BEDFORD – The first time the Concord boys’ soccer team met Bedford this season, the Crimson Tide was not feeling it.
“We were not confident going in to that first Bedford game,” Concord senior captain Danny Aybar said of his team’s 5-0 loss on Oct. 3. “We had lost a lot of games and they won a lot of games, and we didn’t think we could win. We were kind of scared.”
When the Tide traveled to Bedford on Saturday for a rematch in the Division I quarterfinals, the fear was gone. Top-ranked and undefeated Bedford still came away with a 2-0 win, but No. 9 Concord made the Bulldogs (16-0-1) earn it.
“We had something to prove, and even though we lost the game, we were competitive, we played well,” Aybar said. “I think we showed them that we’re a good team. I think we showed everyone that we’re a good team.”
“I’m very pleased with the effort we gave today. We stuck to the game plan,” Tide coach Scott Dunlop said. “I felt like we were in the game compared to the last time we played with them. That game was over very early.”
Bedford scored two quick goals to take early control of that regular-season meeting with Concord (8-7-3). The Bulldogs scored quickly again on Saturday. Andrew Middleton fed Vilor Rodrigues, who made a move around one defender and then was left one-on-one with Tide goalie Abbas Abdulrahman. Rodrigues didn’t miss, and Bedford had a 1-0 lead after just seven minutes.
That goal helped the Bulldogs gain momentum in the first half, but Concord wasn’t about to get blown out a second time. The Tide stood its ground and stuck to that game plan.
“We decided to play defense and then go attack,” Dunlop said of the basic tactical change from the first Bedford game. “We tried to get everyone behind the ball, hold them off and then go counter when we had the chances.”
Concord’s Alejo Caceres, Duvan Morikawa-Montenegro and Alasdair Ferrier helped the Tide create some of those chances as the first half wore on, mostly on set pieces, but Bedford took its 1-0 lead into halftime.
The Bulldogs doubled their advantage seven minutes into the second half on a fluky goal from Zach Verow. Middleton hit a long ball that somehow went through the Concord defense and sent in Verow, who finished the chance with authority.
“That long ball just got in behind all of us, and that really fast player (Verow) got in behind all of us, and it was a nice shot,” Aybar explained.
After falling behind by two goals in the Oct. 3 game against Bedford, the Tide folded. On Saturday, Concord fought back. Mosi Masimango and Faisal Abdallah joined Caceres, Morikawa-Montenegro and Ferrier in pushing the attack forward, and Concord owned more of the ball in the second half. But Bedford’s excellent defense (which is allowing just 0.35 goals per game), wouldn’t break.
“We definitely had more chances in the second half, but we had a hard time breaking them down from the 30 and in,” Dunlop said. “We got there, but we had a time against that defense.”
The second half improvement was a reflection of the Tide’s season. Concord was 4-6-1 on Oct. 9, but went 3-0-2 in its final five regular season games and went to No. 8 Exeter and pulled out a 2-1 overtime win in the first round of the playoffs.
“We lost to a lot of bad teams early in the season. We weren’t playing too well. But we really improved,” Aybar said. “We came together as a team. We were playing individually at first, we were worried about ourselves. Then we started worrying about the team, and it showed.”
No. 5 Mascoma 3, No. 4 Belmont 3,
Mascoma wins in PKs
Highlights: Belmont and Mascoma played to a draw through 100 minutes, but the Royals punched a ticket to the final four by winning in penalty kicks.
Records: Mascoma 14-4; Belmont 13-5
No. 7 Hopkinton 1, No. 2 Gilford 1
Hopkinton wins on PKs, 5-4
Key players: Hopkinton – Kevin Newton-Delagdo (G), Logan Rockwood (A), Aiden Burns (5 saves)
Highlights: Newton-Delgado scored the game-tying goal in the 34th minute to force overtime, Burns made three saves in the shootout and Garrett Fitzgerald completed the upset for the Hawks, connecting on a goal in the seventh round of penalty kicks to punch Hopkinton’s ticket to the semifinals. Gilford scored in the 20th minute, but Hopkinton equalized before halftime, with Andrew Beckwith slotting a pass across the field to Rockwood, who fed Newton-Delgado who finished off a shot close to the goal. Beckwith, Derek West, Ian Heck and Rockwood also scored converted their penalty kicks. The Hawks will play No. 3 Mascenic (16-2-0) in the D-III semifinals on Wednesday at Bank of New Hampshire Stadium at Laconia High School at 4 p.m.
Coach’s quote: “Win and advance is the saying for tournament play and that is what we are doing – by the skin of our teeth. This afternoon’s game was a battle between two well-matched sides on a slick and bumpy field. The game was back and forth all night, with both teams coming close to scoring a few more times. Aiden Burns played exceptional all night, punching a couple crosses skillfully and saving the few shots that Gilford got on net.” – Hopkinton’s Scott Zipke
Records: Hopkinton 13-4-1; Gilford 15-2-1
No. 5 Bow 4, No. 4 Milford 0
Key players: Bow – Matt Ferland (3G, A), Matt Selleck (2A), Ryan Leonard (G), Connor Griffin and Kyle Martin (combined for shutout), Lucas Berube (defense), Aaron Burkett (defense), Daniel Leuchtenberger (midfield)
Highlights: The Falcons scored 20 minutes into the match, setting the tone against the host Spartans, a squad that likes to protect the lead. Ferland completed his hat trick with a pair of strikes five minutes apart in the first 20 minutes of the second half to seal the win. Bow will take on the defending champions and No. 1 seed ConVal (14-2-1) in Wednesday’s semifinal at Bill Ball Stadium in Exeter at 4 p.m.
Coach’s quote: “Thomas Alva Edison once said genius is one percent inspiration, 99 percent perspiration. We did sweat a lot today.” – Bow’s George Pinkham
Records: Bow 11-4-3; Milford 9-4-4
No. 3 Oyster River 3, No. 11 Kearsarge 0
Highlights: The Cougars couldn’t pull a second upset in the D-II tournament, ending the season in the quarterfinals with a loss in Durham.
Records: Oyster River 12-2-3; Kearsarge 7-9-2
No. 6 Coe-Brown 3, No. 3 John Stark 2
Key players: Coe-Brown – Kaitlyn Miller (28 assists, 8 digs, ace), Abby Jerome (8 kills, 8 digs, 2 aces), Jessie Davis (13 digs, 5 kills, ace), Niki Smith (8 kills, block), Anneliese Wade (6 kills, block), Molly Ewing (2 kills, block, defense), Emily Morris (3 aces, 7 digs), Beatrice Tursi (defense)
Highlights: The Bears won the first, third and fifth sets to pull off the upset over the Generals to advance to Wednesday’s semifinals at Pinkerton Academy. Coe-Brown will play No. 2 Milford (15-2).
Coach’s quote: “We had a plan headed into tonight’s match and the girls executed it out of the gate so well I couldn’t stop smiling. With two of the best outside hitters in the state and great defense, we knew John Stark was going to be a very tough opponent. Everyone did their jobs tonight. I couldn’t be more proud of the team effort that was put in. Congrats to John Stark on a phenomenal match and a great season.” – Coe-Browns Renee Zobel
Records: Coe-Brown 13-5; John Stark 13-4
Bow 41, Souhegan 31
Key players: Bow – Steven Guerrette (5 TD; defense), Andrew Robbins (TD), Cooper Larrabee (sack), Myles Rheinhardt (fumble recovery)
Highlights: The Falcons fell behind by 14 points before riding the legs of Guerrette to victory. Guerrette ripped off TD runs of 2, 10, 80, 31 and 35 yards, with the final two coming after Souhegan pulled ahead, 31-29. On the defensive side, Larrabee came up with a back-breaking sack to halt a drive and Rheinhardt’s fumble recovery locked up the win for Bow. The Falcons finish the regular season at a perfect 9-0 and will host a first-round playoff game next week.
Coach’s quote: “A truly outstanding and memorable afternoon for all 14 of our seniors.” – Bow’s Paul Cohen
Records: Bow 9-0; Souhegan 5-4
Merrimack Valley 28, Pembroke 26
Key players: MV – Aslan Hodge (142 yards total offense, TD), Chase Keyser (58 yards rushing, TD; INT), Connor Ramas (8-yard TD pass), Jadein Vasquez (3 receptions for 35 yard; INT), Seth Baylus (46-yard fake punt for TD; fumble recovery), Matt Grandmaison (FG, extra point), Ethan Drapeau (fumble recovery), Jake Currier (6 tackles), Tanna Valliere (2 TFL); Pembroke – Ryan Casey (3 TD passes)
Highlights: Hodge was voted MVP from Merrimack Valley and Jake Schaeffer was voted MVP for Pembroke in the contest. Merrimack Valley had 309 total yards of offense to pull out the narrow win in the final game of the season for both teams.
Coach’s quote: “Hard fought game between two good teams.” – MV’s Joseph Raycraft
Records: MV 3-6; Pembroke 3-6
John Stark 26, Gilford-Belmont 22
Key players: John Stark – Nathan Tower, Nikos Biskaduros, Jacob Ridenour
Highlights: The Generals topped Gilford-Belmont in the final game of the season for both teams.
Coach’s quote: “Great way to end the season and send our seniors out with a win. Unbelievable senior class, they will be missed.” – John Stark’s Kevin McGinty
Records: John Stark 3-6; Gilford-Belmont 4-5