BOW – With the playoffs in view, both teams saw the bigger picture.
Despite Friday’s marquee Division II matchup between first-place Bow and second-place Pembroke living up to the hype, the ending left a little to be desired for soccer fans across the state.
With daylight dwindling, injuries piling up for both sides and the score tied at 1-all after a lively 80 minutes of action during senior night at Bow High School, the two postseason-bound programs opted against overtime and settled for a 1-1 draw in their regular-season finale.
“We were already locked into the top two positions, putting us on opposite sides of the bracket. And when (Kayleigh) Marshall got hurt and we started to lose daylight, the referees asked us to make a choice,” Pembroke girls’ soccer coach Jess Kaufman said. “It just wasn’t worth it. We want to play strong, but we have to be healthy going into the playoffs.”
There was no edge to gain, but that didn’t mean the players on the Bow sideline were happy with settling for the tie.
“Ending with a tie, they’re a little grumpy right now with me because we didn’t try and decide it,” Bow coach Jay Vogt said. “They wanted to finish it out. It’s their senior night and they wanted to finish the game. But I think we’re all right.”
The tie ended a 10-game winning streak for the Falcons (14-1-1), who still haven’t lost since Sept. 7 and will be the No. 1 seed with a first-round bye when the Division II tournament opens next week.
Pembroke won’t be far behind. The Spartans locked up the No. 2 seed after a 12-1-3 regular season and gave Bow all it could handle in the second half Friday despite running on tired legs playing in their third game in as many days.
“For us, this is really historic. For Bow, this is the expectation for them. They are a perennial powerhouse,” Kaufman said. “In the 2013 season, we ended up in the finals coming from the ninth seed, so we’ve never been treated to a first-round bye or top three. It’s really special and memorable for us and we need to stay focused.”
Bow got the best of those tired legs in the first half as the Falcons flew around the field, generated plenty of scoring chances and finally cashed in on one when Kristina Pizzi and Kayleigh Marshall used some nice combination play to get Marshall a goal in front of an open net in the 38th minute.
“They definitely looked fresher than us and we had to kind of wake up,” Kaufman said. “I think we made some halftime adjustments and that paid off for us in the second half.”
As the Spartans started to take back momentum in the second half, the scoring chances that weren’t available in the first 40 minutes began to appear.
Freshman Britney Hill opened the second half with a free kick chance from about 30 yards out, but the shot flew high over the crossbar. Junior Jade Pescinski then got a couple chances of her own, but both shots were snuffed out by Bow keeper Maddie McSweeney.
It wasn’t until the 62nd minute that Pembroke finally capitalized for the equalizer. Sophomore Nicole Nedeau received a pass toward the far post and wasted little time getting the ball of her foot, sending a looping shot into the back of the net.
With the regular season behind them, both teams now turn their full attention to the tournament, which kicks off with the first round on Thursday. Bow and Pembroke will host their first games on Oct. 28.
“We just need to be ready for the playoff pressure,” Kaufman said. “These last three days have felt like the playoff season to us and we need to be ready to anticipate anything, anywhere, at any time.”
(Jay McAree can be reached at 369-3371, jmcaree@cmonitor.com or on Twitter @JayMcAree.)
Girls’ Soccer
John Stark 1, Milford 1
Key players: John Stark – Lexi Knapton (G), Ali L’Heureux (goalie)
Highlights: The Generals ended the regular season with a draw against the Spartans and earned a spot in the Division II tournament.
Coach’s quote: “Girls once again showed they can play against anyone and can hold their own.” – John Stark’s Chris Pike
Records: John Stark 7-6-3; Milford 9-3-4
Kearsarge 1, ConVal 0
Key players: Kearsarge – Elizabeth Greason (G), Jordan Busch (A), Payten Hebert (goalie)
Highlights: Busch beat two defenders one-on-one and passed the ball into the middle. Caroline Camp shielded the ball and let it go by her to Greason who poked it low into the net for the goal. The win ends Kearsarge’s regular season and the Cougars will play in the Division II tournament.
Coach’s quote: “Our girls played very well tonight. It was senior night and they really wanted the win for their seniors. They pulled together as a team and made it happen. They possessed the ball well, won 50/50 balls out of the air and had some dangerous crosses. It was a very fun game to watch.” – Kearsarge’s Emily Wagaman
Records: Kearsarge 9-5-2; ConVal 5-8-2
Coe-Brown 3, Kingswood 0
Key players: Coe-Brown – Megan Wimsatt (G, A), Shealyn Bedell (G, A), Sam Troy (G), Jaden Boulanger (G), Savilla Flores (A)
Highlights: Bedell scored in the 12th minute to give the Bears an early lead. Troy and Wimsatt added goals to secure the win for the Bears, who needed two in their last three games to make the Division II tournament.
Coach’s quote: “We fought the wind, the cold and illness to grind this win out. All the credit to Kingswood who fought all game long. We have been in playoff mode for a week knowing we had to win our last three games to make the tournament. Now anything can happen in a single-elimination format. If we play to our ability, we can play with the top five teams.” – Coe-Brown’s Josh Hils
Records: Coe-Brown 7-9-0; Kingswood 1-14 -1
Bishop Brady 5,
White Mountains 1
Key players: Bishop Brady – Abby Santis (2G), Adrienne Brummett (G, 2A), Sheridan Brummett (G, A), Lauren Beitler (G)
Highlights: The Giants locked up either the No. 5 or No. 6 seed for the D-III tournament with a victory over the Spartans.
Coach’s quote: “It was a fun senior day for our girls. They had a lot of fun and worked hard and played hard throughout the whole season. We will go into next week and work hard in the playoffs.” – Bishop Brady’s Andrew Mattarazzo
Records: Bishop Brady 12-4-0; White Mountains 3-13
Hopkinton 3, Gilford 0
Key players: Hopkinton – Grace Clark (G, A), Jessie Carney (G), Megan Ellsworth (G), Caitlin Clark (A), Emily Metzger (A), Amelia Bassett (2 saves), Lillie Presti (defense)
Highlights: Hopkinton opened the scoring in first 10 minutes of match and opened the second half with goals in the 41st and 48th minutes and the Hawks’ defense handed the Eagles their first shutout loss of the season.
Coach’s quote: “It was senior day and to win like we did today was fantastic for the eight seniors. We sat one of our top players, Ellie Morrall, to rest and still shut out Gilford’s Abby Jarvi (39 goals this season). I am proud of the girls for getting our team into fourth place for playoff contention and look forward to seeing them play next week.” – Hopkinton’s Mike Zahn
Records: Hopkinton 12-3-1; Gilford 12-4-0
Concord 7, Spaulding 0
Key players: Concord – Alasdair Ferrier (2G), Mosi Masimango (2G), Jackson Wilkes (G), Liam Bennett (G), Grant Rienstra (G)
Highlights: The Tide held a 5-0 halftime lead and cruised to a victory to close out the regular season. Concord outshot the Raiders, 20-11, and Devanny and Thomas Dean combined for the clean sheet. The defending champion Tide will have the No. 4 or No. 5 seed in the Division I tournament.
Records: Concord 11-3-2; Spaulding 0-15-0
Coe-Brown 5, Kennett 0
Key players: Coe-Brown – Full team effort
Highlights: Austin Metalious scored Coe-Brown’s first goal just before halftime.
Coach’s quote: “It was great to see everyone get on the field tonight and it was important for us to keep a clean sheet. This was a good finale for our regular season. These guys have worked hard all year and have shown some real improvement. That’s been our primary goal and I believe our players continue to live up to that. Now it’s on to the playoffs.” – Coe-Brown’s Christian Gompert
Records: Coe-Brown 12-3-1; Kennett 1-14-1
Oyster River 1, John Stark 0
Key players: John Stark – Jaimason Lacasse (4 saves)
Coach’s quote: “Oyster River was the perfect match for us to end our regular season as we prepare for the playoffs. They are quick, technical and were a threat all evening. They showed us what a top team looks like and I was able to get a lot of my players onto the field so they could experience play at that speed.” – John Stark’s Eddie Marceau
Records: Oyster River 14-2-0; John Stark 11-4-1
Belmont 2, St. Thomas 0
Key players: Belmont – Zach Ennis (G), Nate Sottak (G, A), Jake Deware (3 saves), Lars Major (defense), Caleb Burke (defense), Angelo Papadopoulos (defense), Devin Bricknell (defense), Colby Brown (midfield)
Highlights: The Raiders completed an unbeaten regular season with this win at home on senior night. After a scoreless first half, Sottak found Ennis in the 46th minute to give Belmont a 1-0 lead, and just two minutes later Sottak doubled the advantage with a penalty kick. It was the second home shutout of the week for the Raiders, who beat Prospect Mountain on Tuesday, 5-0. Colby Brown had a goal and two assists in that one, while Lucas Mathieu and Sottak had a pair of goals, and Nolan Gagnon and Ennis added assists. Deware had five saves against Prospect Mountain and the Raiders, who will be the No. 2 seed in the D-III tournament behind only 16-0-0 Trinity, finished the season with 13 clean sheets.
Records: Belmont 14-0-2; St. Thomas 6-7-3
Winnisquam 5, Franklin 1
Key players: Franklin – Jadyn Lutz (G), Shawn Gerlearneau (A)
Coach’s quote: “Tough game. Winnisquam played very well. We got caught on the defensive end making mistakes and paid the price. Looking to fix those mistakes for the next game.” – Franklin’s Kevin VanGorden
Records: Winnisquam 4-12; Franklin 7-9
Pittsfield 5, Farmington 1
Key players: Pittsfield – Colby Wolfe (2G, 2A), Jesse MacGlashing (2G), Chandler Norris (G), Ben Marcotte, Parker Clark
Highlights: Farmington took a 1-0 lead but MacGlashing scored goals in the 14th and 15th minutes to give the Panthers a 2-1 lead. Colby Wolfe added a goal in the 25th minute to give the Panthers a 3-1 lead at halftime and Pittsfield added two second-half goals to secure the win.
Coach’s quote: “We responded well after giving up an early goal. Overall, we’ve had success on the road this season (5-3 record). Hopefully our experiences on the road season will pay dividends as we travel to a higher seed in the Division IV tournament on Tuesday.” – Pittsfield’s Derek Hamilton
Records: Pittsfield 8-8; Farmington 6-9
No. 2 Hopkinton 4,
No. 10 Newport 0
Key players: Hopkinton – Amelia Thomas (2G), Tora Thornley (G), Katie Meserve (G)
Highlights: The Hawks shut out the Tigers in the D-III quarterfinals to advance Tuesday’s semifinal against No. 6 Gilford. Hopkinton is riding a four-game winning streak into the semifinals.
Records: Hopkinton 13-2; Newport 8-8
No. 6 Gilford 3,
No. 3 Bishop Brady 2, OT
Key players: Brady – Abby Shagena (G), Riley Marsh (G), Libbey Hicks (A)
Highlights: The Giants scored first on their home field, taking a 1-0 lead with 17:14 left in the first half on a goal from Shagena, assisted by Hicks. The Golden Eagles tied it up less than two minutes later, but Marsh’s unassisted goal with 8:25 to play in the first half gave Brady a 2-1 edge it took into halftime. Gilford’s Brianna Salanitro, who assisted on her team’s first goal, scored the only goal of the second half about midway through and regulation ended in a tie. After a pair of 15-minute overtime periods, the game was still locked at 2-2 and had to be decided on corners. The Giants missed on their first chance but the Eagles converted, sending them to Tuesday’s semifinals and a date with No. 2 Hopkinton.
Coach’s quote: “I couldn’t be prouder of this group!” – Bishop Brady’s Kelly Owen
Records: Gilford 11-5-0; Bishop Brady 13-3-0
Manchester Central 51, Concord 34
Key players: Concord – Zach Miles (2 TD passes, TD run, 2-point conversion), Isaac Glady (1-yard TD run), Ronan McGonigle (3-yard TD catch), Gage Piwowarczyk (23-yard TD catch), Nate Vandersea (2 FG, 2 PAT)
Highlights: The Tide held an 11-8 lead after the first quarter and a 21-16 halftime lead, but the Little Green had five second-half touchdowns to secure the win.
Records: Manchester Central 5-3; Concord 4-4
Plymouth 41,
Merrimack Valley 0
Key players: MV – Rick Hazeltine (95 total yards)
Highlights: MV kept it close through most of the first half, trailing 6-0 after the first quarter, but the Bobcats scored three touchdowns in the final three minutes of the first half to go up 28-0 at the break.
Coach’s quote: “We played the No. 1 team in Division II tough for a half. Very proud of how hard they worked.” – MV’s Joe Raycraft
Records: Plymouth 8-0; MV 0-8
Winnisquam 3, Mascenic 0
Key players: Winnisquam – Shannon Goodwin (14 kills, 14 digs), Gabby Isabelle (14 kills, 7 digs, 4 assists), Olivia Dill (32 assists, 6 digs, 2 aces), Aubrey St. Onge (11 digs), Sarah Seymoun (7 digs), Alli Foster (4 kills)
Highlights: The Bears wrapped up an undefeated regular season with a 25-11, 25-23, 25-16 victory. Winnisquam is the top seed and will have a first-round bye in the Division III tournament.
Records: Winnisquam 16-0; Mascenic 10-6
Mascoma 3, Hillsboro-Deering 2
Key players: H-D – Kenzie Murdough (10 assists, 4 aces), Meg Wheeler (4 kills, 2 assists, ace), Kaitlyn Schoeneman (4 kills, 2 digs, 2 aces), Cheyenne Elliott (7 digs), Holly Madore (4 digs, 2 aces)
Coach’s quote: “It was a close match going to a fifth set. The girls played well and continued to set the ball up, but Mascoma has made some amazing gains this year and were able to outperform us in the final set. It was an exciting and well-played game by both teams.” – H-D’s Nicole LaRoche
Records: Mascoma 7-9; H-D 3-12