MANCHESTER, N.H. – Tuesday night held a repeat of last fall’s NHIAA Division I Girls’ Soccer Championship, only with a flipped result.
In what was the first game of the year for both teams, the Londonderry Lancers left Gill Stadium with a 2-1 win over the Little Green of Manchester Central.
Central got on the board first thanks to a quick cross in the third minute that found its way off a Lancer hand inside the penalty area. Emily Greenwood slotted home the penalty kick, but the Little Green would find themselves struggling to find more opportunities in open play.
The speed of Londonderry Senior Alyssa Anderson caused problems throughout the evening and she would help level the score with a point-blank strike in the 22nd minute.
She would help break the deadlock in the 69th minute, assisting Sophomore Ashley Manor to put the Lancers ahead for good.
Londonderry Head Coach Derek Dane says that the team discussed their loss to Central in the state championship last fall and managed to work past any lingering doubts ahead of the fixture.
That was evident on the pitch, even if there is still some rust left to remove after a long offseason.
“Over the 80-minute period, I think we were the better team early on,” he said. “We stuck with our plan and I like what we have. A good spot check early on. With Central, you know they’re going to play you pretty hard. They showed us some things we can work on and we saw some things that we can do with the best.”
Earlier in the day, the Central boys’ soccer team defeated Londonderry 2-1 in Londonderry and the Central golf team struggled, posting 227 combined strokes in a meet opposed to the 206 of Keene and 201 of Dover at Derryfield Country Club.
The boys’ golf team also finished third out of three in a meet in Hampton on Friday, posting 250 strokes against the 244 of Manchester Memorial and 221 of Winnacunnet.
