The Cougars may not have had a great record entering Monday’s game at Pembroke, but they wanted to show that they are still standing.
The Kearsarge field hockey team (2-5) ended up doing a lot more than that, with freshman Megan Norris scoring in overtime to lock up a thrilling 2-1 victory over the Spartans (3-6).
Kearsarge capitalized on a counterattack when freshman Abby Nadeau found her classmate Norris on a beautiful cross, and Norris showed “unbelievable freshman composure,” according to Kearsarge Coach Dianne Chadwick, burying a shot in the corner of the net with 2:18 left in the extra period.
The win is just the second this season for the Cougars, but Chadwick and her squad were prepared for this contest, having worked on a few key areas that cost them games earlier this year.
“We’ve been working really hard on controlling on our passes and making them smarter and more effective,” said Chadwick, who is in her fourth year as the head coach of the program. “We’ve also been working on not getting beaten to the ball. That’s been a big factor for us this year. That helped us in the first half, we were more aggressive today.”
Kearsarge had a little more control than Pembroke in the first half. Forward Audrey Kenyon didn’t hesitate when she had a path to the net, scoring an unassisted goal with 6:51 remaining.
“You can’t win if you don’t shoot,” Chadwick said. “We had some strong shots on net and showed no hesitation.”
The Spartans had the upper hand in the second half, raining shots on Kearsarge goalie Marissa Pickman. Pembroke outshot the Cougars, 26-12, but the sophomore Pickman made 25 saves to keep the Spartans at bay.
“There were some tense moments,” Chadwick said. “But (Pickman) made some great saves like she normally does.”
Pembroke finally found the back of the net when junior Maddie Bennett beat Pickman with 1:10 left in regulation. Senior Kelly Wagner assisted.
The Spartans also controlled most of overtime and had two corners, but Pickman turned the ensuing shots aside.
“Those always make me nervous, but were able to lock down the defense,” Chadwick said.
Defenders Lilly Woods and Rachel Swindell did a good job preventing even more shots from finding their way to Pickman.
“Every game they are solid back there,” Chadwick said.
The eventual game-winning goal snapped Pembroke’s two-game winning streak, but the Spartans have already tripled last year’s win total (they finished 1-12-1 last year) and hope to pick up a couple more before the season’s end.
“It was a tough loss,” Pembroke Head Coach Aimee Monterio said. “I was proud that they fought back to tie it. We’ve really developed over the past few years. For us, having three wins is heading in the right direction.”
Haley Brown (forward), Taylor Monterio (midfield) and Cierra Clark (defense) played well for the Spartans in the loss.
As for Kearsarge, the squad is only one victory away from matching last year’s mark (3-11), but the Cougars will need to display the same hustle, effective passing and aggressiveness on offense in the second half of the season if they are to pick up more victories.
“The past couple of games our chemistry has kicked in,” Chadwick said. “We’ve been switching people around to see where the magic is and I think we’ve found it. But we’ve got to keep plugging away … what we need to show every single team out there that we’re still standing.”
(Dan Attorri can be reached at dattorri@cmonitor.com or on Twitter @DanAttorri.).
Exeter 3, Concord 2
Key players: Concord – Haley Munroe (2 goals), Carly Torrance (attack), Maria Armaganian
Highlights/key moments: The Tide trailed, 2-0, after 21 minutes. Concord pressed hard and leveled the scored quickly, but the Blue Hawks netted the game-winner.
Coach’s quote: “Both teams played very well in terribly hot conditions.” – Concord’s Andy Briers
Records: Exeter 3-6-0; Concord 1-6-1
Souhegan 5, Merrimack Valley 1
Key players: MV – Sophie Worster (goal), Reilly Swislosky (assist), Amy Bardsley (forward)
Highlights/key moments: Souhegan scored four minutes into the game and scored two more before the first half ended. In the second half, the Pride held the Sabers scoreless until they netted their fourth goal with six minutes left. Worster put MV on late in the game.
Coach’s quote: “We play some really good field hockey, but we have moments when things break down and that’s when goals are scored. We lost 5-1 but we had some good opportunities on the field against a very tough team.” – MV’s Kim Kenney
Records: Souhegan 8-1-0; MV 1-6-1
White Mountains 4, Bishop Brady 3
Key players: Bishop Brady – Halle Laramie (2 goals), Abby Shagena (goal), Emma Windsor (7 saves)
Highlights/key moments: The Spartans had a 3-1 halftime lead, but Brady made a comeback in the second half that just fell short. The Giants had seven corners in the second half, while holding White Mountains to zero.
Coach’s quote: “White Mountains played well in the first half where Brady did not. The girls came out and played much stronger in the second half, but playing catch-up got the best of us today.” – Brady’s Kelly Owen
Records: White Mtns. 3-6; Brady 2-6
Mascoma 3, Bow 1
Key players: Bow – Savannah Speckman (goal), Erin Boldwin (assist), Isabelle Dolcino (offense), Jennie Ess (midfield), Maddie Tibbetts (midfield)
Highlights/key moments: The Falcons dropped to .500 with a loss on the road.
Coach’s quote: “The team passed well and we were in the game to the end. Unfortunately, our opponent scored more goals than we did.” – Bow’s Rebecca Cleary
Records: Mascoma 4-5; Bow 4-4
Gilford 2, Berlin 0
Key players: Gilford – Julie Auld (goal), Kellie Ryan (goal), Nicole Berube (assist), Laurel Gingrich (assist)
Highlights/key moments: Jillian Lachapelle and Laurel Normandin created a good passing game along with their defensive stops to lead the Eagles to their ninth win of the season.
Coach’s quote: “Much better effort using both sides of the field and going to the ball in the second half.” – Gilford’s David Rogacki
Records: Gilford 9-1; Berlin 5-4
Concord 3, Bedford 2
Key players: Concord – Brenna Vandersea (23 digs), Paige Weatherbee (8 digs), Maria Wimpey (13 kills), Emma Ferguson (10 kills)
Highlights/key moments: The Tide pulled out a narrow 25-15, 19-25, 25-22, 21-25, 15-7, win over the Bulldogs.
Coach’s quote: “Wow was it hot in that gym tonight. Roll Tide.” – Concord’s Jonathan Flower
Records: Concord 8-1; Bedford 4-5
Coe-Brown 3, Somersworth 1
Key players: Coe-Brown – Maggie Sylvester (10 kills, 3 aces), Amaya Newport (6 kills, 3 blocks), Anneliese Wade (5 kills, 5 blocks), Jadlyn Newport (24 assists)
Highlights/key moments: The Bears won a four-set match, 25-17, 25-19, 16-25, 25-19 on the road.
Coach’s quote: “It was a fun match. Well played by both teams.” – Rick Veno
Records: Coe-Brown 5-5; Somersworth 3-6
Raymond 3, Hillsboro-Deering 2
Key players: H-D – Eva Evans (7 aces, 9 assists), Kaelyn Snair (5 kills, 2 digs, 2 aces), Holly Madore (3 kills, 3 aces), Maddee O’Brien (5 aces, 3 digs), Kimmie Rodier (4 kills, 3 aces)
Highlights/key moments: The Hillcats couldn’t sweep the Rams, who avenged their 3-2 loss to H-D from last week.
Coach’s quote: “The girls came back after losing the first two sets to take it to a deciding fifth set, but couldn’t quite hold their streak. We saw some great plays tonight, but also have some things to work on before our next opponent on Friday.” – H-D’s Nicole LaRoche
Records: Raymond 1-5; H-D 2-7
Winnisquam 3, Campbell 2
Key players: Winnisquam – Shannon Goodwin (23 kills, 6 digs, 2 blocks), Talia DeBlasie (33 assists, 6 digs, 3 kills), Madisyn Skeats (18 digs), Gabby Isabelle (14 digs, 9 kills, 4 aces), Aubrey St. Onge (12 digs, 2 assists), Alli Foster (5 kills, 3 blocks)
Highlights/key moments: The Bears won a five-set match in a battle of previously undefeated teams. The Bears dominated the first two games, 25-12, 25-15, but struggled with Campbell’s serving to drop sets three and four, 18-25, 19-25. Winnisquam won the fifth set, 15-7, to remain in at the top of the D-III standings.
Coach’s quote: “The blocking game paid off for us big time in game five to set us up and helped us build up an early lead. I was really happy that we came out strong in game five and pulled it out in their own house. To start really strong against an undefeated team in their own gym was impressive. It would have been easy to lose momentum after losing games three and four. I thought coming out with the win in the fifth set showed a lot of heart and character.” – Winnisquam’s Mike Livernois
Records: Winnisquam 8-0; Campbell 6-1
Inter-Lakes 3, Portsmouth Christian 0
Key players: Inter-Lakes – Jessalyn Brown (15 service points, 7 digs, 15 assists), Emma Wheeler (13 service points, 8 kills, 5 digs, 3 blocks), Hailey Hart (10 service points)
Highlights/key moments: The Lakers picked up their fourth sweep of the season as they remain undefeated.
Coach’s quote: “Another great team effort for the Lakers with all 14 players contributing.” – Inter-Lakes’ Randy Mattson
Records: Inter-Lakes 7-0; Portsmouth Christian 4-2
Gilford 3, Kennett 0
Key players: Gilford – Maggie McNeil (9 aces), Karly Sanborn, Naomi Eldridge
Highlights/key moments: The Golden Eagles cruised to a three-set win, dominating from the start with 25-9, 25-5 and 25-6 victories. Gilford served up 27 aces in the match and the duo of Sanborn and Eldridge combined for 15 assists.
Records: Gilford 6-1; Kennett 0-8
Prospect Mountain 1, Newfound 0
Key players: Newfound – Mike Doan (13 saves), Quentin Helmers (defense), Brad MacDonald (midfield)
Highlights/key moments: Newfound kept the Timberwolves to a scoreless draw until the Bears allowed a goal with 13 minutes left to play.
Coach’s quote: “This was a hard fought battle for Newfound, who went back and forth with Prospect in an open game. I am proud of our effort, particularly on the defensive side of the ball.” – Newfound’s Jason Hill
Records: Prospect Mtn. 3-5-1; Newfound 3-4-0
Coe-Brown 1, Plymouth 0
Key players: Coe-Brown – Kiley St. Francis (goal), Emily Olofson (assist), Emily van Gerena (4 saves), Amelia Bracket (defense)
Highlights/key moments: St. Francis scored in the 29th minute and Bracket anchored the defense in front of van Gerena, who earned her fourth clean sheet of the season.
Coach’s quote: “This was not our best effort, but we were able to secure a much-needed win. Plymouth played and excellent game and my girls pushed through the heat, illness and injuries with Plymouth giving us all we could handle.” – Coe-Brown’s Josh Hils
Records: Coe-Brown 4-6-0; Plymouth 1-4-1
Hillsboro-Deering 5, Newport 4, OT
Key players: H-D – Izabella Warren (goal, assist), Kaylea Davison (goal, assist), Mara Grady (goal), Emily Wightman (2 goals both on PKs), Zoe Kemp (6 saves)
Highlights/key moments: Newport was up 2-0 when Warren scored in the 15th minute off a perfect pass from Davison. Grady scored off an assist by Warren in the 37th minute. Wightman scored her first penalty kick in the 51st minute to give the Hillcats a 3-2 lead, but Newport scored two more before Davison tied the game in the 77th minute. Wightman scored on another penalty kick two minutes into overtime.
Coach’s quote: “Good job with the team rallying in the overtime period.” – H-D’s Susan Else
Records: H-D 7-3; Newport 1-8