ConVal’s unified co-ed soccer team continued its undefeated streak on Tuesday afternoon, battling to the final minute with Gilford.
The Cougars narrowly defeated Gilford in its first playoff match of the season by a score of 2-1 behind goals from athlete Dylan Coyne and partner Emma Mellon.
“We are just trying to have fun,” said Mellon, who scored the game-winning goal with about a minute left. “We have a good group of kids.”
Mellon’s game-winner came as a shock to her, as the kick was intended as a cross-field pass to one of her teammates. Luckily for the team, however, the ball sailed over the opposing goalie’s outstretched hands, landing in the upper corner of the net.
As a unified sport, ConVal’s team is made up of students with and without intellectual disabilities. While the NHIAA has said that those with and without disabilities should be treated as equals on the field, ConVal’s team made a decision this year to have their students with disabilities shine and have all of the scoring opportunities.
“I definitely have mixed emotions about [the goal],” said Mellon, who said she was happy to have scored the game-winning goal, but wished she could have passed the ball and had someone else score.
ConVal and Gilford, for the most part, shared equal possession of the ball for the first quarter, with neither team having many scoring opportunities. ConVal played a more aggressive offense in the second period, but was unable to capitalize on a few scoring opportunities.
Forward Dylan Coyne became frustrated with the lack of offense near the end of the second quarter, pulling himself from the game to cool off. He later returned in the third quarter, burst through Gilford’s defense, and scored the first goal of the game.
“It felt really good,” said Coyne, referring to the goal.
Dylan’s older brother Dalton held down the defensive side of the game for ConVal, with a number of impressive saves as the team’s goalie, including stopping a penalty kick from going in late in the third quarter.
“It was a very tough match, so it was nice to win,” said Dalton. “Our team put in a really good effort.”
Gilford’s lone goal on the day came with about seven minutes left in the fourth quarter. The two teams battled back and forth for the remainder of the quarter until Mellon’s game-sealing goal just before the game ended.
ConVal will play Winnisquam at home today at 3 p.m. in a semi-final matchup, with the winner moving onto the championship, which will be played on Sunday at 2:15 p.m. at Laconia High School.