Sunapee begins title defense

By Paul Howe
Correspondent
SUNAPEE — The Sunapee boys soccer team began its Division IV title defense Wednesday with a 4-0 win over Lisbon in the first round of the playoffs at home. Sunapee senior forward Mike Mullen led the way, scoring three goals in the game.

Mullen scored his first goal less than two minutes into the game when he took a feed from Jackson Cooney then beat a Lisbon defender with a quick move to the left and fired off a shot that the Lisbon goalie misplayed for a 1-0 lead. That first goal of the game was also Mullen’s 100th goal of his varsity high school career.

Lisbon, a team Sunapee coach Jack Iacopino calls a “big, strong and well-disciplined team,” began to pressure the Laker defense and took what looked like would be the equalizer, but Sunapee goalie Sean Moynihan made a nice save to maintain the Sunapee lead.

Parker Reed then gave Mullen a nice through ball and Mullen scored his second goal at around the 18-minute mark of the first half to make it 2-0 Sunapee. The Lakers continued to pressure the Lisbon defense with a number of shots on goal but at the end of the first half, Sunapee held on to a 2-0 lead.

Iacopino praised his players for “never letting up,” and the pressure on Lisbon payed off early in the second period when Mullen, two and a half minutes into the second, scored his third goal of the game with an assist again from Reed.

Sunapee continued to keep the ball in front of the Lisbon net, which led to a corner kick that was taken by Reed. The ball was first headed by Mullen after the kick and then bounced around before Cooney picked up the loose ball and passed it to Darren Hulton, who put the ball in the net and gave Sunapee a commanding 4-0 lead at 5:46 into the second period.

Iacopino began to substitute his younger players into the game and they continued to keep the soccer ball in the Lisbon end. Lisbon had a few chances to score but Moynihan and the Sunapee defense secured the shutout.

After the game, Iacopino said he is “looking forward to the next round,” which will be a game against Moultonborough at home on Saturday starting at 2 p.m. Sunapee beat Moultonborough both times during the regular season, 6-0 at home and 3-0 away.