WEARE – The shot wasn’t one Nathan Innerfield decided to try on the fly.
The John Stark defender has put in the work behind the scenes, so when the ball left his foot with the Generals locked in a 1-1 tie against Kearsarge in the opening round of the Division II boys’ soccer tournament, he wasn’t all that surprised to see it go in.
Well, maybe a little bit.
“My teammate laid it back to me and I saw the goalie was kind of the near the middle of the net,” Innerfield said. “I’ve always been practicing that near-post bend (shot), so I decided to do it and it went in. It’s worked a lot, but not from that far out.”
From a few yards outside the box, Innerfield curved his shot perfectly past the outstretched arms of Kearsarge goalie Nathan St. Pierre on the near post, breaking the tie in the 63rd minute and providing No. 6 John Stark with the second-half jolt it needed in its 4-1 victory over No. 11 Kearsarge on Wednesday in Weare.
It was the second of two key goals for Innerfield, who tied the game at 1-all in the first half with another strong finish and now has the Generals (12-4-1) back in the quarterfinals for the second straight year. John Stark is slated to travel to No. 3 Coe-Brown (12-3-1) on Saturday.
“It was a tight match that just kind of opened up at the end. But they key was when we had those chances, we had to put them in the net,” John Stark coach Eddie Marceau said. “I think both teams would probably say they knew what the other was going to do. So it’s kind of just in this one 80-minute match, who was going to score more and keep the ball out of the net.”
While Stark came in as the favorite on paper with a higher seed, better overall record and a regular-season win over Kearsarge under its belt, it was the Cougars who played like the better team in the early portions of the game.
Kearsarge (6-11) opened the scoring in the first 10 minutes off an unassisted goal from forward Ben Corbyn and had the Generals back on their heels to start.
“Within like five or seven minutes we were up, and I think we were the better team on the field,” Kearsarge coach Matt Burch said. “I don’t think a lot of teams expect us to come out and play with the intensity and pace we can actually play with. So I think we caught them off-guard just not ready to go the way we were.”
The momentum, though, was short-lived.
Stark answered before the end of the half on Innerfield’s goal and the two sides entered the break in a stalemate.
“The mindset was fairly simple: Basically now we have a 40-minute match,” Marceau said. “There will be fewer opportunities than in a full match, but we have to capitalize on them and we were able to do so.”
The teams treated the fans to an action-packed start to the second half as both sides generated plenty of direct kicks, corners and scoring chances.
Kearsarge had a golden opportunity off a corner four minutes into the second half as a low line-drive cross was sent directly to the front of the net. The Cougars nearly scored on it with a clever heel kick, but Stark keeper Jaimason Lacasse jumped on the ball for one of his six saves.
From there, Stark defenders Aaron Robertson and Kayden Easter led the charge to keep Kearsarge in check for the most part, allowing pressure at times, but never another goal.
Innerfield’s go-ahead score with 17 minutes remaining was the most important, but Stark made sure to put the game out of reach in the final minutes, taking advantage of Kearsarge’s aggressiveness with a couple of insurance goals from Tony Leary in the 74th and 76th minutes.
“Normally we play three backs with two in front and I pulled one of those two in front and pushed him farther up the field,” Burch said. “It kind of left us a little more open than what we normally are back there, but we had to try and go forward.
“I’m very proud of the way we played and it wasn’t because of a lack of effort or heart,” Burch said. “We just didn’t put (the ball) in the back of the net.”
(Jay McAree can be reached at 369-3371, jmcaree@cmonitor.com or on Twitter @JayMcAree.)
D-II Boys’ Soccer
First Round
No. 7 Bow 3,
No. 10 Plymouth 1
Key players: Bow – Ryan Leonard (G, A), Matt Ferland (G), Ethan Berrigan (G); Plymouth – Devlin Costa (midfield), Doug Cassarino (forward)
Highlights: The Falcons jumped on top early, scoring just three minutes into the game. They pushed the lead to 2-0 with five minutes remaining in the half, but Plymouth answered three minutes later and Bow settled for a 2-1 halftime edge. The Falcons scored again seven minutes into the second half and protected the lead to the end with Graham Weisberg and Aaron Burkett leading the defensive effort and Matt Selleck standing out in the midfield.
Coach’s quote: “We get to play another game. That’s what you’re trying to do in the playoffs. Plymouth is always going to test you. Coaches Elderkin and Cassarino prepare them well. The boys were up to the task and thus get to play again on Saturday.” – Bow’s George Pinkham
Records: Bow 10-5-2; Plymouth 8-8-1
No. 9 Lebanon 2,
No. 8 Merrimack Valley 1
Key players: MV – Coby Mercier (G)
Highlights: Lebanon was able to capitalize on miscommunication among the Pride defenders to take a 2-0 lead. Mercier found the back of the net with about 20 minutes to play, but the Raiders packed it in defensively to hold off MV’s attack. Cameron Woodman, Matt Dean and Pedro Godoi all played well in the midfield for MV.
Coach’s quote: “Tough one to lose, this group has worked really hard throughout the season and for the seniors the past four years. Hard to see the seniors go out on a loss. Great group of kids and a pleasure to coach.” – MV’s Ken Fuller
Records: Lebanon 10-7-0; Merrimack Valley 10-7-0
No. 4 Concord 2,
No. 13 Exeter 1
Key players: Concord – Daniel Aybar (G), Gopal Timsina (G), Sujan Gurung (A), Adamson Munyembabazi (defense), Alasdair Ferrier (forward)
Highlights: The visiting Blue Hawks scored first, taking a 1-0 lead after 30 minutes of play at a wet and slick Memorial Field. The Crimson Tide answered right away when Aybar caught Exeter’s keeper off his line and scored from 20 yards out from the left side. Concord went ahead two minutes into the second half when Timsina worked his way to the end line and cut the ball into the box, where it caromed to Gurung, who finished. The Tide held significant advantages in shots (17-7) and corners (9-2) and threatened to increase its lead, but the Blue Hawks stayed close until the final whistle.
Coach’s quote: “It was a battle, a tough game where the footing was really challenging for both sides. I was pleased with our effort and our composure to respond to their goal the way we did.” – Concord’s Scott Dunlop
Records: Concord 12-3-2; Exeter 7-10-0
No. 2 Belmont 2,
No. 15 St. Thomas 0
Key players: Belmont – Zach Ennis (G), Lucas Mathieu (G), Nolan Gagnon (A), Jake Deware (4 saves)
Highlights: Not only did this game put the Raiders into the quarterfinals, it was the 200th win for Mike Foley in his 19th year as Belmont’s head coach. Ennis opened the scoring in the 33rd minute off a direct kick outside the 18-yard box and the Raiders took that 1-0 lead to halftime. Mathieu doubled it in the 58th minute when he scored off a Nolan Gagnon corner. The Belmont defense posted its 14th shutout of the season thanks to some excellent work from Devin Bricknell, Lars Major, Caleb Burke and Angelo Papadopoulos.
Coach’s quote: “Excellent team win to open the playoffs.” – Belmont’s Mike Foley
Records: Belmont 15-0-2; St. Thomas 6-8-3
No. 8 John Stark 3,
No. 9 Coe-Brown 2
Key players: John Stark – Brooke Patnode (30 assists, 10 digs, 2 aces), Riley Lord (11 kills, 2 aces, 5 digs), Lillian Stogner (9 kills, 5 digs), Olyvia Bergeron (8 kills, block)
Highlights: Coe-Brown won the first set and actually won more points (107-103) than the host Generals, but Stark pulled out a 19-25, 25-22, 25-22, 19-25, 15-13 win to advance to the quarterfinals.
Coach’s quote: “We beat a strong team tonight. Now we need to prepare for the top seed Gilford, and see if we can bring home the win.” – John Stark’s Jeff McClellan
Records: John Stark 10-7; Coe-Brown 7-10