New Hampshire rules Lions Cup games

By Christopher Shaban
Eagle Times Staff
HANOVER — The 48th annual Lions Cup soccer games belonged to the Granite State as the women opened the day with a 5-2 win while the Men capped the games off with a 3-2 victory on a very hot turf field at Hanover High School on Saturday.

Before the pre-game introductions, both Liz Tschudin from Sunapee and Stella Lavertue from Stevens seemed anxious.

After 90 minutes of action and hoisting the Cup, they were all smiles as both ended their high school soccer careers with a win.

“This was so much fun, it felt really good to play in front of my family and friends today” said Lavertue.

Tschudin was almost beyond words after the game as hugs from her mom and teammates came first.

“Wow, this was really competitive” said the former Laker who is now headed to wear red and white at Keene State College.

The Keogh twins from Timberlane Regional put on an offensive show scoring all 5 New Hampshire goals as Isabella grabbed a hat-rick and her sister, Sophia, followed up with two goals of her own to put New Hampshire up 5-0.

Vermont would get goals late in the game as Leland and Gray’s Abby Towle netted a score then Spaulding’s Sage MacAuley closed out the scoring on a breakaway shot that just snuck past Hopkinton goalie Maddie Carmichael.

Tschudin and Lavertue were impact players with both playing out of the midfield area for coach Andrew Dawson from Newmarket.

“If anyone thinks the kids from that area of the state can’t play, they better think again because both Liz and Stella were key for today’s win” Dawson said.

New Hampshire led 1-0 at the break until Tschudin opened up the second half in the middle of the field and Lavertue came on to bring some stability to the sidelines as the Granite Staters found their rhythm.

“The style fit me perfectly, the speed and tempo was right in my wheelhouse” said Tschudin.

Stevens coach Tim St. Pierre called Lavertue ”a team player first” and that couldn’t be more accurate as she dug and dug at a ball in the corner to finally gain control then her pass resulted in a New Hampshire goal setting the Granite State off and running.

“I just did what I have always done and found an opening to slot a pass” said the future Colby Sawyer College player.

Tschudin was her typical non-stop hustling self. She started the second half and earned the 12th player award.

“I’ve been ready for this my whole life, the pace was so fast and really physical, but I think Sunapee soccer prepared me well” Tschudin said after the game.

The Laker standout controlled the middle of the field for long stretches of the game and ripped a blast on net that forced Vermont keeper Rebecca McKelvey to go high for a save.

Lavertue wasn’t feeling well the night before the game, but nothing was going to stop her from playing with lots of her family and friends in the stands.

“Every single player here is an all-star and it really means so much to represent Stevens and Claremont today,” Lavertue said. “We practiced last week and soon switched from enemies to friends. I competed so hard against a few of my new teammates but today we were all fighting for the same cause, to beat Vermont.”

“This team was the cream of the crop of soccer players from across the state. Having a player from Sunapee that I know Myles Cooney coached was a bonus for me, Liz is a tremendous player from one of the best programs in the state” Dawson said.

Men’s Game

In men’s action, goals were fast and furious right after the opening whistle as Jadiel Bomfin from Nashua South and Cristian Correau spotted New Hampshire a 2-0 lead early. Montpelier’s all-state striker Ronnie Riby-Williams was marked all game, but still managed to score a goal to cut the lead in half, 2-1. Exeter Striker Sam Henry would give New Hampshire a 3-1 lead and then did a backflip for good measures as the first half ended. Harwoods forward Jordan Schullenberger found the games final score in stoppage time, giving the Granite State a 3-2 win.