KEENE, NH — The Nashua North boys soccer team saw its tournament run come to an end with a heartbreaking 1-0 loss to Keene High in the Division I quarterfinals, Saturday afternoon at Scripture Field.
Keene senior Brynn Blonshine’s goal in three 11th minute held up, lifting the 6th-seeded Blackbirds into a semifinal showdown against unbeaten No. 2 seed Exeter (15-0-3), Thursday night at Manchester Memorial.
North, the 14th seed, had limped into the tournament with a 5-7-4 record. But the Titans pulled off a shocking 3-2 upset of No. 3 Londonderry in the first round, Wednesday.
Keene (12-5-1) made sure it would not meet the same fate, using an iron-clad defense to post its seventh shutout of the season but first since Oct. 1.
“It was a tough day today, a well-coached team we played against. My hat goes off to (Keene),” said Nashua North Head Coach Jeremy Zelanes. “They’ve come a really long way in their program. They deserved the win today, for sure.”
The story of the game for North was missed opportunities. The Titans used their exceptional speed on the front line to generate a consistent attack in the second half. But despite three corners and six direct kicks from inside 40 yards, the Titans couldn’t net the equalizer and managed to put just four shots on Keene keeper Blake Schollenberger over the final 40 minutes.
Keene’s defense was led by fullback Ryan Cower and mid Will Fauth. Keene enjoyed a size advantage and anytime North looked to put the ball in front of the net, Keene was able to get a head or foot on the ball to clear it.
North’s best scoring chance came with under three minutes left to play. Junior Amani Santos took a lead pass from Caleb Gelineau and broke clean down the right slot. Santos was able to snap off a shot from about 15 yards that seemed earmarked for the short side corner, just inside the post. But Schollenberger dove to his left to make the game-saving stop to preserve the shutout.
Goal scoring was a consistent problem for Nashua North this season. The Titans (6-8-4) managed just one goal over their final five regular season games and the three goals against Londonderry matched their season high.
Lost in the disappointment of the loss was the outstanding play of Nashua North’s defense and keeper Tyler Byrne. Just a sophomore, Byrne finished with eight saves, including three late in the first half that kept it a one goal game.
Zelanes was emotional after the game and appreciative of the commitment and effort of his core group of nine seniors.
”All season they’ve worked hard. This is their team,” said Zelanes. “They worked really hard to get to where they were. I just told them I don’t think we were a 14th seed but some games went our way and some games didn’t this year. But the heart this team has, the desire to win, has been here all season.”
