Bishop Brady boys’ soccer Coach Mike Ling likes his outside backs involved in the attack. Senior back Kaleb Hibbard got involved and then some on Monday as the Green Giants ran their record to 4-0 with a 6-1 win over Somersworth (2-3).
Hibbard used his head to score in the ninth minute, finishing a cross from Colin Plante at the far post. Five minutes later, Hibbard again marauded up the wing, and this time he came far enough inside to take a well-rolled pass from Wes McIntosh near the top of the 18 and put one in the upper corner.
Hibbard’s second goal was actually the third goal of the game for Brady, which got on the board in the second minute when Kyle Leighton scored off an assist from Manish Giri. So after just 14 minutes of play, the Giants had built a 3-0 lead.
“We were feeling good, but I tell you what, Somersworth had a lot of fight, a lot of tenacity,” Ling said. “And their keeper, Jimmy Dalesio, he did a remarkable job.”
Dalesio had 19 saves on the day, including 13 in the first half, and the Hilltoppers scored in the 33rd minute to cut Brady’s lead to 3-1 going into halftime.
But the Giants pushed their advantage back to three goals midway through the second half when Francesco Zeni, a junior varsity call-up, scored the first of his two goals. Zeni’s opening tally came on an assist from McIntosh and the second was unassisted.
“(Zeni) practiced with the varsity in the latter part of last week and then I asked him to join us today because we’ve had some players out and I wanted to make sure my bench was deep enough,” Ling said. “He plays a real smart game with simple passing and moving nicely into open space, and obviously he played well today.”
The defenders got back into the scoring act for Brady’s sixth and final goal when senior center back Jacob Yanski connected on a one-time volley off a corner kick from Giacomo Rapparini.
Ling also got a versatile effort from senior defender Kyle Kowalski, who moved from center back to central defensive midfield in the middle of the game as some players who were ill last week needed extra rest.
“(Kowalski) is the kind of kid who will do whatever it takes to help the team,” Ling said. “And he’s flexible enough to handle a lot of different situations. He’s really more versatile than he thinks he is.”
All of the Giants are finding out they might be a little more than they thought under Ling, who is in his first year as the head coach for the Brady boys’ team after spending last year helping the girls’ team and the 15 years before that running a varsity high school program in New Jersey.
“I think we have great senior leadership and we have good numbers in the program,” Ling said of his team’s early success. “And one of the things we’ve talked about with the boys is for them to be patient with me and for me to be patient with them. I’m trying to understand where their comfort level is and at the same time I’ve asked them too stretch themselves a bit, and they’ve done that.”
(Tim O’Sullivan can be reached at 369-3341 or at tosullivan@cmonitor.com or on Twitter @timosullivan20.)
John Stark 5, Plymouth 0
Key players: John Stark – Ryan Nelson (4 goals), Lawson Murphy (3 assists), Evan Caswell (goal), Jake Reynolds (assist, great defense), Travis Borruso (assist), Tim Cuerrier (defense) Isaiah Lovering (great overall game).
Highlights/key moments: Nelson started both halves fast, scoring in the fourth minute of the game and then six minutes into the second half. He also added a goal in 30th minute and another in the 60th. Caswell scored with just three minutes left in the first half to give the Generals a 3-0 lead going into the break.
Coach’s quote: “We put a complete game in today and finally finished our opportunities. Runs off the ball were great and we did a good job finding players who were open. Defensively, we had another strong game, giving us our fourth straight shutout.” – John Stark’s Jeff Vogt
Records: John Stark 4-1; Plymouth 2-3
Hopkinton 5, Mascenic 2
Key players: Hopkinton – Max Rossignol (3 goals), Azarius Meister (goal), Gerry Donahue (goal), Will Rhynhart (assist), Joe Cullinan (assist)
Highlights/key moments: Hopkinton scored in the sixth minute when Rossignol connected on a header off a corner kick, but that was one of the only first-half highlights for the Hawks, who were down 2-1 at halftime. But they increased the intensity in the second half and took advantage of two penalty kick opportunities.
Coach’s quote: “In the second half we began to assert our dominance and win 50-50 balls and tackles before starting quick counter attacks.” – Hopkinton’s Scott Zipke
Records: Hopkinton 4-1; Mascenic 2-3
Sunapee 3, Hillsboro-Deering 0
Key players: Catherine Montanez (3 kills), Kristina Stevens (3 digs)
Highlights/key moments: After keeping it relatively close in the first game, a 25-14 loss, the Hillcats failed to register double digits in the next two games, losing 25-9 and 25-5.
Records: H-D 0-3; Sunapee 2-1
Moultonborough 3, Pittsfield 0
Key players: Arianna Cyr (13 kills 4 digs), Emma Smith and Lily Dunagin (7 digs each)
Coach’s quote: “For such a young team, they are starting to play together and look like a team that should pull off some wins in the near future.” -Pittsfield’s Paul Strickhart
Records: Pittsfield 0-3, Moultonborough 3-0
Concord 1, Merrimack 0
Key players: Jessie Reed (goal), Megan Martel (6 saves)
Highlights/key moments: The Tide continued a three-game win streak with a victory on the road
Records: Concord 3-2; Merrimack 1-4
Monadnock 2, Bow 0
Key players: Bow – Sonya Delorie (midfield), Dom Biron (attack)
Highlights/key moments: Sophomore goalie Courtney Baer had 11 saves and kept things close in the first half as the Falcons trailed just 1-0 at the break.
Coach’s quote: “The girls played hard, but they’re having a hard time finding the net.” – Bow’s Tracy Berube
Records: Bow 2-3; Monadnock 4-0
Bow first, Kearsarge third
Key players:Bow – Ronan Lucey (33), Doug Champagne (35), Jack Olson (42), Jason Howe (42); Kearsarge – Jake Bears (42); Gilford – Grant Workman (medalist, 32)
Highlights/key moments: Bow came out on top, scoring 152 for its 101st straight win. Gilford (170) edged Kearsarge (171) for second place. Stevens took fourth with a team score of 175 at par-36 Claremont Country Club.