By Christopher Shaban
EAGLE TIMES STAFF
CLAREMONT — Playoffs in New Hampshire haven’t started yet but if you were at Monadnock Park on Wednesday, you wouldn’t have know as a terrific match between Stevens and Sunapee in girl’s soccer action took the teams into double overtime.
“You will not find a better team or program than Sunapee,” said Cardinal coach Tim St. Pierre after Molly Derosier’s goal off a Jenna Bonneau corner kick ended one of the premier rivalries in the area.
This was a slugfest from the start with both teams looking to prepare for tournament intensity and this game sure did that.
Liz Tschudin’s breakaway goal gave Sunapee the lead then Kylie Bundy responded with a beauty of her own to start the second half as the intensity soared after a rather quiet and tempered first 40 minutes.
Sunapee’s defense was superb with Brie Hughlock, Clare Tuohy and Vanessa Pollari smothering the Cardinal attackers while Sophie Hubert was tracking the dangerous Stevens wings.
“We switched our set up a bit recently as we’ve been finding the right combination for different teams,” Hubert said. “Stevens is so, so good and very quick, we just tried to slow them down tonight.”
That defense was very good tonight but the Cardinals began to grab some offensive time with Bonneau and Murphy. Maddy Minkler would give Stevens a lead when she ripped a loose ball into the net halfway into the second half only to have Brynn Smith answer right back to tie things 2-2 with Stevens keeper Hailey Knight being injured on the play. The very large crowd gave Knight a roaring applause upon her return as she would be needed to keep the game alive for Stevens.
With Minkler and Izzy Correa in an all out war near the Sunapee cage, regulation ended with B. Murphy firing a shot wide as the Cardinals seemed to have more momentum.
“We were due to have a breakout game and tonight we were there,” said Sunapee coach Myles Cooney. “This was a battle to the end.”
The first overtime almost was ended by Sunapee’s Tschudin with a breakaway run on net that forced Knight off her line to dive and make the save in front of the Stevens student section to thunderous applause setting up a second overtime.
With a corner kick awarded to Stevens, Bonneau placed a shot square in the goal area where Derosier got her head on the ball with defenders hanging all over her for the win.
“It was a great corner from Jenna. I knew I had hit it well and the goalie got her hand on it but it had too much pace for her to stop it,” Derosier said. “This was a much needed win tonight.”
With the win, the Cardinals improve to 11-4 with a game remaining at Pelham on Friday while the Lakers have their final game at home on Friday and sit comfortably near the top in Division IV.
“A win would have been great but more importantly to have this type of game will make us better prepared for playoff action,” Hubert said. “This was a very intense match.”
Bow 3, Stevens 2
On Tuesday, the Falcons dominated play for the first 60 minutes then a penalty kick that was buried by Brynn Murphy gave the Cardinals a spark.
Stevens seemed to be intimidated by Bow as there was zero offensive threat until Murphy’s goal. Hailey Knight was spectacular in net for Stevens and her goalkeeping gave the Cardinals a bit of hope. With Stella Lavertue out with an injury, Maddy Minkler stepped into her position as she continued her outstanding season with a goal to cut the lead to 3-2 with 11 minutes remaining. That was how it ended as a frantic Cardinal push couldn’t overcome a three goal deficit against the No. 2 seeded team in Division II.
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