MANCHESTER, N.H. – The COVID-19 pandemic has made lasting changes in many ways, with one possible lasting change coming in the form of a nascent intra-city soccer rivalry on display on Wednesday.
Trinity High School defeated Manchester West High School in both boys’ and girls’ soccer, with the Pioneers winning the girls’ contest 5-1 at home and the boys’ contest 3-2 at West after extra time.
Despite being separated by just 2.5 miles, the two schools have generally not played each other in recent years due to West’s larger enrollment. However, with the pandemic making extended travel hazardous, possible fairness issues over player talent pools have taken a back seat to the safety of proximity.
And if Wednesday’s results were any indication, perhaps Trinity was not in such a disadvantage despite its smaller size.
During the girls’ contest, the Pioneers dominated, spending approximate 75 to 80 percent of the game in the attacking half. Sophomore Devan Booth opened scoring with a shot just outside the box that sailed into the net at the 13th minute, the only score from either side in the first half.
Freshman Dakoda Correia took the second Trinity goal thanks to a breakaway in the 47th minute, with senior Colby Guinta and junior Lauren Riley in the 51st and 57th minutes respectively.
West took away the clean sheet thanks to a scrum in the crease just over half a minute after Riley’s goal that saw Blue Knights junior Sydney L’Heureux poke one in from inches out. Guinta recorded a brace with the final goal of the day, coming two minutes after L’Heureux’s score.
The two teams met on Monday, with Trinity winning that contest, 1-0. Trinity Head Coach Mike Martinez saw a clear improvement in the rematch from his girls, and was pleased that his freshmen and sophomores saw significant playing time in the second half.
“We obviously cleaned things up from Monday,” said Martinez. “In terms of our touches, we didn’t give the ball away as much and in terms of what we wanted to do offensively, we knocked the ball around and we were quicker.”
And despite the result, West Head Coach Rachel Quay was also satisfied with the effort shown by her squad.
“The other night we had a better score, but tonight we had a better game,” said Quay. “We didn’t do as great a job marking up on Monday. We had more offensive opportunities but didn’t capitalize on them. That goal was a team goal and those moments are the moments as a coach that I am pumped to see.”
Like the girls, the two boys teams also met on Monday with Trinity recording a 2-0 win in that contest.
For much of the first half, it seemed like the Pioneers would duplicate that success, retaining control of the ball for most of the early proceedings.
Quinn Booth struck first for Trinity, capitalizing on a wafting shot that worked its way to the back post in the 14th minute. West nearly equalized on a free kick a minute later, but ultimately would need to wait until a counter-attacking John Wilonda found a breakaway to tie the contest.
Trinity seemed to have a golden opportunity to take back their lead when West goaltender Adam Podsadowski leaped to catch an incoming pass near the top of the box and landed outside of the box with the ball in his hands in the 32nd minute, but it would be an ultimately squandered opportunity.
Instead, West took the lead in the added time before the half thanks to a converted penalty kick by co-captain Carson Filiardo.
Trinity did make the most of one more free kick in a dangerous position however, as Nathan Meeker’s set piece shot found the back of the net just moments before the halftime whistle.
Neither team managed to find a fifth goal in the second half, as West’s frustration was transformed into two cautions and a near straight sending-off for Podsadowski late in the second half after it appeared that he may have used obscene language toward a referee. However, he survived with just the caution for dissent and the game appeared to be over with a 2-2 draw.
Prior to COVID-19, that would have been the case. However, a new rule instituted this year due to the pandemic allows for a 10-minute golden goal extra-time period with the agreement of both coaches.
It looked like Trinity would take that golden goal three minutes into the sudden death frame on a penalty kick, but Podsadowski stopped not just the penalty, but a subsequent shot off a rebound. The deadlock would finally be broken thanks to Nathan Shipman’s driven shot during the final minutes of the bonus frame, slipping just past Podsadowski to give Trinity the win.
Trinity Head Coach Chris Morgan called the contest the first true challenge for his team this season, and it showed his squad’s emphasis on ball control.
“We teach our players to stay in possession as much as possible, they’re getting better at it and ultimately it’s our game. We’re not as skilled as West, but as a team we preach that we have to keep possession and move the ball,” he said.
West countered Trinity’s three strikers with a 4-4-2 formation that relied on speed and slicing through the Trinity back line, a necessity brought by Trinity’s strength with possession.
“We just tried to match them. The first time we played them, their intensity was pretty high and we wanted to match that intensity,” said West Head Coach Dani Filiardo. “We just couldn’t hold possession because we were overwhelmed by their attack so we laid back and played defense for the whole game.”
Despite the fact that these two teams would not normally play each other due to their different divisions, both coaches hope that the teams can renew this budding rivalry once the pandemic ends.
“We get to play all the local teams, we get to play Central next week, we play Memorial and we play West and I love it. I’ve talked to other coaches too and they want to keep it as well, just to stay local and build rivalries. Maybe the talent level is a little different, but it was fun to play these guys,” said Morgan.
