It might be late October, but for Concord Christian Academy boys’ soccer coach Craig Anthony, the season is just starting.
The Kingsmen locked up an undefeated regular season with a 13-1 victory over Pittsfield under the lights at the CenterPoint Athletic Fields on Friday night, while the Lady Kingsmen defeated the Pittsfield girls, 8-0, to open the doubleheader.
With the regular season in the books across the state, the CCA boys boast a 15-0-1 record and the CCA girls stand strong at 12-4-0, heading into the Division IV tournament that starts this week. The boys will be the No. 1 seed, while the girls will likely be No. 6. Brackets will be released by NHIAA on Monday.
But at this point, the records might as well read 0-0.
“You have to play every night,” Anthony said. “We’re undefeated, but every game is a new season. If you don’t respect every team you’re going to face, you’re going to go home. Nos. 1-8 are very strong. There’s not a gimme by any stretch of the imagination.”
Freshman midfielder Emma Smith had a hat trick, including two goals in the first half, as the CCA girls built a 4-0 halftime lead. Makayla Baglio, Kate Smith, Megan Muir, Sarah Muir and Ellana Fortin netted single goals for the Lady Kingsmen.
Nine players on the boys’ team recorded a goal or assist, led by senior midfielder Wilson Rose with a pair of goals and six assists. Brayden Burbach (two goals, two assists), Ethan Young (two goals, assist), Aidan Duffy (two goals), Gavin Ross (two goals), Owen Burrell (two goals), Conlan Moore (goal), Nate Manha (assist) and Micah Pouliot (assist) all helped the Kingsmen build a 9-0 lead at halftime.
Senior Parker Clark put Pittsfield on the board in the second half in the girls’ contest. Ella Baker and Jayden Young locked things down in net for CCA.
Four of Concord Christian’s senior boys – Levi Campbell (a two-time First Team All-State center back), Ethan Young (midfielder), Rose (right midfield) and Duffy (defender) – have been playing together since kindergarten.
“We have a lot of senior leadership; we just play really well together,” Anthony said. “We move the ball well and are pretty solid from top to bottom.”
While the Kingsmen have scored 106 goals and allowed a paltry two, Ethan Young, the squad’s leading scorer, only accounts for 22 of them, highlighting CCA’s balance and versatility across its roster, a characteristic shared by the CCA girls.
“I can pretty much put anyone (anywhere),” said CCA girls’ coach Josh Winans. “It’s a luxury.”
Winans’ team has improved steadily the past few seasons but lost both matches against top teams Newmarket and Sunapee.
“It’s nice that we can move the ball; I’m not saying that we can move the ball (that well) against everybody,” Winans said. “But that’s what we want to do, because that’s what Sunapee and Newmarket can do.”
For the Pittsfield girls (5-11-0) and boys (1-15-0), this season was about growth and development.
“We’re a young team, full of energy,” said girls’ coach Doug Cheney, noting that his team had just one senior and started a seventh grade goalie – Savannah Chagnon. “They want to learn, but we’re getting beat by size and strength. … We’re still growing, we’re still learning, but they’re eager. They want to be coached. They want to learn the game.”
Concord Christian’s season continues, but in a sense, it’s also just begun.
“We’ve had a special year,” Anthony said. “But it’s a clean slate and anybody can beat anybody so you’d better come ready to play.”