Alvirne's Alex Drown (3) heads the ball away from Nashua North's Anthony Ciraso (7) and Isaac Ortiz-Corado (19) during Tuesday's Division I clash at Stellos Stadium. (Telegraph photo by TOM KING)

NASHUA – Alvirne High School boys soccer players gathered around keeper Danny Burke after Tuesday’s 2-1 win at Stellos Stadium.

“Must win,” someone said. “Great way to come through.”

“I’m glad they have that mentality,” Broncos coach Christien Dubois said, his team snapping a long seven-game skid on a goal by Brady Gauvin with just over five minutes to play. “It shows that what they’ve been working on has been showing up.”

The Bronco players were right – it was a must win, for both teams. Alvirne came in at 2-7-1 after starting the year unbeaten after three games. The Titans, meanwhile, are now 2-8-1 and haven’t won in nearly a month. To have just a sniff at trying to make the 15-team Division I tourney with just two more weeks to go, both teams needed a win today. Especially North, whose next game is vs. unbeaten Bedford and next week has another unbeaten in Bishop Guertin as two of their five games left.

“I’ve always been told the chances you miss can bite you in the butt,” North coach Thomas Prentice said. “Today was a perfect example.”

Alvirne got a first half goal on a penalty kick by Colin Lechner and that stood up until the Titans, after constant pressure on the Broncos side of the field, got the equalizer by Ousmane Bah Sy when his high rocket from right wing came off the fingertips of a leaping Bronco keeper Danny Burke in the 64th minute.

A tie wouldn’t have done much for either team. North came close on a header and a corner kick to taking the lead, but Gauvin himself open on the right side from 20 yards away and fired perfect shot that North keeper Logan DeLeon had no chance on just after the clock was stopped on the board and kept on the field.

“I just got a good shot off,” Gauvin said. “A lot of hard work from the whole team. We deserved it for sure.”

“Brady started the season injured, and his recovery is going up and up and up,” Dubois said. “We’re on the mend. I’ve got to see how we look after today, but a lot of the guys are getting more healthy, for sure.”

North has now lost five straight, with just one goal in its last four games. But the Titans certainly gave it their all down the stretch of this one.

“The first half we weren’t switched on, and we got punished for it by one,” Prentice said. “Then we came back in the second half and dominated for the first 30 minutes. … I give (Alvirne) credit. The one shot they had, he (Gauvin) put it in the perfect spot.

“Again, we had two or three chances and wasted them. We’ll bounce back, hopefully.”

Alvirne’s Colin Lechner (15) tries to beat Nashua North’s Ousmane Bah Sy to the ball during Tuesday’s Division I clash at Stellos Stadium. (Telegraph photo by TOM KING)

Dubois’ team had come into Stellos two other times (vs. South and BG) and gotten pummeled by a combined 15-1. They were determined visit No. 3 would not be like that.

“I had a conversation with them before the game about the importance of competing until the end,” Dubois said. “Ultimately, this game was going to come down to who wanted it more.”

Because both teams needed it to the same degree.