×
×
homepage logo
LOGIN
SUBSCRIBE

HS Tourneys: Local soccer, volleyball teams hope to be semi tough

By Tom King - Staff Writer | Nov 1, 2022

Nashua South's Jadiel Bomfim, left, battles Manchester Memorial's Brayden Merchant for the ball during Sunday's Divison I final at Stellos Stadium. (Telegraph photo by TOM KING)

Pick a semifinal, any semifinal.

There are six of them involving local high school soccer and volleyball teams, beginning with today’s Division II girls soccer battle between No. 2 Hollis Brookline (15-2 and No. 3 Pelham (14-2-1) at Stellos Stadium at 4 p.m.

The Cavs own two wins over the Pythons already this season, Pelham’s only two of the season, 3-2 and 4-1.

Also today at 5 p.m., in Divison I girls volleyball No. 2 Hollis Brookline (17-2) takes on No. 3 Londonderry (20-2) at Pinkerton Academy in Derry. The Lancers fell to HB 3-1 back on Oct. 19.

WEDNESDAY

Fast forward to Wednesday, when two local boys soccer teams are in action. First, in Division I, No. 2 Nashua South (16-2) faces No. 6 Manchester Central (13-4-1) at 4 p.m. at Exeter’s Bill Ball Stadium.

What’s interesting about this one is the Little Green ended defending champion Nashua’s 24-game unbeaten streak back on Sept. 16 with a resounding 5-1 win at Gill Stadium.

But Panthers coach Tom Bellen feels it will be much better played by his team this time.

“We owe Central,” Bellen said with a chuckle. “Central beat us up pretty good in the regular season. First half we weren’t ready, it was very obvious. We won’t come out flat like that, we’ll be ready to play.

“That’s a very good, strong team that we need to be on our ‘A’ game. Against North (a 1-0 semis win) they didn’t give any easy balls away. They’re going to be tough to score on.”

At the same time, in Division III, No. 2 Campbell (16-2) will take on No. 3 Mascoma Valley (15-2-1) at 4 p.m. at Manchester Memorial High School. The Cougars are hoping to get back to the finals, having lost to Trinity in penalty kicks last November.

The two teams, although they shared some opponents, did not play in the regular season.

“Mascoma is a quality team,” Campbell coach Brian Henderson said. “They have some quality players, and also move the ball around. They only lost two games all year and are more than deserving a No. 3 seed.

“So we’ll be prepared for a great game. Every game this time of yea is a battle and we are really just preparing to bring our best.”

THURSDAY

Welcome to the Division II boys soccer semifinals, Hollis Brookline, it’s been awhile, about eight years. The No. 5 Cavs (13-4-1) will take on No. 1 Kingswood (14-2-1) at Exeter’s Bill Ball Stadium at 6:15 p.m.

The two teams did not meet during the regular season; Kingswood’s two losses were to Pembroke but also, ironically, Lebanon, whom the Cavs just beat 1-0 in the quarters.

In girls volleyball, No. 4 Campbell (13-3) takes on No. 1 Oyster River (16-1) in the Division II semis at 7 p.m. at Pinkerton Academy.

The Bobcats beat the Cougars 3-1 midway through the season. Oyster River’s only loss was to No. 2 Coe-Brown, who plays No. 3 John Stark in the 5 p.m. semi.

Campbell is a determined team. The rallied to beat St. Thomas 3-2 in the quarters, down five points in the final set, which is only up to 15.

There you go. How many state finals will the area have teams in? There’s six tries, so the odds are in the local favor.

Newsletter

Today's breaking news and more in your inbox
I'm interested in (please check all that apply)(Required)
Are you a paying subscriber to the newspaper?(Required)