MANCHESTER – Concord Christian head coach Josh Winans described Newmarket as a “mountain to try to get up.” His team made some progress up that mountain, but will have to wait another year to find that summit.

The No. 3 Concord Christian Academy Kingsmen (15-2-1) took a lead in the first half, but the No. 3 Newmarket Mules (17-0-1) – the two-time defending champions – tied the game before halftime and scored the game-winning goal in the second half in a 2-1 victory in the Division IV semifinals on Thursday at Manchester Memorial High School.

Sophomore Makayla Baglio drove a low cross diagonally across the box and freshman Emmy Laboe neatly tucked it inside the near post to give the Kingsmen a 1-0 lead in the 28th minute, Concord Christian’s only shot on target in the entire match.

But the Mules, who had already created several chances in the match, including a shot off the crossbar just two minutes before CCA’s goal, tied the game six minutes later when Olivia Blackadar’s long through ball into the box found the feet of Emma Weick, who drove a hard shot to the opposite corner of the goal.

Newmarket came out firing on all cylinders from the opening whistle of the second half, keeping Concord Christian’s sophomore goalkeeper Kate Smith (12 saves) very busy before the Mules found Blackadar unmarked in the middle of the box in the 53rd minute. Blackadar’s strike found the back of the net, sending Newmarket to its third straight final.

The Mules outshot the Kingsmen 19-3, with a 13-1 advantage in shots on target, the majority of them in the second half.

Smith was outstanding in goal, stopping a breakaway in the middle of the second half that could’ve easily given Newmarket a 3-1 lead. Smith also tipped a volley off the crossbar and over the net that would’ve given the Mules the lead before halftime.

“Coach (Andrew) Dawson is so good,” Winans said of his Newmarket counterpart. “You can see it by the way they pass, their (ball movement) and their spacing. They’re in triangle formations all over the field. They’ve drilled it and they’re very good at it.”

The Mules, who were also D-IV runners-up in 2017-19, are the only team that has put blemishes on Concord Christian’s otherwise spotless record.

Newmarket handed CCA it's only regular season loss, 2-1, on Aug. 29 in Newmarket, and the teams played to a 1-1 draw in Concord on Sept. 22.

The Kingsmen only graduate one senior from this year’s team, forward Ella Baker, and 12 of the players on the roster are freshmen or sophomores. 

“There’s a core group that are just really good athletes,” Winans said, adding that several of his players are also on the two-time championship winning basketball team. “I’ve been very fortunate to have (players with) this skill level. And the younger ones are understanding because of those players. …We’re getting better skill wise, but it’s tough to get past Newmarket. Our kids played their guts out. I’m very proud of the girls and their families. They’re just awesome human beings.”

Volleyball

The No. 6 Concord Christian volleyball team (13-6) also dropped its semifinal on Thursday night, losing in straight sets to No. 2 Inter-Lakes, 25-23, 25-18, 25-21 at Pinkerton Academy.

The Lakers (17-1) also knocked CCA out of last year’s Division III tournament in the preliminary round.

The loss caps another good season for Concord Christian, a school that has only had a varsity volleyball team for two years, but has qualified for the postseason tournament in both. The Kingsmen more than doubled their win total from last year’s 5-12 campaign.