By Christopher Shaban
EAGLE TIMES STAFF
MANCHESTER — It was a rough and tumble battle on Thursday in the New Hampshire Division IV semifinal match-up between No. 5 Sunapee and undefeated No. 1 Newmarket in a game that was decided by a penalty kick, 1-0.
What started on the dusty field in Sunapee ended on the cold turf in the Queen city but not without a fight from Myles Cooney’s team.
“We were scared to play Sunapee. They are what every team wants to become,” said Newmarket head coach Andy Dawson. “They beat us in the championship in 2019 in overtime and we were worried the same thing was going to happen tonight as the game went on.”
The Mules came out with a physically tough game plan that marked Liz Tschudin and Brynn Smith every time they got near the ball. On the wings there was a battle between Sophie Hubert and Ella Gallion that lasted for 80 minutes with Hubert throwing as many elbows as she received.
Sunapee standout Vanessa Pollari defender was watching from the sideline with a fractured leg, while defense anchor consisted of Bri Hughlock and Isabelle Correa who were nothing short of brilliant against the highest scoring team in Division IV. Not once during the match did the Mules have anything easy on net with shots coming from the 20-yard-plus variety that Annalise Rowell grabbed confidently.
Tschudin was her usual non stop soccer machine between the 18s and ran wild but things tightened significantly as the ball neared the goal. With Smith and Claire Tuohy rushing in from the wings, Newmarket keeper Riley Andriski was sharp as the half ended 0-0 with the advantage going to Sunapee with time of possession and shots on net.
“It was exactly the kind of match we’d expect from Sunapee. They are so very good,” Dawson said. “We wouldn’t want it any other way. Sunapee made us raise our bar tonight.”
Tschudin wasn’t alone as a target of a stingy Mule game plan as Nat Austin shook off defenders and made deep runs while sliding back to crush Mules offensive attacks from her midfield position having played one of her best games in Sunapee green.
As the match became more and more chippie, a couple of calls resulted with indirect kicks for both teams. The Newmarket shot from 25 yards flew high while Tscudin’s rip was on net but saved. Sunapee kept at it when Smith feathered a blast that danced across the goal box but no Laker foot could reach it as things were really getting rough. Tschudin thigh met a knee of Maggie Moore that sent Tschudin to the carpet as she struggled to get to her feet. Newmarket was goal hunting on the other end with a rocket off the foot of Madison Joe that was on target and gathered in by Rowell with Sophia Varien right by her side to protect her goalie.
As the game and the clock ticked down there was typical playoff soccer action with shoving, players on the ground, plenty of shoulder to shoulder action and hard tackles all about. After 60 minutes of hard nose action, a whistle blew that sent Newmarket sharpshooter Jessica Berry to the dot for a penalty kick and everything changed. Her shot was true giving the Mules a 1-0 lead midway into the second half.
“We made it a tough last 20 minutes,” Cooney said. “We threw what we had at them, but they made it very hard in the final 18 yards. They aren’t undefeated for no reason.”
Newmarket’s role now was to just clear everything and flip the ball into Sunapee’s end to melt the clock and it did it’s job ending the Lakers season. The final whistle brought screams of joy to Newmarket and tears to the Sunapee side as the Lakers just stood there not sure what to do next.
“To say that I’m proud of this team would be an understatement,” said Cooney after the game. “We overcame injuries to get here and if there was just one different bounce of the ball, things could have been much different.”
“I am so relieved to be moving on,” said Andriski after the game. “That is a team that just doesn’t give up and tonight Sunapee took us to the limit.”
Sunapee would finish their season with a 14-5 record.
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