Nashua South goalkeeper Antonio Pancine clutches the ball in the crowd of a Merrimack corner kick with help from Kevin Araujo (7), despite the efforts of the Tomahawks' Nathan Johnson (2) and Matt Hayes (14) during Tuesday's 1-0 Panther win at Stellos Stadium. (Telegraph photo by TOM KING)

NASHUA – Antonio Pancine didn’t hide it. He was nervous.

But the Nashua High School South boys soccer goalie didn’t let that keep him from making three key saves down the stretch of a 1-0 win over fellow Division I contender Merrimack, a battle of unbeatens going in.

“We really needed to get the ball out,” Pancine said. “I can’t lie, I was very nervous. I did what I could, I did the best I could. I did my saves but we did our part. We all played really good, it wasn’t just me. It’s a team game.”

“He had two nice taking the ball out of the air on serves,” South coach Tom Bellen said. “They’re all nervous. We know Merrimack is a very good team this year. We’re more technical, they’re more athletic.”

But as Bellen said, “We probably should’ve put away four or five.”

They put away one following a free kick, a ball deflected to Kevin Araujo and he banged it home past keeper Armin Omeragic about 25 minutes into the first half. Omeragic (eight saves) was as good as Pencine; he made an incredible diving stop to rob South’s Alex Sennik, and stopped South’s engine, Damien Rodrigues, on a breakaway. Chances missed for the Panthers, now 4-0-1.

Merrimack co-coach Ray Juneau felt the same way for his team, which was paced by Nate Johnson, Matt Hayes and Quinn Juliano. One ball late in the final five minutes hit the cross bar, they had three corners down the stretch, and one semi breakaway that Pencine robbed with a dive to his right.

“You have to put away your chances, that’s the bottom line,” Juneau said. “Realistically, Nashua’s a good team. We had a ton of chances in the game; you put one away, it’s a tie game. … Armin played his best game today.”

The Tomahawks (5-1-1) are a tough matchup for anyone with their height and athleticism, and a tired South team kept fouling in the final eight minutes, much to the chagrin of their head coach.

“That’s the reason why I didn’t want them fouling,” Bellen said. “They win balls in the box. So every time it’s on serve, it’s dangerous. … With that said, we did a very good job defending it.”

South keeper Antonio Pancine reacts after the Panthers’ 1-0 win over Merrimack on Tuesday. (Telegraph photo by TOM KING)

The game was simply the way high school soccer should be played. Now both teams have some tough matchups ahead. The Panthers go to Hanover on Friday and have the Battle of the Bridge vs. North next Tuesday; Merrimack is at Exeter on Friday.

“We’ll go back to the drawing board,” Gauthier said. “It doesn’t get any easier. … This was a playoff game, basically. That’s what we told the boys. At this point, we’re progressing pretty well.”

“We’ve got a tough run,” Bellen said of the next handful of games. “But we’re capable.”

Both teams showed that yesterday, for sure.