MANCHESTER, N.H. – For the first time in school history, the Sunapee Lakers have claimed the D-IV state title on Saturday, 1-0 over previously undefeated Newmarket at Southern New Hampshire University. The game-winning goal came in stoppage time from Michael Mullen.
With skies offering some hard rain at times during the first half, the turf field was slick as loose balls were an adventure for both teams. Most of the action early on was physical but the shots were weak as both teams struggled to get off any good looks in the first 40 minutes thanks to a couple of really good defensive lines.
For Sunapee, Matt Nangeroni was a beast in front of keeper Justin Claus as were Josh Heino and Brendan Kelleher. Rounding out strong defensive effort for Sunapee were Jake Austin and Darren Hulton who gave the Mule attackers all kinds of trouble.
“We kept our heads up all game, nothing bothered us and we stayed strong,” said Claus after the game.
Newmarket fired off nine first half shots on net while Sunapee managed only three, but one was a blister off the foot of Mullen that barely missed wide left.
Newmarket controlled play for stretches of time and had the Lakers on their heels, as Gabe Hastings and Heino were falling back into a protective mode more often than attacking.
“They are a good team and they beat us twice during the regular season,” said Nangeroni. “We took a lot from those games and learned from those losses.”
As the game became very physical forcing the referee to stop play three times to have a chat with the players, Mullen just couldn’t find space and was pushed back into a midfield position as Jackson Cooney and Lane Smith were now hunting goals for Jack Iacopino’s Lakers. The half would end with no score but Newmarket had the advantage in most offensive categories including time of possession, shots and corners, but the Mules couldn’t capitalize, and left the Lakers with an opportunity.
With Nangeroni having a huge game for Sunapee, the Mules had their own strong back as Fred Holmes was a force with his tight defense and booming kicks.
Parker Reed and Harper Flint were now the tip of the sword for Sunapee’s attack, as the Lakers began to gather some momentum and pushes into the corner began to allow more room to work. Austin’s bid was just wide and Mullen followed that with a hard rush on net that Colby Foster came off his line to deflect away.
“I thought that was going in but the keeper made a great play to stop Mike on that shot,” said Reed.
That Sunapee momentum was short lived as the Mules came right back and kept hacking shots away on Claus. One shot hopped short of the net but took a funny bounce that Claus just managed to deflect out of bounds with what looked like a sure-goal setting up another corner (10 total) for Newmarket.
The Mules kept pressure in the Sunapee end for over 4 minutes when a flick off the foot of Simon Chan found the net but was called offside to keep the score knotted 0-0 with under 10 minutes to play.
“I couldn’t tell if he was offsides but I was mesmerized by that play and it gave us a big spark,” said Iacopino.
That spark lit a fire in the Sunapee offense as they were all of a sudden controlling play for the longest stretch all game. Hastings had started taking over the game from his midfield position as the half wore on, which pulled Newmarket players into the center of the field.
That was all Mullen needed as he raced up the left sideline and cut towards net. Holmes couldn’t clear the loose ball and headed it back toward his keeper but the hit wasn’t on target and the ball squirted away from the Newmarket backs. Mullen raced to the header that escaped the Mules’ goalkeeper and out hustled two defenders and had the ball on his foot with the net straight ahead of him. By the time the second wave of defenders tried to catch Mullen, his flick with the inside of his left foot pushed the ball into the goal giving Sunapee the lead 1-0 in stoppage time.
“They were tight on me all game and their quickness was unbelievable but when that ball was loose, I just kept going and pushed it in,” said Mullen.
The last few moments were frantic as Newmarket couldn’t regroup, and the whistle sounded, handing Sunapee their first ever boys state championship title.
“I thought we were headed to overtime,” said Iacopino, “… but Mike just showed his determination and will and got to net… the rest is history.”
“We are the first [Sunapee boys] team to win it all,” said Reed after the game, who played the role of hero in the semifinals with his overtime goal. “What an incredible feeling… this team is so special and these guys are the best,” he added.
The Sunapee boys had reached the finals in 1978, 1987, 2011 and 2013 but fell short each time, and can finally call themselves State Champions.
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