MANCHESTER, NH – Two goals in two minutes was the difference Tuesday in a clash between familiar city foes.
Competing on its home pitch, the Derryfield School boys soccer team welcomed two-time defending D-III champ Trinity High School – which moved up to Division II this season. There, the Cougars matched the visitors’ intensity throughout the first half and in the early moments of the second half. But with 16 minutes to play, Trinity’s Jonah Voversis broke a 1-1 tie, redirecting a corner kick into the back of the net. Less than two minutes later, teammate Drew Stephen followed suit to give the Pioneers a two-goal lead in what felt like the blink of an eye.
“Obviously, for us, playing Derryfield is always a good matchup, no matter where we’re at in the standings, or even what division we’re in, it’s always a good inner-city rivalry that we enjoy, and obviously my guys know they’re fighting for a playoff spot right now in Division II and every game counts,” said second-year Trinity head coach Phil Tuttle, “so our halftime talk was, ‘hey, you’ve got 40 minutes, let’s go out there and outplay these guys for 40 minutes,’ so scoring two quick goals like that obviously helps.”
Both teams traded opportunities over the final 22 minutes of play, but neither was able to muster another goal.
“We’re young right now, and we just lot our momentum there for a couple minutes,” said Derryfield head coach Jeffrey Cousineau. “You know, we had four freshmen out there, and sometimes five, so you’re kind of asking a lot (against a team like Trinity), but they played well and those are the differences for us as we get stronger.”
The win improved Trinity’s record to 5-9-1 and created a win-to-get-in scenario in its next contest at 5-9 Milford this Friday at 3:30 p.m.
“I think it’s going to come down to a must-win game for u,” said Tuttle. “If we win, we’re in and if we lose, it’s going to be over, so our playoffs are going to start a little bit earlier than everyone else.”
Should the Pioneers forge their way into the postseason, Tuttle said his team’s playoff experience can make them a dangerous underdog in D-II tournament.
“In D-II, the setup is a little different than we’re used to, with fewer schools participating, so the top-four get a bye inn the first round, so even if you are the last team in, you only play No. 5, you don’t play one of the top two teams, which is obviously helpful, mentally, going into that,” he said. “You’re not thinking, ‘oh, man, we’re going to get buried today,’ you’re thinking, ‘OK, we’re playing No. 5, it’s going to be a competitive game.’ … So all these guys know, sometimes you’ve just got to make the playoffs, and then anything can happen from there, so I think that’s the mindset we’ve got going in.”
For Derryfield, the setback is unlikely to impact its postseason chances. Now 7-7, the Cougars sit 13th in Division III with one match left on their schedule, a Thursday afternoon fixture at 10-4 Winnisquam.
“If we get that win, we’ll at least be above .500,” said Cousineau, who noted the experience against a quality D-II team like Trinity (the second this season due to a scheduling quirk) will only help his team’s chances against Winnisquam and in the postseason,
“We always like to play (Trinity),” he said. “It’s a city team, so it’s a nice little rivalry.” I don’t know if our record necessarily shows it because there’s bin a lot of ups and downs with wins and losses, but we’ve gotten better and and we’re excited about that.”
Cousineau credited the leadership of captains Dugan Brewer-Little and Jared Moulton for helping to keep the relatively going team moving in the right direction.
“Dugan is the doer by example. You know, you watch him and he’s running all over the field, and Jared is the vocal guy. He’s the voice of the club, for sure,” said Cousineau.
