Pioneers push past Belmont, into D-III quarters

MANCHESTER, NH – Just minutes before the Trinity High School girls soccer team gifted their head coach’s father with a rousing rendition of “Happy Birthday,” the Pioneers put the icing on the cake of a first-round playoff victory Wednesday.

Competing at home against 11th-ranked Belmont (8-8-1), sixth-seeded Trinity (11-4-2) took an early 1-0 lead and then sealed the 2-0 win in the final minute.

Junior striker Kenzie Goldstien put the Pioneers on the board about two-and-a-half minutes into the game, and with about 30 seconds remaining in the contest, senior midfielder Addie Bosworth delivered a well-placed corner that found the foot of senior defender Kaleigh Morris, who redirected the ball past Belmont’s diving goalkeeper.

The 77 minutes between Trinity’s two tallies left a bit to be desired, said head coach Michael Martinez.

“We definitely controlled the game in terms of possession, however, we were a little lackluster in that we came out a little flat and didn’t keep our intensity up,” he said.

Still, the Pioneers earned the win and now they advance to the Division-III quarterfinals where they play third-ranked Hopinkton (12-2-2, which defeated No. 14 Mascoma Valley, 9-1, Wednesday.

“Hopkinton is going to offer a completely different component than Belmont,” said Martinez. “They have two amazing strikers/midfielders that put in a lot of goals.”

Hopkinton has won four of the last five D-III championships, but Martinez has seen proof that his team can go toe-to-toe with the high-flying Hawks.

In fact, the Pioneers had the Hawks on the ropes with a late 2-1 lead at Hopkinton on Sept. 12 but allowed the win to slip away by conceded two goals in the final three minutes of that match.

“Every time we play Hopkinton, it’s going to be a coin-flip game,” said Martinez. “Their coach and myself have known each other for more than two decades, so we know exactly how we like to play, and he makes great in-game decisions, so we’ll have to be up to the challenge there.”

The quarterfinals rematch is scheduled for Sunday at 3 p.m. at Hopkinton.

“For us, it’s a matter of if we show up and what jersey’s in front of us,” said Martinez. “You know, when we sit there and play teams that are essentially ahead of us, we raise our level of play, we raise our intensity. We can play with St. Thomas, we can play with Hopkinton, we can play with Campbell, it’s just a matter of the motivation.”

“(Trinity) is a quiet, methodical team,” said Belmont head coach Jeff Malcolm, “and if they can keep that going, they have a good chance.”

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