Amazing turnaround
Just 0-14-4 only two years ago, Methuen High boys soccer completed the reclamation project last night. The Rangers blanked Lawrence 2-0 on a pair of Salah Baladi goals, qualifying for the state tournament for the first time since 2006. “We were winless in my first season, so this is a good turnaround for us,” said coach Jeff Lamy, who got eight big saves from Shane Godek to protect the win for the 9-6-1 Rangers.
Andover pushes Raiders to limit
Alli Wiggins scored the equalizer with 75 seconds left to play, preserving Central Catholic’s unbeaten season at 12-0-3 after a 1-1 tie with Andover. Veronica Alois had put Andover up 1-0 with the earlier goal.
Royal qualifier
Needing a win or tie to qualify for the postseason in the regular season finale, the Georgetown High girls did it in style. The Royals made Kristin Hogan’s first-half goal stand up in a 1-0 shutout win over Manchester Essex. Jaime Block made 7 saves to protect the shutout for the Royals.
Hornets earn tourney berth
North Reading boys soccer earned a tourney berth with a 3-1 victory over Triton. Colby Maiola poured in two goals and Josh Intorcio made four big saves.
Overtime bliss
Pinkerton Academy made it four trips to the state field hockey title game in the last five years with a dramatic, 1-0, overtime state semifinal win over Exeter last night. Junior Julie Saltamartini scored the sudden-death winner, about 10 minutes into overtime, set up by a sweet Kaylie DeCosmo feed. Jordan Dudley turned aside 11 shots for the shutout in goal. The Astros will now battle Winnacunnet Regional for the title, Sunday at Bedford High with a 2:30 p.m. faceoff.
Sanborn rally falls short
Down 3-1, Sanborn rallied to cut it to 3-2, falling just short in a second round, Division 3 playoff boys soccer loss to Prospect Mountain. Steven O’Callaghan had both goals for the Indians. “We had a great chance to tie with 8 seconds left too,” said coach Al Magnusson. “It just wasn’t meant to be.”
Taking care of business
With two goals from Rob Hart and two assists from Dylan Holland, No. 2-seeded Londonderry boys took care of business in a 5-1 rout of 15th-seeded Dover in the first round of the Division 1 soccer tournament.
Comeback win
No. 8-seeded Timberlane fell behind 1-0 to Keene in the eighth minute but battled back to tie the game 10 minutes later when Tyler Donovan scored and win it 2-1 on Gunnar Ericsson’s second-half goal in Division 1 boys soccer first round action.
Zani’s 15 saves not enough
No. 14-seeded Salem boys soccer was able to keep third-seeded Hanover off the scoreboard for the first 70 minutes. But that and Andrew Zani’s 15 save-performance weren’t enough as the Blue Devils lost 3-0 to Hanover in the first round of the Division 1 tournament.
Astros knocked off in upset
Sixth-seeded Pinkerton dropped a 1-0 decision to No. 11-seeded Merrimack in the first round of the Division 1 soccer tournament.
This is the first time since 2004 Pinkerton has been eliminated in the first round.
“This was an incredibly frustrating day for us,” Astros coach Kerry Boles wrote in an email. “When you outshoot an opponent 21-4 you expect to be victorious. It just wasn’t our day. We had numerous opportunities to finish the game in the first half but couldn’t find the net. We left the door open once again.”
North Andover wins MVC
With goals from five different players, including two from Mike Skarbelis, North Andover boys soccer won 6-0 over Haverhill. In the process, the Scarlet Knights captured the MVC title in their first season in the league.
Windham rolls on
Windham High’s volleyballers opened the tourney with an easy 3-0 win over Souhegan. Next up for the fourth-seeded Jags is No, 5 Coe-Brown tomorrow in Windham.
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