When the final horn sounded from the sideline, players from the Concord High girls’ lacrosse team didn’t hang their heads as they walked off the field from a 15-9 loss to Exeter on Friday at Memorial Field.
They knew how close this one was, a game where the Crimson Tide and Blue Hawks traded leads in the first half before Exeter took off with five unanswered goals early in the second. The team that beat Concord by 10 goals this time last year couldn’t do replicate that game, and the Tide can take some solace in that.
“This is the closest we’ve come to beating Exeter in the four years I’ve played,” senior midfielder Rebecca Proulx said. “It just shows that all of us can play together and put in the work as a team and do what it takes. I’m looking forward to the rest of this season; I think it will get better.”
Concord has continued to improve each year since its perfect 2012 season, and the Tide was knocking on the door to get back in the Division I playoffs last spring. Only a couple of wins separated the Tide from a berth as they finished at 6-10. They’ve opened this spring at 1-1 after beating Central in the season opener on Monday.
“Our goal is to come into every game with a positive mindset,” Concord Coach Steph Johnson said. “Every game is a fresh start. It doesn’t matter what the talent level of the other team is. They can’t stop quick passing and transition and working together.”
Sharpening those elements of their play could be the difference between winning or losing a close game.
One bit of adversity Concord will have to fight through this season is depth. Johnson is managing 26 players in the program spread between varsity and JV, leaving limited room for substitutions.
Fresh to start the first half, Concord came out and took a 1-0 lead 57 seconds into the game. Exeter answered with two goals to go ahead, but the Tide answered right back with two of their own to reclaim the lead.
The Blue Hawks again scored a pair of goals to lead 4-3 midway through the half, but Proulx brought the score to even with her second of three goals.
“If we could have kept that up the entire game, I think we could have kept up with them and potentially won,” Proulx said.
Instead, it was the Blue Hawks who came out firing in the second half with five goals in less than four minutes to take a 12-5 lead. Johnson called timeout after the first four were scored to reorganize her players and hopefully stifle Exeter’s momentum.
“I think we just needed a minute to regroup,” Johnson said. “We did start to get a little discouraged, but we just needed to refocus. Lacrosse is a high scoring game – it takes 20 seconds to score a goal. Even if you’re down five goals, you can come back and win it. It’s just a matter of getting in your own head and being able to overcome that number on the scoreboard.”
Concord outscored Exeter, 4-3, through the final 19 minutes to cut the deficit to six, which held to the final horn.
“In the beginning of the second half, we got run into the ground a little bit so our midfield was a little bit tired and after we got our composure back we were able to score goals,” Proulx said. “But we regrouped, had a talk and then we came back out and obviously did a lot better and played like the team we know we are.”
Proulx turned in her three goals on four shots. Sophomore attacker Nicole Toler also turned in a pair of goals, while Christina Soule, Brenna Vandersea, Delana Erickson and Anya Nadeau scored one apiece. Fabiana McLeod made six saves in the crease for Concord.
Jennifer Rogers led Exeter with six goals. Shannon Bucklin and Allison Kelley each had three and Alyssa Pietz added two.
Concord will play its second road game of the spring on Tuesday at Merrimack, and the Tide plan to bring the same positive mindset they left the field with on Friday.
“We might have lost to them last year, but that doesn’t matter,” Johnson said. “We did better than we ever had in the past against Exeter so that’s a positive for us right now.”
(Nick Stoico can be reached at 369-3339, nstoico@cmonitor.com or on Twitter @NickStoico.)
Kearsarge 15, Belmont 0
Key players: Kearsarge – Leslie Angus (4 goals, assist), Brie Von Beren (3 goals), Jackie DeAngelis (3 goals, assist), Ally Wilson (2 goals)
Highlights/key moments: Kearsarge got in the win column for the first time this season after losing the season opener to Bow, 12-9.
Records: Kearsarge 1-1; Belmont 0-1
Derryfield 14, Hopkinton 12
Key players: Hopkinton – Amelia Bassett (6 goals), Lyndon Flanagan (3 goals, 5 assists), Hannah Wood (2 goals), Ellie Owen (first career goal and assist)
Highlights/key moments: The Hawks posted double-digit goals for the second straight game, but it wasn’t enough to get past Derryfield. Six different players scored for Hopkinton who also received strong defensive play from Amelia Thomas and Sage Hubicki.
Records: Hopkinton 1-1; Derryfield 2-0
Windham 13, Merrimack Valley 7
Key players: MV – Dillon Arrant (2 goals, 2 assists), Evan Martin (goal, 2 assists), Jessy Hirwa (11 saves)
Highlights/key moments: The score was tied 1-1 after the first 12 minutes, but Windham’s attack picked up in the second and third quarters to take a 7-4 lead. MV couldn’t recover and dropped its first game of the season. Hirwa, a freshman, made his first start in net for the Pride. Brothers Josh and Kyle Farmer played well on defense with Kyle getting into his first varsity action.
Coach’s quote: “We took the early shots rather than working to find the right shot.” – MV’s Sean O’Brien
Records: Windham 2-0; MV 0-1
Gilford 7, Coe-Brown 2
Key players: Coe-Brown – Jack Percy (goal, assist), Daniel Strum (goal), Zac Sheehan (16 saves)
Highlights/key moments: The Bears dropped their second straight contest to start the season, falling behind 2-0 in the first and 4-1 at halftime. Coe-Brown netted a goal in each half while Gilford rattled off four scores in the second quarter alone.
Records: Coe-Brown 0-2; Gilford 1-0
Portsmouth 11, John Stark 7
Key players: Stark – Drew McQuarrie (2 goals, 2 assists), Kayden Eastern (2 goals, 1 assist), Aiden Moser (2 goals), Parker McQuarrie (goal)
Highlights/key moments: After trailing 7-3 at halftime, Stark played Portsmouth even in the second half, battling hard but eventually coming up short for the second time this season.
Coach’s quote: “This is one of the better teams on our schedule and we battled them hard. I liked how we competed all game long. If we do that the rest of the way we’ll win our share.” – Stark’s Howard Roever
Records: Stark 0-2; Portsmouth 1-0
Pembroke 17, Manchester West 5
Key players: Pembroke – Chris Arvantis (4 goals, assist), Glenn Dion (3 goals, 3 assists), Jayden Anderson (3 goals), Josh Dion (goal)
Highlights/key moments: David Hammond made five saves on eight shots in goal for the Spartans to pick up his first win. Pembroke started slow, but scored the game’s first six goals – and 11 of the first 12 – for a commanding 11-1 halftime lead.
Coach’s quote: “Most of our goals were off of feeds and good ball movement and multiple players found a way to get on the stat sheet.” – Pembroke’s Tim Vasconcellos
Records: Pembroke 1-1; Manchester West 0-1
Hopkinton 21, Monadnock 8
Key players: Hopkinton – Joe Cullinan (6 goals, 5 assists), Sam Schuster (8 goals, assist), Liam Flanagan (3 goals, assist), Henry Yianakopolos (2 goals, 4 assists), Colby Quiet (goal, assist), Joe Sawitsky (goal), Gerry Donahue (great defense, 2 assists), Sage Dubois (great defense) Derek Amoth (13 saves)
Highlights/key moments: The Hawks came out strong with a 6-1 edge after one quarter and a 12-2 lead at half. Monadnock responded in the third with five consecutive goals, but the Hawks rallied four straight goals of their own, making it 16-7 after three quarters. The Hawks defense was able to stymie the Huskies’ potent offense in the end.
Coach’s quote: “We were able to put it all together tonight and come up with a big win over a great team. Our hard work in the offseason and preseason really paid off. The team has developed good chemistry and we plan on riding our momentum as we go into our 3 games next week.” – Hopkinton’s Deacon Blue
Records: Hopkinton 1-0; Monadnock 1-1
Kearsarge 19, Milford 6
Key players: Kearsarge – Justin Norris (7 goals), Tate Nurme (3 goals), Colton Wihelm (2 goals, 2 assists), Emerson Tyler (21 faceoff wins), Leland Heckel, Tom Gallo
Highlights/key moments: Emerson Tyler
Coach’s quote: Tyler’s dominance on faceoffs kept the ball in the Cougars’ possession as eight players recorded goals. Kearsarge led 14-3 at halftime and 14-4 after three quarters.
Coach’s quote: “Nice step in the right direction for us. I was very proud of the way we shared the ball today and often made extra passes.” – Kearsarge’s Zach Matthews
Records: Kearsarge 2-0; Milford 1-1
Bow 8, Kingswood 5
Key players: Bow – Mason Grasso (3 goals), Ryan Tobeler (2 goals, assist), Chase Chamberlin (10 saves), Brendan Ulrich (2 assists), Alex Killion (2 assists)
Highlights/key moments: Bow overcame a 4-2 halftime deficit to claim its first victory of the year. Bow’s man-down unit killed off six minutes of locked-in, non-releasable penalties in the second quarter, holding Kingswood scoreless during that stretch.
Coach’s quote: “I very proud of the boys and the effort they gave tonight. We took some penalties in the first half, survived those, and then really dug deep for a great comeback win. We showed a lot of toughness tonight and hopefully we can build on that.” – Bow’s Chris Gaudreau
Records: Bow 1-1; Kingswood 0-1
Concord 9, Keene 0
Key players: Concord – Aidan Connor (8-1 win at No. 1 singles), Sebastian Hart-Meyer (8-0 win at No. 2), Kevin Neary (8-0 win at No. 3), Ethan Crandlemire (8-2 win at No. 4), Anders Norton (8-1 win at No. 5), Thomas Burns (8-6 win at No. 6)
Highlights/key moments: Despite missing two of its top six on Thursday, the Crimson Tide still rolled to the win at home. Burns, playing in his first varsity match, came back from 4-0 down to win. Connor and Hart-Meyer won, 8-1, at No. 1 doubles, Neary and Norton claimed an 8-0 win at No. 2 doubles, and Burns and Norton finished the sweep with a 9-7 win at No. 3 doubles.
Coach’s quote: “We had some kids step up in the absence of a couple senior leader. I think the match buyilt depth for the rest fo the year and gave our kids some experience and confidence.” – Concord’s Dave Page
Records: Concord 2-0; Keene 1-2
Kearsarge 8, Pelham 1
Key players: Kearsarge – Tyler Valovic (8-1 win at No. 1 singles), Tucker Valovic (8-2 win at No. 2), Charlie O’Connor (8-1 win at No. 3), Matt Hubley (8-3 win at No. 4), Jake Long (8-1 win at No. 5), Sam Shields (9-7 win at No. 6)
Highlights/key moments: Shields, a new varsity player, figured out how to win in a tight match. The Valovic brothers helped set the tone with early singles wins, and then teamed up for an 8-5 win at No. 1 doubles. O’Connor and Hubley won, 8-5, at No. 2 doubles.
Coach’s quote: “Pelham put up a fight. It wasn’t a cake walk to get those points, but hopefully we’ll play sharper down the road.” – Kearsarge’s Lynn Miller
Records: Kearsarge 3-0; Pelham 2-2
Inter-Lakes 7, Berlin 2
Key players: Inter-Lakes – Noah Sullivan (8-0 win at No. 1), Gable Busby (8-2 win at No. 2), Jake Borsh (8-2 win at No. 3), Nate Sullivan (8-0 win at No. 4), Sam Noe (8-1 win at No. 5)
Highlights/key moments: Noah Sullivan remains undefeated in the No. 1 singles spot. He and Borsh teamed up for an 8-2 win at No. 1 doubles, while Busby and Noe won, 8-5, at No. 2.
Coach’s quote: “Team played well given the end of an exhausting week of four matches, including two long road trips.” – Inter-Lakes’s Bill West
Records: Inter-Lakes 3-1; Berlin 1-3
Coe-Brown 5, Plymouth 4
Key players: Cameron Chick (8-5 win at No. 1 singles), Megan Wimsatt (8-3 win at No. 2), Jillian Gordon (8-4 win at No. 3), Sandra Black (9-8 win at No. 4)
Highlights/key moments: Gordon and Black pulled out the match for the Bears with an 8-5 win at No. 2 doubles.
Coach’s quote: “Competitive matches today. It was good to get a win after two losses this past week.” – Coe-Brown’s Mark Struthers
Records: Coe-Brown 1-2; Plymouth 2-2
Kearsarge 6, Stevens 3
Key players: Kearsarge – Elise Paquette (8-6 win at No. 2 singles), Morganne Flinkstrom (8-5 win at No. 3), Felicia McSweeney (8-4 win at No. 5), Kaitlyn Penrose (8-0 win at No. 6)
Highlights/key moments: After picking up four singles wins, the Cougars closed out the match with doubles wins from No. 2 pairing Paquette and McSweeney (8-1) and at No. 3 doubles with Penrose and Annie Carr, 8-3.
Coach’s quote: “Today was our first team win of the season and the girls earned the win with solid play.” – Kearsarge’s Laura Joslin-King
Records: Kearsarge 1-2; Stevens 0-3
Coe-Brown 3, Keene 2
Key players: Coe-Brown – Albert Lapiejko (9 kills, 11 digs, 3 blocks), Thomas Sheehan (7 kills), Mason Winiarski (13 assists), Raymond Lapiejko (10 assists)
Highlights/key moments: It was a great season-opener for the Bears, who travel to Timberlane on Monday.
Records: Coe-Brown 1-0; Keene 0-3
Concord 105, Londonderry 30
Key players: Concord – Adam Dwight (1st, pole vault), Clinton Mungeta (1st, long jump), Nate Hillyer (1st triple jump, high jump), Manny Feliz (1st 110 hurdles), Dalton Mutz (1st in 100, 200), Jamie Wilkes (1st in 1,600, 800), Collin Maloney (1st in 400), Jacob Nichols (1st in 300 hurdles)
Highlights/key moments: In it’s first meet of the season, the Concord boys’ track team received a number of strong performances, including some huge afternoons for Hillyer, Mungeta and Maloney.
Coach’s quote: “It was a good meet to start the season. We needed to compete and we had a great start.” – Concord’s Hayden Daly
Hillsboro-Deering second
Key players: H-D – Brandon Plante (3rd 100, 4th 200), Ben Ketterer (5th 100, 2nd 200, 4th long jump), Zachary Camp (1st 3,200), Reed Cullen (3rd 110 hurdles, 4th 300 hurdles), Brandon Rodier (2nd long jump)
Highlights/key moments: The Hillcats were less than a second behind leader Stevens in the 4×100 relay. They also placed second in the 4×400 relay and third in the 4×800 relay. Ketterer earned points in three events and Camp earned the Pride’s only first place finish in Thursday’s eight-team meet at Stevens.
Concord 78, Londonderry 58
Key players: Concord – Julia Mivile (1st, shot put), Steph Oberg (1st, javelin), Ennosen Yen (1st, triple jump), Rebecca Bosa (1st, 100 hurdles, 300 hurdles), Grace Devanny (1st, 100, 400), Jennika Mannesto (1st, 1,600), Molly Brag (1st, 3,200)
Highlights/key moments: Both Bosa and Devanny won multiple events to ease the Tide into the season as the Concord girls’ team showed of its versatility, scoring points across the board.
Coach’s quote: “The girls’ team proved that they have girls that can score in almost any event.” – Concord’s Hayden Daly
Hillsboro-Deering sixth
Key players: Gabriela Sirmones (2nd 100, 5th 200), Samantha Grondin (4th 100), Emily Gibson (6th 100), Adanja Minard (4th 300 hurdles), Lily Gibson (4th high jump, 4th triple jump)
Highlights/key moments: The Hillcats placed second in the 4×100 relay while Sirmones and Minard earned points to help the team place sixth in an eight-team meet at Stevens on Thursday.