In the moment, Franklin’s 9-1 loss to Concord Christian on Tuesday afternoon was a bitter pill to swallow. From a broader view, there was nothing for the Golden Tornadoes to hang their heads about.
While the fourth-seeded Kingsmen wasted little time finding their groove with five first-half goals en route to their lopsided first-round victory over No. 13 Franklin in the Division IV boys’ soccer tournament, the accomplishments for the Golden Tornadoes this season were not lost on coach Kevin VanGorden.
“It’s been a great year. The way it started off, we thought it was going to be tough. We were expecting 20 players and we ended up with only 14,” VanGorden said. “So we were a little nervous about the season. But these guys did a great job, they pulled together, worked hard and won some games.”
Franklin (7-10) won more games this season than in any other year in program history. Add making the playoffs for the first time in 15 years, and the Golden Tornadoes left the Clinton Street Fields in Concord with high hopes for the future.
“It means a lot, for me and I think for my players,” VanGorden said. “I took over the team four years ago and they hadn’t won a game in five years. … It’s been a lot of motivation and trying to get a team that’s not used to winning to focus on a game. Getting those first couple wins really revitalized the team and got them wanting to play harder.”
Concord Christian (13-3-1) walked off the field focused on its next test – a home date with No. 5 Lisbon (13-3-1) in Friday’s quarterfinal.
“We just wanted to build toward the second half and get our playoff legs underneath us,” said Concord Christian coach Craig Anthony, whose team had six different goal-scorers Tuesday. “We had a tough loss last year in the first round at Littleton, so we were just trying to build up our confidence heading into Friday.”
The Kingsmen, who have now outscored Franklin, 17-1, in two meetings this season, put their dynamic offense on display early and often to open the postseason,
They had a five-goal lead by halftime and received a number of strong performances all over the field, including two-goal efforts from Jacob Taylor, Collin Brayshaw and Eli Marshall. Connor Young and team captain Dylan Daigneault also notched one goal apiece.
“We had some pretty good ball movement today and we were hitting some good through balls,” Anthony said. “The strikers played well as a unit and moved the ball around well and I thought our outside midfielders really controlled the outside.
“(Franklin) is a young program trying to find their way a little bit,” Anthony said. “They played hard. They played well. And we’re just going to take it one game at a time.”
The Golden Tornadoes managed to avoid the shutout late in the contest, scoring on a penalty kick from co-captain Jacob Weaver, who caught the Concord Christian keeper leaning the wrong way and rifled his shot into the left corner of the net.
But Franklin was physically outmatched from the start and VanGorden wasn’t afraid to admit it.
“We knew they were going to be tough. They were a great a team and physically bigger and faster than us, so we knew it was going to be tough,” VanGorden said. “I felt we did really well in the first 20 minutes kind of marking up, but we knew anything in the air was going to be lost on us because they’re bigger than all of my players. We tried to keep it on the ground and match up the best we could. I thought we made the best of the game with what we had.”
(Jay McAree can be reached at 369-3371, jmcaree@cmonitor.com or on Twitter @JayMcAree.)
No. 5 Lisbon 3, No. 12 Pittsfield 0
Key players: Pittsfield – Colby Wolfe, Jacob Marcotte, Kyle Stockman, Ben Stephens, Corey Gilleney
Highlights: Lisbon converted a penalty kick in the 14th minute and added goals in the 48th and 72nd minutes to secure the win in the opening round of the Division IV tournament.
Coach’s quote: “After winning four of our last five games, we felt confident coming into this matchup, but Lisbon just played better than we did this afternoon. I’m proud of this group and everything they accomplished this season. They were excellent representatives of our soccer program and school community.” – Pittsfield’s Derek Hamilton
Records: Lisbon 13-3-1; Pittsfield 8-9
No. 6 Bishop Brady 3,
No. 11 St. Thomas 0
Key players: Bishop Brady – Sheridan Brummett (2G, A), Adrienne Brummett (G, A), Lauren Beitler (A), Emily Senko (2 saves)
Highlights: The Green Giants opened their first-round playoff game in Division III by generating a lot of good scoring chances, but couldn’t find the back of the net. It wasn’t until Adrienne Brummett finally broke through on a give-and-go with Sheridan Brummett that the Giants went ahead 1-0 at halftime. Brady gets Campbell next in the quarterfinals.
Coach’s quote: “Our girls played well today from start to finish and worked extremely hard. We advance in the playoffs and will travel to Campbell to play them. They beat us earlier in the season but I think our girls will come out flying and work hard. We also played them in the quarterfinals last year so it should be a fun one on Friday in Litchfield.” – Brady’s Andrew Mattarazzo
Records: Bishop Brady 13-4; St. Thomas Aquinas 7-9-1
No. 7 Trinity 5,
No. 10 Hillsboro-Deering 1
Key players: Hillsboro-Deering – Abbie Johnson (G), Morgan Racine (A), Gracie Atkins (10 saves), Izabella Warren (midfield), Halie Hurd (midfield), Madi Jones (offense), Kendra Warren (offense)
Highlights: Johnson scored in the 11th minute, finishing a cross from Racine to get things rolling for the Hillcats in the opening round of the Division III tournament. Trinity scored off a corner and a PK before notching another goal to finish out the half and eventually the first-round contest.
Coach’s quote: “The girls did very well going to the ball and trying to create opportunities with possession. Defensively, we played very well but could not completely contain Trinity’s talented forward, Kelley Francis. We are so proud of this team for all they have accomplished this season and look forward to next year. Congratulations to senior captains Izabella Warren and Halie Hurd for a job well done.” – Hillsboro-Deering’s Susan Else
Records: Trinity 11-3-3; Hillsboro-Deering 8-9
No. 4 Hopkinton 3,
No. 13 Derryfield 0
Key players: Hopkinton – Grace Clark (G, A), Jessie Carney (G, 2A), Emily Metzger (G), Amelia Bassett (shutout), Annie Higginbotham (defense)
Highlights: The Hawks scored two good goals in the first half, adding another in the second to seal the first-round win in the Division III tournament. Hopkinton is on to the quarterfinals, where it will host No. 5 Gilford on Friday.
Coach’s quote: “Even though we did not play our best brand of soccer today, it was impressive to still shut out a tough and well-organized Derryfield team.” – Hopkinton’s Mike Zahn
Records: Hopkinton 13-3-1; Derryfield 6-10-1