They knew lightning was on the way. They also knew what to do about it.
“We talked about the possibility of weather delays before the game, so we wanted to make sure we scored quickly,” said Eddie Marceau, the John Stark boys’ soccer assistant coach who was leading the team on Tuesday with Jeff Vogt, the team’s head coach, away on business.
The Generals listened to Marceau, scoring in the 10th and 20th minute against visiting Kearsarge. Those two goals proved to be enough, and Marceau’s forecast proved to be accurate, as Stark snuck out a 2-1 win in a game that was called after 50 minutes due to lightning.
“I think both teams were disappointed because we had a pretty good game going,” Kearsarge Coach Matt Burch said. “And we had the momentum after playing better late in the first half and scoring early in the second.”
Of course the Cougars (1-3) wanted to keep playing instead of taking the loss, but the same was also true for the unbeaten Generals (3-0).
“We were happy with the win, but we wanted to play the full game,” Marceau said. “I think it was a good test for both teams.”
Burch adjusted his formation before the game, moving one extra player into the center of the pitch in hopes of clogging things up in there and slowing down Stark’s formidable midfield, led by Jake Reynolds. The middle did get mucked up, but the Generals adapted quickly and simply attacked from the wings.
“They were very strong down the right side and created a number of scoring chances from there,” Burch said.
Two of those chances turned into nearly identical goals. The first one came off a free kick that Evan Craswell sent into the box and Logan Murphy finished with a touch to give the home team a 1-0 lead 10 minutes into the match.
Ten minutes later, Caswell sent a corner kick into the box and once again it was Murphy who got a foot on it to send it into the net.
While those two were taking care of the goals, Stark’s back line of Tyler Restuccia, Aiden Moser, Kayden Easter and Orry Murdough were taking care of the defense in front of goalie Chase Patterson (four saves), who is one of the best keepers in Division II.
“None of Chase’s saves seem dazzling because he’s just so technically sound,” Marceau said. “He’s very consistent, and he’s a great leader.”
The Cougars finally solved the Stark defense five minutes after halftime off of a corner kick. Michael Geary took the corner, Ben Corbyn knocked it back into the box and Brady Esmaili tucked it home to make it 2-1.
Five minutes later, lightning was spotted and the game was eventually called.
Burch was happy with the play of Owen Cottrill, who is in his first year at Kearsarge High and can play anywhere on the pitch. The coach also like the play of the Underhill twins, Bo and Brad, who helped control the center of the field.
“We’ve been playing well defensively,” Burch said, “we just need to create more scoring chances.”
Exeter 3, Concord 2, OT
Key players: Concord – Taylor Silverstein (goal), Josh Adams (goal), Alasdair Ferrier (assist), Aiden Desjardins (defense)
Highlights/key moments: The Crimson Tide controlled the first half and played to its potential, building a 2-0 lead by halftime on a free kick goal from Silverstein in the seventh minute and the score from Adams, which came off a rebound from a Ferrier shot in the 21st minute. But the Tide’s level fell in the second half and Exeter took advantage of the miscues. The Blue Hawks scored in the 44th minute, equalized in the 75th minute and scored the game-winner three minutes into overtime.
Coach’s quote: “We’ll regroup, learn from this one and hopefully it will make us stronger.” – Concord’s Scott Dunlop
Records: Concord 3-1; Exeter 4-0
Coe-Brown 1, Kennett 1
Key players: Coe-Brown – Colby Hoffman (goal), Lucciano Minasalli, Mitchell Wade, Ben Heyliger, Nick Sanderson, Connor Fallon
Highlights/key moments: The Bears outshot Kennett, 37-5, and missed some wide open nets in the process, but could only come away with the tie. The game was called due to weather five minutes into the first overtime.
Coach’s quote: “It was a good performance, we dominated possession and played most of the game in their half, but we just couldn’t finish. It was frustrating.” – Coe-Brown’s Christian Gompert
Records: Coe-Brown 2-1-1; Kennett 0-1-3
Bow 6, Merrimack Valley 2
Key players: Bow – Max Elsasser (2 goals, 2 assists), Will Russo (2 goals, 2 assists), Chris Gallier (goal, 2 assists); MV – Dillon Arrant (goal), Tiegan Friedrich (goal), Logan Cassin (midfield)
Highlights/key moments: MV jumped out to a 1-0 lead just two minutes into the game, but the Falcons roared back with six of the next seven goals, four of them coming in the second half.
Coach’s quote: “The final score does not indicate the game that MV played. They did a lot of good things and created a lot of problems for us on the defensive end. We continue to score goals, but need to clean up the defensive end.” – Bow’s George Pinkham
“Bow came out for the win. They countered quickly and made us pay for our poor marking in the box.” – MV’s Ken Fuller
Records: Bow 3-1; MV 1-3
Pembroke 5, Goffstown 0
Key players: Pembroke – Matt Ferguson (two goals), Patrick Chase (two goals), Connor Manteau (two assists), Cameron Rivard (goal)
Highlights/key moments: The Spartans scored two goals in the last two minutes before halftime to take a 3-0 lead into the break against the defending champs.
Records: Pembroke 4-0; Goffstown 2-2
Hillsboro-Deering 2, Monadnock 1
Key players: H-D – Jacinto Caceres (goal), Ben Ketterer (goal), Gunner Hagstrom (assist), Cam Jones (assist), Jack Ferguson (defense)
Highlights/key moments: The Hillcats pulled out the win in a sloppy game that was called after 55 minutes due to lightning.
Records: H-D 2-1; Monadnock 1-3
Bow 5, Merrimack Valley 0
Key players: Bow – Anna Lafreniere (first varsity goal), Amanda Marshall (assist), Taylor Burnham (goal), Lauren Goyette (goal), Emma Gagne (assist), Miah Munro (goal), Madi Paul (goal, assist), Brianna Boone (midfield), Megan Remick (defense), Chloe Binder (defense); MV – Myah Boucher, Kylie Marquis, Ashley Daniels
Highlights/key moments: The Falcons started fast as Marshall made a great run to the end line and fed a beautiful cross to Lafreniere, who knocked it in with just 1:34 gone in the game. Burnham made it 2-0 six minutes later, scoring her second goal off a free kick in two games.
Coach’s quote: “Scoring two goals in the first eight minutes really got us off on the right foot. The girls came with a lot of energy and focus for the game today.” – Bow’s Jay Vogt
“It’s not easy getting hit hard like we did today and not having a positive reaction. Bow took us right out of our game and we struggled to find a solution. We will have to find a way to move past this.” – MV’s Jeff Richard
Records: Bow 4-0; MV 3-1
Bishop Brady 2, Somersworth 0
Key players: Brady – Dani Desruisseaux (2 goals), Sarah Doherty (defense)
Coach’s quote: “It was a good team win after the long weekend. For the girls to come out early in the first half with strong offensive pressure, I was impressed with their focus.” – Brady’s Andrew Mattarazzo
Records: Brady 2-1; Somersworth 0-4
Hillsboro-Deering 2, Derryfield 1
Key players: H-D – Mara Grady (goal), Sam Grondin (goal), Cassidy Wightman (assist), Grace Atkins (7 saves), Lilly Edsall (defense), Madeline Parisi (defense), Kendra Warren (midfield), Morgan Racine (midfield)
Highlights/key moments: Derryfield was on the board in the first 14 minutes of the game. Grady netted the equalizing goal three minutes into the second half off a pass from Wightman. With a minute left, Grondin picked up a loose ball off a corner kick and scored the game winner.
Coach’s quote: “The team is improving consistently, picking up intensity and creating opportunities.” – H-D’s Susan Else
Records: H-D 1-3; Derryfield 1-3
Merrimack Valley 2, Plymouth 2
Key players: MV – Sophie Worster (goal), Reilly Swislosky (assist), Meg Dougherty (goal), Haleigh Boutwell (assist), Kate Campbell (defense)
Highlights/key moments: Plymouth jumped out to a 2-0 lead, but the Pride cut its deficit in half when Worster scored with 13 minutes left in the first half. Dougherty’s goal, assisted by Boutwell, tied things eight minutes into the second half. The game was called with 10:20 left on the clock due to weather.
Coach’s quote: “We had two breakdowns in our defense which lead to two quick goals by Plymouth, however, I was happy that the girls fought back and were able to tie the score.” – MV’s Kim Kenney
Records: MV 0-2-1; Plymouth 0-1-1
Concord 3, Alvirne 0
Key players: Concord – Abby Rochette (23 assists), Maria Wimpey (7 kills, 11 digs), Quinn Daniels (8 kills), Emma Ferguson (6 kills)
Highlights/key moments: The Crimson Tide claimed the road win with scores of 25-10, 25-23, 25-22.
Records: Concord 2-0; Alvirne 0-1
Bishop Brady third
Key players: Brady – Nick Grimbilas (team-low 38), Maryanne Wiley (42)
Highlights/key moments: The Green Giants finished with a 226 to beat out Coe-Brown (241). Hanover won the four-team event with a 197 and Oyster was second with a 222.
Sanborn Invitational
Key players: Kearsarge – Mason Benedict (6th, 17:41), Trevor Pauling (7th 17:41), Aidan Brooks (11th, 17:56); Bow – Kirpal Demian (18th, 18:16), Caleb Olson (37th, 19:32); Pembroke – Josh Crandall (21st, 18:32), Ryan Burns (40th, 19:32); H-D – Zachary Camp (43rd, 19:40), Kyle Merrill (64th, 20:36); Inter-Lakes – Steven Bean (67th, 20:47)
Highlights/key moments: Kearsarge (63 points) finished second out of 16 teams. Mascenic (54) won the meet ahead of Bow (seventh), Pembroke (10th), Inter-Lakes (14th) and Hillsboro-Deering (15th).
Sanborn Invitational
Key players: Kearsarge – Mya Dubie (4th, 20:14), Jenna Bears (11th, 21:42); Bow – Sarah Ciotti (20th, 22:25), Inez Tarek (27th, 23:35); Inter-Lakes – Maya Weil-Cooley (12th, 21:45); H-D – Elizabeth LaBier (115th, 31:13); Pembroke – Avery Gamache (53rd, 26:07)
Highlights/key moments: Dubie was fourth in a field of 141 runners and led Kearsarge (120) to fourth place. ConVal (46), Campbell (72) and Hollis/Brookline (106) were the top three. Bow (fifth), Inter-Lakes (11th), Hillsboro-Deering (13th) and Pembroke (no score) also competed.