High schools: Coe-Brown girls return to final four; plus more tournament soccer and volleyball, and regular season football from this weekend

Coe-Brown captain Maggie Escabi (8) battles with Oyster River’s Lindsey Morin (22) in the middle of the pitch during a Division II girls’ soccer quarterfinal match on Saturday in Northwood. Coe-Brown overcame an early 1-0 deficit to win 5-2 and advance to the final four.

Coe-Brown captain Maggie Escabi (8) battles with Oyster River’s Lindsey Morin (22) in the middle of the pitch during a Division II girls’ soccer quarterfinal match on Saturday in Northwood. Coe-Brown overcame an early 1-0 deficit to win 5-2 and advance to the final four. RICH MIYARA / NH Sports Photography

Bow’s Jake Reardon (15) attempts to put a header on goal against Campbell on Saturday in a Division II boys’ soccer quarterfinal match in Litchfield. The No. 9 Falcons fell to No. 1 Campbell, 3-2.

Bow’s Jake Reardon (15) attempts to put a header on goal against Campbell on Saturday in a Division II boys’ soccer quarterfinal match in Litchfield. The No. 9 Falcons fell to No. 1 Campbell, 3-2. Chip Griffin / Photos by Chip

Concord’s Tess Bolduc tries to hit over the reach of Bishop Guertin’s Akira Coravos (19) during Saturday’s Division I girls’ volleyball quarterfinal in Nashua. No. 4 Bishop Guertin defeated No. 12 Concord in four sets.

Concord’s Tess Bolduc tries to hit over the reach of Bishop Guertin’s Akira Coravos (19) during Saturday’s Division I girls’ volleyball quarterfinal in Nashua. No. 4 Bishop Guertin defeated No. 12 Concord in four sets. TOM KING / Nashua Telegraph

Published: 11-03-2024 1:54 PM

D-II Girls’ Soccer

No. 4 Coe-Brown 5
No. 5 Oyster River 2

Key players: Coe-Brown – Jaelyn Demers (2 goals), Bella Lapierre (goal, assist), Jennifer Noni (goal, assist), Ellie Escabi (goal), Cam Buchanan (assist), Amanda Thomas and Maggie Escabi (defense), Emma Place and Morgan Readel, (forward), Sammy Perron (defense), Lizzy Joy (defense), Mallory Carri (defense)

Highlights: Oyster River scored off a corner kick in the first minute, but Ellie Escabi and Demers scored to give Coe-Brown a 2-1 lead with 17 minutes left in the first half. Oyster River tied the game, 2-2, with less than a minute to go before halftime, but the Bears controlled the second half, with Noni scoring just 26 seconds after the break and Demers netting her second two minutes later. Lapierre finished off the scoring on a beautiful pass from Buchanan. Perron, Maggie Escabi, Jadyn Spearin, Thomas and Joy secured the back line in the second half, allowing only two Bobcat shots on goal. Coe-Brown will play No. 1 Hollis-Brookline (17-0) in Monday’s semifinal in a rematch of last year’s championship game. Kickoff will be at 6:15 p.m. at Bill Ball Stadium in Exeter.

Coach’s quote: “We had a really productive week to prep and practice. The girls could have quit down 1-0 early but refused to quit, and I’m incredibly proud of their play tonight. Now onto the semis and who knows what can happen. You play the games for a reason.” – Coe-Brown’s Josh Hils

Records: Coe-Brown 11-3-3; Oyster River 9-5-3

No. 6 Kingswood 1
No. 3 John Stark 0

Highlights: The Generals fell to the Knights in Friday’s quarterfinal.

Coach’s quote: “Today was a full-team effort, but luck was not on our side, having hit the post six times. This group of young women are great students and wonderful community members who happen to be very good at soccer. We will miss our five senior leaders.” – John Stark’s Eddie Marceau

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Records: Kingswood 8-4-6; John Stark 10-4-3

No. 1 Hollis-Brookline 5
No. 9 Pembroke 0

Highlights: The Spartans couldn’t make it two upsets in a row, falling to the undefeated, defending champion Cavaliers on the road on Friday.

Records: Hollis-Brookline 17-0-0; Pembroke 8-8-2

D-II Boys’ Soccer

No. 3 Milford 2
No. 6 Coe-Brown 1

Key players: Coe-Brown – Bruce LaPierre (goal), Liam White (assist), Steve Phillips (PK save)

Highlights: Coe-Brown broke a scoreless deadlock in the 56th minute with a goal off a corner kick, but Milford tied the game on a penalty kick 10 minutes later and scored again five minutes after that to end the Bears’ season in the quarterfinals.

Coach’s quote: “I’m proud of our boys being deliberate in trying to stick to the values we cherish in our program. We gave it our best shot, and our guys stuck together from the bench to the field. What more can a coach ask for? It’s been an honor to coach them.” – Coe-Brown’s Christian Gompert

Records: Milford 13-2-2; Coe-Brown 9-7-2

No. 1 Campbell 3
No. 9 Bow 2

Highlights: The Falcons fell to the Cougars by a 3-2 score for the second time this season, ending Bow’s season in Saturday’s quarterfinal. Campbell also beat Bow on Sept. 6

Records: Campbell 15-1-1; Bow 8-7-3

D-III Boys’ Soccer

No. 1 Hopkinton 2
No. 8 Kearsarge 1

Key players: Hopkinton – Fin Murphy (goal), Nate Windhurst (goal), Noah Aframe (assist), Travis Windhurst (5 saves); Kearsarge – Trenton Judkins (goal), Bryce Selby (assist), Gunnar Benedict (5 saves)

Highlights: After a scoreless first half, the Cougars scored first after a Hopkinton play broke down, but the Hawks stormed back with goals by Murphy (57th minute) and Nate Windhurst (75th) to advance to the final four for the second consecutive year. Murphy’s goal was an aerial finish from a throw-in by Aframe, and Windhurst’s goal was an incredible individual effort on an upper-90 shot from 30 yards out with four minutes remaining in the match. Hopkinton will play No. 4 St. Thomas (13-3-2) in Wednesday’s semifinal at Bedford High School. Kickoff is scheduled for 6:45 p.m.

Records: Hopkinton 17-0-1; Kearsarge 8-6-4

No. 3 Prospect Mountain 1
No. 11 Belmont 0, OT

Highlights: The Raiders battled the Timberwolves and forced extra time but were unable to pull off another upset in Saturday’s quarterfinal.

Records: Prospect Mtn. 16-2-0; Belmont 7-7-4

D-II Girls’ Volleyball

No. 2 Coe-Brown 3
No. 7 Campbell 1

Key players: Coe-Brown – Haile Comeau (12 digs, 2 aces), Emma Zeblisky (15 kills, 3 aces, 13 digs), Kelli Daniel (10 kills), Izzy Grenier (8 kills, 6 aces)

Highlights: Coe-Brown middle Stella Vachon went down with an injured ankle midway through the first set, forcing some changes in personnel, but the Bears didn’t miss a beat and finished off a 25-17, 25-14, 24-26, 26-24 victory to make a return trip to the semifinals. Campbell’s defense stepped up in the third set to force longer volleys, but Sam Arnesen subbed in for Coe-Brown in the fourth set and served a beautifully placed ball into right back corner to win the match with an ace. The Bears will play No. 3 Milford (16-2) in Wednesday’s semifinal at Pinkerton Academy.

Coach’s quote: “I’m not sure how much more proud of this team I could be. So many teams would have fallen apart after losing a key player in the first set, but not this team. Tonight we made a lot of changes. I asked many players to do hard things. The definition of grit.” – Coe-Brown’s Renee Zobel

Records: Coe-Brown 17-1; Campbell 11-7

D-I Girls’ Volleyball

No. 4 Bishop Guertin 3
No. 12 Concord 1

Key players: Concord – Katie Blinn (hitting), Brooke Wyatt (two-way match), Madison Mikkalsen (libero), Olivia Kelley

Highlights: Coming off a marathon victory just two days earlier, the Tide wasn’t able to pull of another upset, falling on the road against the Cardinals, 25-15, 20-25, 25-17, 26-24, in Saturday’s quarterfinal.

Coach’s quote: “(We lost the) first Saturday game, and once we’re behind we kind of struggle to get back from that. It’s how we’re going to get to the mindset of getting ahead.” – Concord’s Maria Wimpey

Records: Bishop Guertin 16-4; Concord 9-11

Football

Salem 20, Concord 0

Highlights: The Blue Devils scored three touchdowns on the ground and led 14-0 at halftime to hand the Crimson Tide a loss in the last weekend of the regular season. Concord will still earn a spot in the playoffs and will play a preliminary round game on the road on either Friday or Saturday. Tournament brackets and playoff schedules will be released on Monday.

Records: Salem 6-2; Concord 4-4

Trinity 44, Bow 7

Key players: Bow – Chase Flagg (87 yards on 14 carries, TD), Brady Lover (5-for-12, 61 passing yards), Harrison Denise (45 receiving yards on 2 catches), Adam Auclair (9 receiving yards on 2 catches), Kody McCranie (7-yard catch, kicked extra point)

Highlights: Flagg scored on a 10-yard rush in the fourth quarter, but that’s all the Falcons could muster in a tough regular season finale. Bow will likely earn the No. 6 seed for the playoffs and face No. 3 Trinity again on either Friday night or Saturday in the quarterfinals.

Records: Trinity 8-1; Bow 5-4

John Stark 34, ConVal 6

Highlights: The Generals locked up the No. 5 seed for the Division II postseason tournament with a decisive win at home. John Stark will play No. 4 Souhegan in the quarterfinals this upcoming weekend. The NHIAA will release football brackets and playoff schedules on Monday.

Records: John Stark 6-3; ConVal 3-6