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Here’s a view of the Battle from the Bridge

By Tom King - Staff Writer | Oct 2, 2018

Telegraph Sports Reporter Tom KIng.

The Battle of the Bridge, fall season style, is done. The Bridge has been won by Nashua High School South by a 10-8 margin.

Now the coaches breathe a sigh of relief; the rivalry pressure is over. Business as usual. But let’s take a look at some lingering impressions of what was a fabulous few days of intense rivalry competition:

— Missed the Unified soccer game this year. It was a good idea to originally move that to a school day so the students would be immediately available at the schools. What happened? According to Nashua athletic director Lisa Gingras, Nahsua South wasn’t able to field a team, which is too bad. Hopefully it will be back next fall.

— The North girls soccer team ought to chip in in the spring and buy South midfielder Angie Suaza a graduation present, as it’s been well noted that she personally outscored the Titans 5-1 in the last two Bridge battles. It’s good to see Suaza’s talent being rewarded with her commitment to Providence College for next fall. Suaza said she clicked with the Friars coaching staff, “and I decided it was pretty good. I really liked the campus.” Good deal.

—– One of the unsung stories of the fall is the dominance by the Nashua High School South girls volleyball team. Never underestimate a good rivalry, though; the Titans handed the unbeaten Panthers (10-0) just their fourth set loss of the season in the 3-1 Panther triumph.

It’s very possible the Panthers could finish the regular season unbeaten; if you’re looking for two obstacles for that, they would be the Bedford home match this Thursday or the final regular season match Oct. 19 at Bishop Guertin. Both the Bulldogs and Cardinals have one blemish on their records – three time defending champion Hollis Brookline. And, in case you’re wondering, the Panthers and Cavaliers don’t meet in the regular season. An unsung hero in the South win was sophomore libero Cara Lecklider.

—- Spiffy new scoreboards for Stellos Stadium, eh? The smaller board to the left, with video and photo capability, didn’t have the cable it needed yet to be able to put time and score up on the clock, but that will happen. Meanwhile, it was a nice touch for the first use of its enhanced capability to honor late local football official Mike Viveiros (with a photo) prior to the opening kickoff of Friday night’s game. Vivieros passed away last spring after a battle with cancer. Meanwhile, the new sound system, especially when down on the field, is outstanding. Crisp and clear.

—– It was nice to get the Nashua Youth Soccer programs involved with a presence and halftime play on Saturday, just as it was for the city middle school field hockey players to showcase their stuff at the varsity halftime. In case your wondering, the city’s middle schools combine for one field hockey team, and they divided up the halftime scrimmage with those who will attend South (by residence) and those who will attend North. But what the sport of field hockey needs in this city is to have more than one middle school team, that’s for sure.

—- It’s pretty clear that two coaches at South have really developed over the last couple of years – girls volleyball coach Wayne Siejkowski and boys soccer mentor Joey Morgan. Siejkowski was suddenly promoted, as a newcomer from Wisconsin, from JV to varsity early in the season a few years ago with an abnormal early season coaching change and now has developed a program with a state semifinalist a year ago to a title contender this year. And Morgan was just getting into coaching with a JV season under his belt when he got promoted to varsity in the off-season three years ago. He poked and prodded his players all week about how North was considered the better team and the result was a 2-0 Panther win. Not sure that would have happened a couple of years ago.

— Back to girls soccer: Watch out for South as a darkhorse to make some noise the rest of the season. The Panthers, saddled with injury woes early in the year, finally have a full squad. “We’ve got everbody back,” Panther coach Tom Bellen said. “We’re at full strength.”

As for North, the future is bright for coach Jacqueline Thompson’s team. The Titans have a superb sophomore class paced by the offense tandem of Emilee Deleo/Ariana Dumaine and defender Kaitlyn Laurendi, plus next year midfielder Olivia Hilger will be a top senior. Dumaine just missed a goal the other day. Keep an eye on them.

—- Despite their combined struggles, once again the closest Bridge battle was in field hockey.Last year’s game was decided in OT, and this year South won in the final few minutes of regulation to clinch the BOB title. Good stuff.

Tom King can be reached at 594-1251,tking@nashuatelegraph.com, or@Telegraph _TomK.

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