Mark McDonough wasn’t exactly sure how the season was going to play out when the Concord High golf team teed off for the first time this fall. Despite finishing as runner-up in Division I last year, the Tide lost eight quality scorers to graduation and the third-year head coach knew replacing that production would be no easy task.
Three matches into the season and those worries have already dissipated.
Concord picked up two more wins Thursday at Souhegan Woods, carding a team total of 204 to edge both Dover (212) and Merrimack (259) as the Tide ran its record to 6-1.
“I’m excited about the start we’ve had. The kids are playing with a lot of confidence,” McDonough said. “The nice part about these 16 kids on the team between JV and varsity is that for the top 8 to 10 players, any one of them can go out and shoot a low score on any given day. That really helps us in our matches where we need five quality scores.”
Concord opened the season by splitting a three-team match against Bishop Guertin and Hanover before sweeping Salem, Spaulding and Winnacunnet in its first home match on Monday at Concord Country Club.
After adding to its win total on Thursday, the Tide golfers are starting to turn some heads.
“I know there were a lot of kids right on the cusp of making a lot of matches last year, guys like Will Shoemaker and Logan Otto who are seniors this year. We also brought back Matt Hauschild and Matt Burns, two seniors with a lot of match experience so I knew we could lean on them,” McDonough said.
“I will say it’s always a pleasant surprise when you start out with the record that we have. I’m not completely surprised, but I’m anxious to see how our kids stand up to the stiffer competition as the season progresses.”
Hauschild, the medalist of the match, and Colin O’Brien provided the biggest boosts for Concord at Souhegan Woods, carding scores of 38 and 39, respectively, while Burns and Otto each shot 41. Shoemaker helped add to the scoring at 45, but some of the younger players weren’t far behind with sophomores Parkey Savoy and Tyler Coskren at 48, and freshman Sam Hopkins shooting a 51.
“We have a lot of young players that we’re leaning on this year,” McDonough said. “We also have some seniors who didn’t get the chance to play in a lot of matches last year that are needing to step up and are doing a great job.”
Concord will put its fast start to the test on Monday when it visits Passaconaway Country Club to take on Londonderry and Pinkerton.
(Jay McAree can be reached at 369-3371, jmcaree@cmonitor.com or on Twitter @JayMcAree.)
Kennett 121, St. Thomas 103,
Oyster River 101, Coe-Brown 65
Key players: Coe-Brown – Aidan Perra (18 points), Cole Perra (12), Dan Strum (12), Wells Lambert (12), Will Moehlmann (11)
Records: Coe-Brown 1-11
Hopkinton 65, Sunapee 45,
Hillsboro-Deering 33, Newport 8
Key players: Hopkinton – Dan Miner (20 points), Kody Dexter (20), Colby Marshall (14), Hal Stokes (11)
Highlights: Hopkinton earned a sweep of the four-team match and Stokes, a freshman, picked up 11 points in his first varsity match.
Coach’s quote: “Hawks swept a four-team match with consistent play from Dan Miner and Kody Dexter, both medalist with a score of 20. Colby Marshall put together a 14 round while the other three Hawks golfers each added 11 points.” – Hopkinton’s Dave Chase
Records: Hopkinton 4-1
John Stark 2, Oyster River 0
Key players: John Stark – Meg Girardet (G, A), Delaney Forrestall (G), Aubrey Fischer (A), Sydnee Pelletier (shutout, 6 saves)
Highlights: The Generals controlled most of the play once again on Thursday but this time was able to find the back of the net twice and move to 2-2 on the season.
Coach’s quote: “We played very well and with a lot of effort. We still struggled with circle anxiety but were able to pull through for a very important early season win.” – Stark’s Dennis Pelletier
Records: John Stark 2-2; Oyster River 1-2
Kennett 5, Merrimack Valley 0
Key players: Merrimack Valley – Grace Raymond (defense), Sadie Barton (defense), Taylor Bailey (midfield), Reilly Swislosky (forward)
Highlights: MV kept Kennett scoreless in the first half and the Pride came out strong going to the ball with good ball movement. But Kennett scored five unanswered goals in the second half with its aggressive offensive pressure.
Coach’s quote: “I’m really happy with the way we came out today in the first half. Kennett is quick on the ball and aggressive in the circle and we matched with them for the first 30 minutes. I feel like we lost some momentum when they scored in the beginning of the second half. They definitely highlighted some areas of improvement for us as we move forward to Plymouth next week. If the girls keep working hard and making smart decisions positive things will fall together.” – MV’s Jen Colgan
Records: Kennett 4-0; Merrimack Valley 1-3
Sanborn 2, Bow 1, OT
Key players: Bow – Sarah Guerrette (G), Jocelyn Webber (midfield), Elizabeth Guertin (midfield), Maddie Tibbetts (defense), Amelia Coe (defense)
Highlights: Guerrette put Bow on the board when she scored on a penalty corner early in the first half.
Coach’s quote: “This may be the best play I’ve seen from the team so far. The girls played very well and controlled much of the game. Their spacing was good, their passing was effective and the defense was strong. We are disappointed to have lost again in overtime, but this team is not demoralized. That makes me proud!” – Bow’s Rebecca Cleary
Records: Sanborn 2-1; Bow 1-3
Pembroke 3, Kennett 1
Key players: Pembroke – Nikki Nedeau (G), Kaitlin White (G), Maddie Bailey (G, A), Kaylie LeBlanc, Anna Harlow, Adrienne Dorr, Lindsay Hawkins, Britney Hill (defense)
Highlights: The Spartans notched their fifth win in as many games by going up 2-0 by halftime. Pembroke’s defensive unit kept it out of their own half for most of the game, however, a late-game set piece put the Eagles on the board.
Coach’s quote: “Kennett packed it in defensively and their keeper played a very good game, so we had to figure out how to finish under heavy traffic and congestion, which the girls did from many positions on the field. ” – Pembroke’s Jess Kaufman
Records: Pembroke 5-0; Kennett 1-2
Bow 1, John Stark 0
Key players: John Stark – Daniel Hilyard (6 saves), Orry Murdough (defense), Kayden Easter (defense), CJ Brennan
Highlights: Hilyard kept the Falcons at bay with six saves but Stark’s offense just couldn’t finish its chances. Brennan had a great chance to score off a cross in the second half that Bow’s goalie made a great save on. Will Connor also had a shot from about 25 yards out that sailed over the cross bar and Easter headed a ball just wide of the net off a corner from Josh Reynolds.
Coach’s quote: “Frustrating loss for our team today. Thought we came out flat in the first half and needed a spark. We came out with more life and energy in the second half. I liked how our guys battled and kept fighting. Good building blocks to feed off of for our next game.” – Stark’s Gerry Allen
Records: Bow 3-1-1; John Stark 2-3
Pembroke 3, Kennett 0
Key players: Pembroke Academy – Carter Pillsbury (G,A), Harrison Army (2G, A), Tyler Serefin (A)
Records: Pembroke Academy 3-1; Kennett 0-4
Lebanon 2, Coe-Brown 1
Key players: Lebanon – Logan Falzarano; Coe-Brown – Tom Daly (A), Cayden Donoghue (G), Hogan Cain (7 saves)
Highlights: With Lebanon shifting Falzarano into a floating role, the Bears did not adapt well enough, and he exploited Coe-Brown’s defensive gaps.
Coach’s quote: “Our first half was one of the better ones of the year for us so far. We had good movement, good passing and good outlets for our defense. We found ourselves up 1-0 going into halftime. Lebanon made a few adjustments that we did not do well enough to manage and had us back on our heals for most of the second half. They put two away and in the end we couldn’t generate sufficient opportunities going forwards.” – Coe-Brown’s Christian Gompert
Records: Lebanon 3-1-0; Coe-Brown 2-3-0
Belmont 7, Berlin 1
Key players: Belmont – Nate Sottak (2G), Lars Major (2G), Lucas Mathieu (G, 2A), Brice Pethic (G), Liam Waldron (G), Ben Hilsgrove (A), Eddie Mann (A), Kyle Whitcomb (A)
Highlights: Belmont led 2-0 at the half before exploding for five more goals in second half thanks to excellent team play by all of the players on both offense and defense.
Coach’s quote: “High energy from the start and carried through the entire game.” – Belmont’s Michael Foley
Records: Belmont 5-0; Berlin 0-2
Farmington 9, Franklin 0
Key players: Franklin – Danny Watts, Jadyn Lutz, Pierre Guillotte, Alexis Mango (defense)
Records: Farmington 2-1; Franklin 0-4
John Stark 3, Plymouth 0
Key players: John Stark – Brooke Patnode (11 assists, 6 aces, 2 blocks), Izabella Nelson (10 digs, 3 aces, solid serve receive), Riley Lord (4 aces, 9 digs, 5 kills)
Highlights: The beginning of the first set was a back-and-forth battle until John Stark pulled midway through the set to win, 25-20. In the second set, Plymouth took an early 7-1 lead, only to see John Stark storm back and take the lead. John Stark had a good lead only to have the Bobcats battle back this time to make things interesting, but strong service helped Stark win, 25-21. Lord dominated Stark’s 25-12 win in the third set.
Coach’s quote: “We battled a good team in Plymouth tonight and showed that we can play good volleyball. The team is starting to gel and trust in one another.” – Stark’s Jeff McClellan
Records: John Stark 2-1; Plymouth 2-1
Coe-Brown 3, Hanover 0
Key players: Coe-Brown – Abby Jerome (5 aces, 14 kills with a .545 hitting percentage)
Highlights: The Bears trailed 23-17 in the opening set but came on strong behind the serving of Jerome to win it, 25-23. Coe-Brown would go on to take the final two sets, 25-21 and 25-14.
Coach’s quote: “After a slow start the team pulled together and settled in both defensively and offensively. Hanover did a nice job reading us and preventing us from scoring. We look forward to getting back into the gym tomorrow to prepare for our big homecoming match Saturday.” – Coe-Brown’s Renee Zobel
Records: Coe-Brown 3-0; Hanover 1-2
Bishop Brady 2nd
Key players: Brady – Oscar Miller (9th), Colby Despres (12th), Max Brown (15th), Conor Donovan (19th), Nick Steigmeyer (20th)
Highlights: In a nine-team meet hosted by Kearsarge, Brady placed second behind Conant.