EXETER – Play it again, guys.

Last year’s Division I boys soccer championship was a classic at Nashua’s Stellos Stadium.

Nashua South and Hanover went 100 minutes of soccer deadlocked, and then needed 11 rounds of penalty kicks before Panther Santi Somorrostro buried his for the school’s first ever boys soccer title (as South), the fifth by a Nashua public high school (four by the one Nashua).

Well, guess what? These same two teams will meet again for all the marbles, this time on Eustis Field at Bill Ball Stadium on Sunday at 1 p.m.

It should be a classic. The Panthers beat Hanover 2-1 back on Sept. 14. The No. 5 Bears (14-4) lost their next game, to Windham, 5-0, and haven’t lost since, winners of 11 straight. And, of course, that 11th was 3-0 win over the Jaguars in the semis the other night.

South, meanwhile, is the second seed, and goes into this one with an 17-2 record. The Panthers avenged one of their two regular-season losses by beating Manchester Central 3-0 the other night.

Division I appears to be full of talent this season, making it a big accomplishment for both these talent this season, making it a big accomplishment for both these teams to have returned to the title game.

“It’s a hard, hard thing to do,” Bellen said. “It’s hard to beat a team that beat you earlier in the year, but to come off the season we had last year, when we had all the hoopla about a national ranking and being undefeated – these guys just fight, fight, fight. It’s the culture they built. I’ve guided them through it, but it’s really the kids now who are driving the ship. Good for them.”

South is loaded with scoring talent, but is also banged up. One of those scorers, Sammy Hadouche, suffered a head injury late in the semifinal win, so his status is unclear. There were a few other injuries as well, but the Panthers, who can score, have a lot of depth. They’re led by seniors Jadiel Bomfim, Hadouche and Rory Olsen, plus junior Somorrostro – two goals in the semis – and Cayden Ninteau on the back line. But Ninteau’s hamstring acted up and he had to sit out the second half in the semis.

The Bears, meanwhile, are led by Ryder Hayes, who had two goals in the semis. Keeper Ty Nolon recorded his 10th shutout vs. Windham.

Of course South has keeper Ansh Khanna, who is saving his best for last with back-to-back stellar games in the quarters and semis.

“He just proved how good he is as a keeper,” Somorrostro said. “Every time it was one v. one, I just knew he was going to save it.”

“I use my defense, it’s a great combination,” Khanna

“Hanover plays a little more defensively than Windham,” Bellen said. “It’s going to be a tough match. They’ve got some speed up top, and we’re going to have to make sure we don’t give up any of those through balls we did (vs. Central).”

But they got back to the finals, no easy feat indeed.

“I think it says something about our program and definitely our work ethic throughout the summer,” Somorrostro said. “Every practice, was working it like a game, leading up to the finals.

“I think it would definitely be great if we could run it back and build a great legacy for this program.”

DIVISION II

The Division II final is to follow at 4:30 p.m., and as of this writing, Hollis Brookline was hoping to be there. The No. 4 Cavs were slated to face No. 1 Kingswood on Thursday night here at Bill Ball Stadium.

Oyster River and ConVal were in the other semi.