High schools: Undefeated Pride hand Bobcats first loss; soccer, field hockey and volleyball results

Published: 09-07-2023 12:18 AM

Girls’ Soccer

Merrimack Valley 2, Oyster River 1

Key players: MV – Lila Gray (goal), Jules Palhof (goal)

Highlights: MV did a good job possessing the ball, but failed to build it in the attacking third. After a tied game in the first half, the Pride applied enough pressure to the Bobcat defense to score the game-winner.

Coach’s quote: “It was an exciting home opener. We moved the ball around well and controlled the midfield. Continued pressure and shifting opened up some room for two brilliant goals. Lila Gray scored with a strong driven ball to the corner and then Jules Palhof scored after with a long bending ball right over top of the keeper. It was scary defending until the end. One mistake allowed the Bobcats to get one in before the end.” – MV’s Kylee Yam

Records: MV 3-0; Oyster River 3-1

Concord 3, Hanover 1

Key players: Concord – Rachel Gridley (goal, assist), Maddie Brown (goal), Kate Dickson (first varsity goal)

Highlights: Concord was able to get out to a 3-0 lead at the half and didn’t look back.

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Coach’s quote: “Our girls played hard right from the opening whistle. We played well and executed our game plan right from the start. They played well today and we move onto the next game.” – Concords Andrew Mattarazzo

Records: Concord 1-1-1; Hanover 1-2-0

Hopkinton 7, Bishop Brady 0

Key players: Hopkinton – Keegan St. Cyr (3 goals, 2 assists), Katie Brown (2 goals, assist), Belle Serzans (goal, assists), Avery Chase (goal), Maeve Owens (assist), Avery Loew (shutout), Ally Duval (defense), Paige Prisco-Nelson (defense)

Highlights: St. Cyr had her first hat trick of the season and Hawks played strong defensively.

Coach’s quote: “It was a good confidence builder for our team after losing last week to Gilford and get a shutout today against a strong Brady team. The heat was definitely a factor and our large bench helped us with that hurdle. The defense was more organized today and played a much better game.” – Hopkinton’s Mike Zahn

Records: Hopkinton 2-1-0; Bishop Brady 1-1-1

Kearsarge 4, Fall Mountain 2

Key players: Kearsarge  – Carly Grant (goal, assist), Maddie Thorp (goal, assist), Ellie Wimer (goal), Chloe Hasey (goal), Ava Shapiro (2 assists), Adara Boucher (8 saves); Fall Mtn.  – Aubrey Thomas (goal), Avery Ducharme (goal), Mariella Tsisonis (midfield play)

Highlights: The Wildcats controlled much of the early part of the game as Kearsarge struggled to find a solution to Fall Mountain’s midfield and attack. Thomas gave the Wildcats a 1-0 lead, but Wimer tied the game two minutes later. Ducharme’s goal made it 2-1, but Grant’s cross found Thorp at the near post to the tie game, 2-2-, right before halftime. Grant scored from the top of the box a minute into the second half and Hasey capped the scoring with just under 20 minutes to go.

Coach’s quote: “Could not be more proud of the effort today. The heat this week has been tough, but both teams battled hard and left it all on the field. Every single player contributed to a solid team victory.” – Kearsarge’s Dave Smith

Records: Kearsarge 3-0-1; Fall Mtn. 1-1-1

Boys’ Soccer

Merrimack Valley 2, Pembroke 0

Key players: MV – Joey Olivera (goal, assist), Vuk Korasic (goal), Trevor Simonds (shutout)

Highlights: Olivera passed to Korasic in the box who put the ball in the back of net to give the Pride an early lead. MV’s defense played well to slow the Spartan attack, while Simonds was strong in net. Olivera netted a free kick from 20 yards out to put the Pride up 2-0. Pembroke continued to fight and play hard, but MV kept the Spartans off the board.

Coach’s quote: “That was a tough one with the heat and also playing back-to-back games against tough teams. I am glad we were able to fight and get the lead early, and hang onto it throughout the game. We have one day off and then another game on Friday. I hope the boys can continue to battle.” – MV’s Ken Fuller

Records: MV 2-2-0; Pembroke 1-2-1

Field Hockey

Concord 2, Salem 1 OT

Key players: Concord – Ally McGonigle (2 assists), Gracen Arndt (goal), Alison Dupuis (goal)

Records: Concord 2-1; Salem 1-3

John Stark 1, Goffstown 0

Key players: John Stark – Jillian Fredette (goal), Emilie Lundeen (defense), Adie Bolduc (midfield), Addy Pelletier (2 saves), Edie Fischer (save); Goffstown – Molly Braicca (goalie)

Highlights: After a pretty evenly played first quarter where Goffstown had the strongest scoring opportunity, turned away by Pelletier on a corner, the Generals picked up the pace in the second quarter and dominated time of possession for the rest of the game. Stark struggled in the offensive circle, getting many shots but not a high percentage of quality strikes on net. Fredette finally broke through the wall Braicca set up in front of the Grizzlies net early in the fourth quarter. Fischer made a big save on a breakaway in the final frame to preserve the shutout.

Coach’s quote: “We actually controlled the game very well and dominated the second third and fourth quarters. We need to figure out how to take advantage of our opportunities in the offensive circle and especially off corners. We had a high quantity of shots, but not high quality of shots, and hopefully we can get that going by Friday against Bow.” – John Stark’s Dennis Pelletier

Records: John Stark 2-0-0; Goffstown 1-1-1

Girls’ Volleyball

Coe-Brown 3, Kennett 0

Key players: Coe-Brown – Annika Gunderson (9 kills), Sara Davis (3 kills, 12 assists, 4 aces)

Highlights: The Bears defeated the Eagles in straight sets, 25-9, 25-8, 25-7.

Coach’s quote: “We really controlled our side of the court and played ball by ball tonight. I’m proud of our composure and the decisions and choices we made tonight.” – Coe-Brown’s Renee Zobel

Records: Coe-Brown 2-0; Kennett 0-2

Laconia 3, Winnisquam 2

Key players: Winnisquam  – Triniti Carter (13 kills, 2 blocks), Caiden Carter (10 kills, 12 digs, 8 aces, 4 blocks), Lucy Prunier (26 assists, 5 assists), Bella Dill (17 digs, 3 aces), Loralie Nelson (17 digs), Alyse Damato (7 kills)

Highlights: The Sachems won in five sets, 25-20, 16-25, 25-21, 13-25, 15-9. The Bears played well in the fifth set and kept it close early before Laconia pulled away.

Coach’s quote: “I thought we had a good game plan going into the match, but we did not execute it well in game one and let a close set slip away. We recovered nicely and dominated in game two to even up the match. In set three we had too many service and hitting errors and again lost a close set. Set four was our strongest set of the night and we jumped out to a big lead and maintained it throughout the set. Set five was close at the beginning, but Laconia played well and pulled out the set to secure a hard fought match. We played really well at times, but we need to cut down on unforced errors. I saw a lot of improvement between our first and second match.” – Winnisquam’s Mike Livernois

Records: Laconia 1-1; Winnisquam 0-2

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