Wilt0n-Lyndeborough’s 2-0 loss to rival Sunapee in Wilton Tuesday night looked about as promising as a shutout defeat can. Sure, it kept the Warriors on a two-game losing streak heading into a tough game at Mascenic, but it was a big improvement over Monday’s 5-0 loss at Sunapee, as WLC played the same team back-to-back and looked better the second time around.
“Our team’s come together in a big way,” said head coach Dan Nelson as the raindrops started pouring from the sky just after the final whistle. “It’s huge. I’m excited about tonight. Would have liked to see a tie – we’ve get some more shots off, and we’ve got to get our offense a little bit tighter.”
The Lakers tilted the field significantly throughout Tuesday’s contest, as Wilton struggled to execute on their first touches in the midfield and weren’t always on the same page on their through-balls. But with Ben Jacob in net, the Warriors are always in the game; the sophomore netminder is one of Division IV’s best, and he showed it with 18 saves on the night.
“He always has a huge night,” Nelson said. “Ben is definitely a huge night guy. He’s been our savior this year to make games not out of control.”
The Warriors (4-6) have a solid squad, with Joe Krug anchoring the defense, Kenny Begley and Austin Kimball up front providing scoring threats and Alex Nelson taking care of the midfield. While they still have some improving to do, coach Nelson likes his chances as the leaves begin to turn and the state tournament looms three weeks away.
“We have a good team when we possess the ball,” Nelson said. “When these kids take a deep breath and they realize that they can possess the ball at their own speed, at the speed they want, they own the game. When they let an aggressive team dictate the speed of the game, we lose.”
WLC is at Mascenic Thursday at 5 p.m.
Milford 3, ConVal 1
The Spartans snapped ConVal’s five-game win streak Monday night.
The Cougars fought tough in the first two sets, coach Amanda Hinton said, losing the first one in extra points 26-24, and winning the second 25-22. The third set was all the Spartans as they took a commanding lead and the set, 25-12. The Cougars, not yet defeated, battled back and clawed their way back and forth but came up short losing the fourth set, 25-20.
Leading the Cougars was Emma Rodenhiser with 10 kills, six digs, three aces, and 16 successful serve receives. Kendall Sullivan had two kills, seven assists, six aces and five digs. Aria Laurent had four assists and 11 digs and Ivy Armstrong-McEvoy had two aces and a block.
ConVal (7-3) was set to play at Kennett Wednesday and at Souhegan Friday.
Mascenic 3, Farmington 0
Farmington put up a good fight at Mascenic Monday, but the Vikings improved to 10-0 with a three-set win.
Lyla Buxton had seven kills, a block and an ace; Kenzie Cormier made 18 assists, three kills and an ace; Lindsey Coponen had two kills, three assists and an ace; Hannah Zina tallied seven kills and four aces, and Delaney Traffie made six kills and had two aces.
Mascenic (10-0) was set for a championship-game rematch at Newfound (9-1) Wednesday and hosts Trinity Friday.
Conant 5, Monadnock 0
Conant got their second shutout win over Monadnock Monday in Swanzey. Ten seconds into the match, sophomore Jared Nagle intercepted a pass from Monadnock in front of the goal and put Conant up 1-0. In the 15th minute, Thomas Harvey made a slick move to get the ball into Josh Dipasquale’s path, where Conant’s leading scorer took caare of business and put the O’s up 2-0. Nagle then assisted captain Jacob Sawyer in front of the goal to put Conant up 3-0 at the break.
With Monadnock packed in on their half, Conant went to work trying to break them down, coach Tom Harvey said, and a very determined defensive line for Monadnock didn’t make it easy. Conant finally got in at the 60th minute when a Dipasquale chip found junior Sean Farmer, who headed the ball for the score, his first of the season. With time running out, Sawyer found Dipasquale for one more score, and the game ended with a Conant win.
Conant (9-2) was set to host Hillsboro-Deering Wednesday and Raymond Friday.
ConVal 1, Milford 0 (OT)
Caden Peck scored his second game-winner of the week for ConVal Tuesday as the Cougars beat Milford in overtime.
“It was not our best day and we likely should have lost the game if not for the heroics of Wyatt Beaulieu,” coach Scott Daniels said; ConVal’s keeper kept up his hot streak, as he has now allowed just one goal in the past eight games.
Garrett Rousseau assisted Peck in overtime by flicking a ball up into his path to set up the winner.
ConVal (10-2) is still the top team in Division II. The Cougars have a week off before traveling to Milford for a rematch Tuesday.
Merrimacak Valley 3, ConVal 0
ConVal suffered their second straight shutout loss on Tuesday, despite the best efforts of seniors Allie Hodgen and Makennah McPherson, who had some good shots on goal but couldn’t sneak one by the MV goalie. Senior goalie Lydia Cleveland made 21 saves on the day.
The Cougars (1-10) host Souhegan Friday at 4 p.m., when they’ll celebrate senior day.
Conant 1, Monadnock 0
Meg Newton scored off a Rylee Herr assist Tuesday as Conant won a close one against Monadnock in Jaffrey. The Orioles are on a five-game winning streak – all shutouts – and have outscored opponents 21-0 over that period.
Conant (9-3) finishes their season on the road, at Hopkinton Tuesday and Stevens Thursday.
Conant 2, Monadnock 1 (OT)
Irelynd Aucoin shanked her first overtime game-winner attempt Monday but quickly redeemed herself, sending the Orioles to victory on a shot from outside the 18 off a Rhianna Aho assist.
“I am really happy to see them go through these games that test their mindset and test their ability to keep themselves up,” head coach Devon Spirka said. “It’s going to help us as we go along.”
Riley Vitello scored the first goal for Conant from a Jordan Morace assist.
Kelly Williams made nine saves in goal.
The girls came out ready to go today,” Spirka said. “We had energy and were communicating well and pressuring the ball well. We had a dip in our energy middle of the game and we did well playing through that despite it not being pretty. Our midfielders winning the ball, being aggressive and not allowing any easy passes through the middle held us strong.”
Iris Hill played well on defense, Spirka said.
Conant (5-6) is at Kearsarge Thursday.
ConVal sweeps final match
The Cougars finished their regular season by squeaking out a one-point win over Stevens and handily beating Sanborn and John Stark on the road Tuesday.
Wyatt Burbank was medalist once again, shooting a 39, which was good for 22 points.
But the big news of the day, coach Mike Young said, was Owen Conway putting up his best score of the season, shooting a 45 to score 16 points and take third place in the medalist results.
Noah Stewart also had his best score of the season, chipping and putting his way to a 13-point 48.
Daniel McCall and Caden Robbins both scored nine points.
ConVal finished the season 15-12 and plays in the team tournament at Windham on Tuesday.