligan (assist)
Highlights/key moments: Wade scored after only two minutes, quickly giving the Bears a lead they never relinquished.
Coach’s quote: “It was great to get a clean sheet. The defense played great, (so did) the whole back line and midfield.” – Coe-Brown’s Christian Gompert
Records: Coe-Brown 3-0; St. Thomas 1-2
Stevens 10, Franklin 1
Key players: Franklin – Gio Lemon (goal), Hannah Hicks (defense)
Highlights/key moments: Lemon’s goal was the lone highlight in a loss for the Golden Tornadoes.
Records: Franklin 0-2; Stevens 2-1
Pembroke 2, Bow 1
Key players: Pembroke – Hunter Boyce (goal, assist), Max Putnam (goal), AJ Gagnon (assist). Bow – Ryan Andrews (first varsity goal).
Highlights/key moments: Down 1-0 at the half, Pembroke came through in the second half with goals from Boyce and Putnam minutes apart.
Coach’s quote: “We had to battle back to get this win.” – Pembroke’s Peter Bisson
“We are headed in the right direction. It’s on to Merrimack Valley on Tuesday.” – Bow’s George Pinkham
Records: Pembroke 3-0; Bow 0-3
Pittsfield 3, Hinsdale 0
Key players: Pittsfield – Garrett Guerrero-Hadley (2 goals), Cameron Darrah (goal), Gabe Anthony (2 assists)
Highlights/key moments: Pittsfield took a 1-0 lead when Guerrero-Hadley converted a Casey Clark pass in the 32nd minute. Darrah headed home a corner kick from Anthony in the 51st minute and Guerrero-Hadley tapped in an Anthony pass just one minute later.
Records: Pittsfield 1-1-1; Hinsdale 0-1-1
Concord 5, Alvirne 1
Key players: Concord – Madysen Audet (goal, 2 assists), Grace Devanny (goal, assist), Ellie Pope (goal, assist), Caitlyn Klose (goal), Allison Silverstein (goal), Jessica Nelson (assist), Yelena Beausoleil (assist).
Highlights/key moments: Concord won the game in the first half with four goals before adding its fifth and final in the second.
Records: Concord 2-1; Alvirne 0-3
Pembroke 4, Sanborn 2
Key players: Pembroke – Kayla Paquin (3 goals), Emilee Harlow (goal), Maddy Bailey (assist), Casey Bardier, Brianna Connolly, Meghan Gauss (defense), Liz Jewett (midfield play)
Highlights/key moments: Led by Paquin on offense, Pembroke went ahead 3-0 before the half with three goals in a span of nine minutes.
Coach’s quote: : “It was a great home opener for us. We march forward, and as a team everyone is contributing right now.” – Pembroke’s Jess Croft
Records: Pembroke 3-0; Sanborn 1-1
Hanover 2, Bow 1, 2OT
Key players: Bow – Lauren Goyette (goal), Maggie Vogt (assist)
Highlights/key moments: Hanover scored five minutes into the game, but Bow tied it with a minute to go in the half when Vogt sent the ball into the box for Goyette to put away. The Falcons hit two posts in the second half and a cross-bar in the first overtime. Hanover snuck in the game-winning goal with 3:36 to play in the second overtime.
Coach’s quote: “The girls played an excellent game and we will use this as motivation to drive us to the next level. Couldn’t be prouder of their effort.” – Bow’s Jay Vogt
Records: Bow 2-1; Hanover 2-0
Hillsboro-Deering 3, Stevens 0
Key players: H-D – Izabella Warren (2 goals), Mara Grady (goal), Bridgette Winters (2 assists), Melissa Veitch (4 saves), Sam Grondin (defense), Emily Wightman (midfield)
Highlights/key moments: Warren led the Hillcats to victory Thursday with a pair of first-half goals, and Grady added the exclamation point 10 minutes into the second half.
Coach’s quote: “The girls did a great job executing what we practiced this week: possession of the ball and pressuring the other team.” – H-D’s Susan Else
Records: H-D 2-1-0; Stevens 1-1-0
Merrimack Valley 2, Kennett 1, OT
Key players: MV – Chloe Rattee (game-winning goal in overtime), Colleen Easler (goal), Raegan Baillargeon (consistent play throughout the entire game).
Highlights/key moments: Rattee got the ball in a scramble and found the cage with a shot 49 seconds into overtime, giving the Pride the win after it rallied from a 1-0 halftime deficit.
Coach’s quote: “The MV-Kennett games are always a battle and this game was no different. I am very proud of the effort today and I am happy that, even though Kennett scored first, we were able to fight back and get the win.” – MV’s Kim Kenney
Records: MV 1-1, Kennett 1-1
Pembroke 0, Laconia 0
Key players: Pembroke – Laurel Klawes (strong defense), Carley Songen (solid offense)
Highlights/key moments: The Spartans totaled 18 shots on goal and eight corners, but couldn’t find the cage.
Coach’s quote: “The whole team worked well together working the passing game down the field. It was an outstanding performance for all of these girls.” – Pembroke’s Aimee Monterio
Records: Pembroke 0-1-1
Stevens 2, Bow 1
Key players: Bow – Saara Bliss (goal), Sonya Delorie (assist).
Highlights/key moments: Bliss put the Falcons on the board with an assist from Delorie, but Bow failed to make up for a slow start.
Records: Bow 1-1; Stevens 2-0
Mascenic 5, Franklin 0
Key players: Franklin – Jess Cilley (impressive saves in second half)
Highlights/key moments: A slow start put the Golden Tornadoes in too big of a hole to escape, even with an improved second half.
Coach’s quote: “The team lacked motivation and drive in the first half. They did a good job in the second half and played better as a team. We had opportunities to score but we’re not able to capitalize when the ball crossed the goal crease.” – Franklin’s Deborah Georgevits
Records: Franklin 0-2; Mascenic 1-0
Concord 3, Goffstown 2
Key players: Concord – Lauren Hatch (14 kills, three blocks), Caitlyn Shea (17 assists), Rebekah Jauhola-Straight (16 digs)
Highlights/key moments: The Crimson Tide earned 25-12 and 25-21 wins in the first and third sets, respectively, but two 25-18 Goffstown wins forced a decisive fifth set. Concord didn’t let the match slip away, as Shea and Hatch notched big kills to preserve the victory.
Coach’s quote: “Goffstown is traditionally the first match of our season. The match is always highly competitive because they consistently put together a strong team.” – Concord’s Jonathan Flower
Records: Concord 1-0; Goffstown 0-1
Coe-Brown 3, Hanover 0
Key players: Isabelle Lupinacci (16-17 serving, 2 aces), Kerry Riley (6 kills, 6 digs)
Highlights/key moments: After winning the first set, 25-20, the Bears battled back from five-point deficit in the second to take the lead with eight straight points. Coe-Brown won the set, 25-19, and finished the third, 25-13, to seal the match. Shannon Riley and Jaylen Newport combined for 16 assists.
Records: Coe-Brown 1-0; Hanover 0-1
Belmont 3, Franklin 0
Key players: Belmont – Emily Leflame (18 assists, 6 digs, 7 aces, solo block), Shannon Davies (10 kills, 4 blocks), Jordyn Lavallee (8 kills, 5 aces, 2 blocks)
Highlights/key moments: Sophomore libero Morgan Ferguson led the defense with 16 digs in Belmont’s set sweep over Franklin. Set scores were 25-12, 25-11 and 25-15.
Records: Belmont 1-0; Franklin 0-1
Winnisquam 3, Mascenic 1
Key players: Winnisquam – Shannon Goodwin (20 kills, 16 digs), Talia DeBlasie (26 asssits, 9 digs), Aubrey St. Onge (15 digs, 2 assists), Nicole Matcheski (6 digs, 6 kills), Maddy Skeats (7 digs), Meghan Harmon (4 blocks, 2 kills)
Highlights/key moments: After giving up the opening set, 25-13, the Bears rallied back to win the next three matches, 25-22, 25-10 and 25-21 to seal the match.
Coach’s quote: “We have a really young team and this was a big win for us. … We were nervous in the first game, gave up some unforced errors.” – Winnisquam’s Mike Livernois
Records: Winnisquam 1-0; Mascenic 0-1
Early Bird Invitational
Key players: Hopkinton – Simon Doneski (third, 18:29), Aidan Molnar (41st); Belmont – Nick Randos (seventh), Ian Remenar (eighth), Isaiah Knowlton (23rd); Winnisquam – Kyle Mann (10th), Nathan Houghton (20th); Hillsboro-Deering – Bryson Blanchard (47th), Zachary Camp (60th); Bishop Brady – Scott Franklin (63rd), Oscar Miller (65th); Moultonborough – Tyler McLaughlin (first, 17:56)
Highlights/key moments: Doneski led the Hawks to 164 points and eighth place at the Gilford Early Bird Invitational Thursday. Winnisquam (213, 10th) and Hillsboro-Deering (322, 12th) were other scoring local teams at the meet, which had a top three of Derryfield (82), Prospect Mountain (105) and Moultonborough (105, lost tiebreaker).
Early Bird Invitational
Key players: Belmont – Alice Riley (2nd, 21:49), Alexus Day (14th); Hopkinton – Emma Rothe (5th), Sydney Stockwell (21st), Lily Sabol (26th), Ella Whipps (38th); Bishop Brady – Anna Grafton (30th), Kamryn Compton (40th); Winnisquam – Hannah Swain (44th), Jasmine Piper (45th); Hillsboro-Deering – Elizabeth Labier (83rd), Ruthie Robinson (92nd); White Mountains – Leah Dutkewych (first, 21:36)
Highlights/key moments: Led by four freshmen, the Hawks totaled 111 points to finish fourth at the Early Bird Invitational on Thursday behind Plymouth (57), Moultonborough (67) and Gilford (93). Bishop Brady (ninth, 219), Winnisquam (11th, 292) and Hillsboro-Deering (12th, 342) also scored.