It’s been so long since the Concord Christian Academy girls’ soccer team had been to the state semifinals that nobody has any recollection of when that was.
The No. 6 Lady Kingsmen took a lead against No. 7 Portsmouth Christian Academy in Tuesday’s Division IV semifinal at Laconia High School, but with Concord Christian’s first trip to a girls’ soccer championship game on the line, the Eagles instead came back to win 2-1 in overtime.
Freshman Emma Smith claimed the ball off a long throw-in from a teammate deep in Portsmouth Christian territory and fired a strike on net. The Eagles’ goalkeeper punched it away, but senior Ellana Fortin came charging into the box to chest in the rebound for a 1-0 lead in the 28th minute.
But the Eagles (14-5-0) tied the game in the 34th minute off a long shot from 25 yards out. Both teams had chances and created pressure on the opposing goal in the second half, but nothing found the back of the net until PCA worked the ball methodically down the field to score the game-winning goal less than 10 minutes into the first overtime period.
This defeat marks Concord Christian’s first loss in three meetings with the Eagles this season. CCA (14-5-0) defeated PCA, 2-1 in overtime, on Sept. 26 in Concord and also spoiled PCA’s homecoming with a 2-0 victory on Oct. 8.
Despite not making it to that elusive final, it was a breakthrough season for the Lady Kingsmen, who advanced the furthest they ever have in head coach Josh Winans’ five years with the program. It continues a trend of steady improvement for CCA, which did not qualify for the tournament in 2016, played in the prelims in 2017 and 2018 and advanced to the quarterfinals in each of the last three years.
Portsmouth Christian plays No. 1 Newmarket for the D-IV title on Friday at 5 p.m. at Laconia High.