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Panthers put on a good show in 2-0 win over Broncos

By Tom King - Staff Writer | Sep 22, 2021

Alvirne's Cody Wood (2) and Nashua South's Sammy Hadouche follow the bouncing ball at midfield during the Panthers' 2-0 win Tuesday at Stellos Stadium. (Telegraph photo by TOM KING)

NASHUA – There’s no doubt the Nashua High School South boys soccer team can put on a good show, judging from Tuesday’s clash with Alvirne at Stellos Stadium.

And, seeing that they topped the Broncos 2-0 to remain at 8-0 the only unbeaten team in Division I, that entertainment has great value as it draws rave reviews.

“You always want more,” South coach Tom Bellen said. “They know to get to that championship they have to go through some hard times.”

Tuesday wasn’t one of those, although it wasn’t easy, either. The Panthers dominated time of possession and put plenty of pressure on Alvirne keeper Mason Brooks and a defense led by back Luis Davila, but were nursing a 1-0 lead for much of the second half. But oh did they put the heat on.

“We knew what we were going up against when we got here,” Broncos coach Marcos Vieira Filho said, his team now 2-4. “We worked on our game plan, we did carry it out for the most part. … A result like that, 2-0, we didn’t get broken down up the field. We’re just going to take it into the next game and hopefully we’re that much hungrier for playoffs.”

But turnovers are a killer in any sport, and after weathering the storm through most of the first half, the Broncos turned it over in the middle about 25 yards out and South’s Sammy Hadouche beat Brooks on a rocket the keeper had no chance on at 36:53 of the first half.

South then shifted into an even higher gear in the second half, but was coming up empty until a flurry caused a deflection over to left wing Jadiel Bomfim. Bomfim who buried a grounder to the near side with a diving Brooks recovering from being tied up at the opposite end just a tad late to make it 2-0 at 66:58.

“We definitely held the ball well, most of the game,” Bellen said. “But they (the Broncos) were hard to break down, they didn’t give us anything easy.

There were some different things we had to do in the second half to get some scoring opportunities. We were trying to get behind (the defense). The last couple of games we haven’t gotten in behind.”

The Broncos, who have recovered from an 0-3 start, needed that one goal. South keeper Leo Kopicko needed to make just three easy saves, but after it was 2-0 Alvirne’s Jack Ashworth just missed an open right side about 20 seconds before the horn sounded.

“At least we had a few opportunities where we at least created some chances,” Vieira Filho said. “If those goals are in the back of the net … it could be a different ballgame.”

But no hard times for the Panthers yesterday. Who knows, maybe that comes Thursday night in the Battle of the Bridge vs. city rival Nashua North. The Panthers went from an earlier rivalry game, Bishop Guertin, to a gauntlet of Manchester Central, Hanover and Windham, and survived them all. Now this week they had to revert back to rivalry mode.

“It’s hard,” Bellen said. “It’s a different mindset. They’re friends with those kids at North. A team like Alvirne, they know a lot of those kids. It becomes a battle.

“We’re one of the top teams. We could run it all, or we could lose three games going into the playoffs. We’ll see how they stand up to it.”

Either way, for the fans, it will definitely be fun to watch.

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