NASHUA – A gentle rain began to fall and the temperatures started to dip, much like how the game clock continued to shrink, when a voice from the Coe-Brown boys soccer team’s bench made a plea into the darkened sky: “Come on Coe-Brown, it’s now or never.”
The emphatic sentiment from the Bears’ sideline with about seven minutes left in their semifinal match against Oyster River on Tuesday night was intended as encouragement to those dressed in all-white uniforms out on the pitch. As the words were called out, play intensified from both teams. Stoppages happened, yellow cards were cast out and offensive chances materialized no matter how opportune they really looked.
But for the Bears, now didn’t happen and never remains as they lost to the Bobcats, 2-0, in the Division II semifinal at Stellos Stadium.
Coe-Brown stared down a tall task heading into the final moments of the match. It was down, 1-0, after the Bobcats’ junior midfielder Brady Luczek scored on a header in the 31st minute and, with the clock shrinking, all possible efforts were being made from the fifth-seeded Bears.
In the closing 10 minutes of the match, the Bears were awarded two corner kicks, both with near-goals. On the first, senior forward Marty Lacerte tried a bicycle kick, but the ball sailed just inches over the goal. On their second attempt, with six minutes left, senior defender Joshua Warner was in a great position and tried to head in the ball but watched it go off the mark.
Emotions began to run high and lapses in play happened before Oyster River iced the game with a definitive second goal with seconds left on the clock to ensure the Bears’ entrance into the offseason.
“I think they left everything out there on the field,” coach Christian Gompert said. “That’s the thing that we’ve ingrained them is that you can control your effort sticking by each other.”
This was the third match between the two programs this year and much like the previous two – Oyster River won both, 3-0 and 3-2 – it was tightly contested. The Bears’ defense did most of the work Tuesday night, but when their offense had chances, they were crisp and precise. Coe-Brown’s best offensive looks that weren’t in desperation mode came in the first half, when it controlled the pace of play and dominated possession from the 15th to the 22nd minutes.
Coe-Brown’s run of impressive efforts go all the way back to Oct. 6, when it defeated Merrimack Valley to start a four-game win streak. While it closed out the season with a loss and a tie, in its two playoff wins Coe-Brown outscored opponents 5-1.
In their first semifinal game since 2018, however, the Bears couldn’t reproduce that same offensive effort against the defending state champions and, as a result, their impressive run has reached the finish line.
“It’s tough going through a season; it’s exhausting,” Gompert said. “You put everything you’ve got into the season; it’s like a living creature. It’s emotional at the end, because it’s a sudden drop-off.”
There’s plenty of reason for Coe-Brown to keep its head high and to look forward to next season with key players returning across the pitch, including forward Brady Kouchoukos, defender Zach Ludwikowksi and goalkeeper Alex Readell.
Until then, however, the long offseason awaits and the anticipation for 2022 will grow daily.