John Stark girls’ soccer Coach Heather Doucette walked to midfield after her team’s game with Hanover Wednesday, where Doug Kennedy – the Marauders coach and winner of the last two Division II crowns – was waiting with something to say.
“He said ‘Right there, that was a tournament game,’ ” Doucette said. “ ‘That would have been great to see in a championship game.’ ”
And that was coming from the coach whose team lost the game. Doucette got to watch Brooke Shatney score with four minutes left in double overtime, lifting the Generals to a 1-0 victory over what has been the class of the state in the division.
The players went crazy. Doucette was thrilled.
“It was such a battle. It was so fun to coach,” she said. “Both teams played so hard, and it was a clean game. … It’s a big win. You ask anyone in our division, Hanover is the team to beat.”
John Stark (3-0) saw that for itself. The first of Hanover’s two titles came via a 2-1 victory over the Generals in the championship game, and Stark didn’t make it back last year for a rematch. The chances of another postseason meeting this November seemed slim at season’s start; 12 seniors graduated, leaving the Generals to have to rebuild and compete at the same time.
Stark passed the first tests, winning its first two games. But Hanover (2-1) loomed, and the players knew it.
“We spent the last couple of weeks trying to gain confidence with our younger players,” Doucette said. “We’ve been working on trusting each other.”
At the same time, the players knew they had a special opportunity on their hands.
“It’s a battle. (Doug’s) a great coach and he always brings a great team,” Doucette said. “The girls get up for it. They know if they can take on Hanover, they can take on anyone.”
The game descended into a hard-fought midfield battle, with defenders Meg Blanchette, Mackenzie Nase, Jocelyn Dimond and Eryn Bennetter stymieing the Hanover attack.
The Generals had few chances themselves, but one came as the second overtime was nearing a close. Nase played a long ball up to Shatney, who made a move on the defender and fired a shot from close to the goal line that found the upper far corner of the goal.
“It was just beautiful,” Doucette said. “I looked at it, I was like ‘Did that go in?’ ”
There wasn’t the same sort of disbelief among the players. Once ball met twine, the celebration was on.
“Just pure excitement. It wasn’t excitement for the win as much as it was excitement for the girls,” Doucette said. “They were ecstatic. It looked like they had won the championship game.”
Plenty of season remains, and John Stark still has work to do to ensure the youth movement gains hold in the later months.
But that movement starts with confidence. And knocking off the defending champ is a good way to grow it.
“It’s a stepping stone for these guys,” Doucette said. “Our journey continues. I’m just excited the kids got to see the things we’ve been trying to teach them come true.”
Coe-Brown 7, Kennett 1
Key players: Coe-Brown – Kate Clinch (2 goals, 2 assists), Chelsea McCallion (goal, assist), Kiley St. Francis (goal, assist), Mikayla Prina (goal, assist), Kate Messenger (4 saves).
Highlights/key moments: Clinch’s four points helped lift the Bears back to .500.
Records: Coe-Brown 2-2; Kennett 1-3
Hopkinton 4, Stevens 3
Key players: Hopkinton – Taylor Signor (2 goals), Brianna Curley (2 goals), Ellie Morrall (2 assists), Lilias Whitehead (assist), Amelia Bassett (3 saves).
Highlights/key moments: The Hawks’ defense held on late to preserve the one-goal victory after outscoring the Cardinals, 2-0, in the first half.
Coach’s quote: “We’ll take the win and move on from here. It was a good team effort today” – Hopkinton’s Lauri Izzi.
Records: Hopkinton 2-1; Stevens 1-2
Concord Christian 1, Sunapee 0, OT
Key players: Concord Christian – Dylan Daigneault (goal), Tim Stevens
Highlights/key moments: Daigneault scored two minutes into overtime to win it for the Kingsmen.
Coach’s quote: “It was a hard fought victory today. We knew they were going to be a tough team, but our boys did what they had to do to get the win.” – Concord Christian’s Phil Tuttle
Records: CC 3-0; Sunapee 2-1
Bow 11, Conant 0
Key players: Bow – Saara Bliss (2 goals), Dom Biron (3 goals), Savannah Speckman (goal), Lauren Walter (goal), Emma Roberge (goal), Claire Mulvaney (goal), Cassie Meaney (goal, assist), Dillon Hicks (assist), Kirsten Weisner (assist), Sonya Delorie (assist), Shannon Ford (2 assists)
Highlights/key moments: Speckman, Roberge and Meaney notched their first varsity goals as the Falcons rolled to the win.
Records: Bow 2-1; Conant 0-2
Berlin 4, Hopkinton 0
Key players: Berlin – Jessica Vein (3 goals)
Highlights/key moments: The Hawks had trouble keeping up with the visiting Mountaineers.
Coach’s quote: “We struggled to move the ball up the field today. With hard work we will bounce back from this loss.” – Hopkinton’s Kate Hohenberger
Records: Hopkinton 1-2; Berlin 2-1
Pelham 8, Bishop Brady 0
Key players: Brady – Emma Windsor (15 saves), Lauren Roy (play in midfield)
Highlights/key moments: The Pythons took command early, building a 5-0 lead by halftime.
Records: Brady 1-2-0; Pelham 3-0-0
Newport 3, John Stark 1
Key players: John Stark – Mercedes Camacho (goal), Raelyn Roberts (assist for first varsity point), Melina Jackson (15 saves)
Highlights/key moments: The Generals were within a goal of the Tigers for most of the game, but couldn’t find the equalizer before Newport scored with 17 seconds to go.
Coach’s quote: “Another big step for our program today. We were competitive for a full 60 minutes today. … We continue to grow every single day. I feel the wins will start to come.” – Stark’s Dennis Pelletier
Records: John Stark 0-3; Newport 1-2
Franklin 2, Kearsarge 1
Key players: Franklin – Hailey Haskins (goal), Anna Sylvestre (goal), Lauren Marsh (offense), Zoe Kaplan (defense); Kearsarge – Katlyn Kleckner (strong defensive effort), Lily Woods (sweep, good clears), Vica Henskens (goal)
Highlights/key moments: The Golden Tornadoes got a goal in each half and held on for their first win.
Coach’s quote: “We found ourselves suddenly down three starting defenders due to injury and illness and had to find ways to compensate. As Franklin moved to the ball with great hustle, we couldn’t find a groove and struggled to maintain possession.” – Kearsarge’s Dianne Chadwick
Records: Franklin 1-2; Kearsarge 1-2
Winnisquam 3, Laconia 0
Key players: Winnisquam – Meghan Cote (goal, assist), Lilli Keegan (goal), Molly Tinker (goal), Erin Atherton (assist)
Highlights/key moments: Three different players scored to lift the Bears to their first victory of the year.
Records: Winnisquam 1-2-0; Laconia 1-1-1
Belmont second
Key players: Belmont – Nicole Antonucci (47), Wyatt Paquin (50), Trevor Hunt (51), Michael Marrone (51); Gilford – Grant Workman (36, medalist)
Highlights/key moments: Antonucci’s round led a solid season-opening round for the Red Raiders (199), who finished behind host Gilford (178) and ahead of Plymouth (211) at par-36 Pheasant Ridge Country Club.
Coach’s quote: “As a team we played great for our first match of the season. Our goal was to keep the ball in play each hole and give ourselves a chance to score. As a team our course management was solid, but will be our focus moving forward.” – Belmont’s Kevin Charleston
Records: Belmont 1-1; Gilford 4-0; Plymouth 1-2
Hopkinton second
Key players: Hopkinton – Nick Fairneny (37, medalist), Kiernan Byrne (47), Trent Gagnon (48), Larson Burack (49)
Highlights/key moments: Fairneny was medalist with his 1-over round at par-36 Country Club of New Hampshire, but the Hawks (181) were behind Newport (172) and ahead of Sunapee (208).
Coach’s quote: “We played pretty much bogey golf, and if you get close to that you’re going to have a chance to win. (A) 181 (total) would have won most matches last year, that’s pretty good.” – Hopkinton’s Dave Chase
Records: Hopkinton 4-1; Newport 3-0; Sunapee 2-2
H-D second
Key players: Hillsboro-Deering – Jacob Cole (43); Mascenic – Ethan Bilodeau (48), Evan Martel (49)
Highlights/key moments: Cole won medalist honors, but the Hillcats (238) still finished behind Mascenic (197)
Records: H-D 3-1; Mascenic 3-0
Coe-Brown 3, Kingswood 2
Key players: Coe-Brown – Drew Ceppetelli (27 digs), Emma DuBois (16 kills), Amaya Newport (8 kills), Shannon Doherty (29 assists)
Highlights/key moments: The Bears trailed 1-0 and 2-1, but won the fourth game, 25-20, and the fifth, 15-4, to rally for the match win.
Coach’s quote: “It was an exciting match, well-fought match both ways. I was just glad that we were able to pull it out.” – Coe-Brown’s Rick Veno
Records: Coe-Brown 2-0; Kingswood 0-1
John Stark 3, ConVal 1
Key players: John Stark – Nicole Yelle (34 assists, 8 kills, 3 aces, 1 block), Sara Medvetz (25 digs, 4 aces), Hannah Chartier (8 kills, 3 aces), Cassidy Gilman (7 kills)
Highlights/key moments: After a 25-20 first-set win, the Generals showed a finishing touch with a 5-0 run to finish a 25-20 win in the second set and a 4-0 run to finish a clinching 25-23 win in the fourth.
Coach’s quote: “We played well enough to win the match, but we’re still not playing to our potential. Maybe this win can help catapult us to more wins. We just need to relax and play worry-free.” – John Stark’s Jeff McClellan
Records: John Stark 1-1; ConVal 0-2
Winnisquam 3, Belmont 0
Key players: Winnisquam – Shannon Goodwin (13 kills, 4 digs), Nicole Matcheski (3 kills, 7 digs, 8 aces), Talia DeBlasie (5 kills, 13 assists, 9 digs), Aubrey St. Onge (8 digs, 4 assists)
Highlights/key moments: The Bears edged the Red Raiders, 29-26, in the first game, then won the second, 25-10, and the third, 25-14.
Coach’s quote: “We made a few mistakes that allowed Belmont to get back in the (first) game, but I was happy we did not lose the game. We really played well in the second game. … We didn’t let up and kind of dominated the last two games.” – Winnisquam’s Mike Livernois
Records: Winnisquam 2-0; Belmont 1-1