Week in Sports (10/28-11/2): Five of six Manchester teams knocked out of postseason, three more set to enter
The postseason is now underway among New Hampshire high school varsity soccer and volleyball squads and while five of six of those teams were knocked from their respective tournaments over the last week, three more Queen City teams will join the playoffs in the week ahead.
MANCHESTER, NH – The postseason is now underway among New Hampshire high school varsity soccer and volleyball squads and while five of six of those teams were knocked from their respective tournaments over the last week, three more Queen City teams will join the playoffs in the week ahead.
Boys Soccer
No. 11 Manchester Central 1, No. 6 Keene 4 (10/30/24)
After taking an early lead on a Landon Vasquez goal, the No. 11 Manchester Central boys soccer team fell, 4-1, on the road to No. 6 Keene in the opening round of the the Division-I playoffs on Wednesday. The Little Green finished the regular season with a 6-6-4 record.
No. 10 Derryfield 1, No. 7 Stevens 2 (10/30/24)
Following a 7-7 regular season, the tenth-ranked Cougars fell, 2-1, to Stevens in the opening round of the D-III tournament Wednesday.
No. 12 Trinity 1, No. 5 Winnisquam 0 (10/30/24)
No. 12 Trinity, No. 4 St. Thomas Aquinas 4 (11/2/24)
The Pioneers completed the regular season with a 5-6-5 record and then proceeded to pull off an upset of fifth-ranked Winnisquam, 1-0 on Wednesday. Three days later, their season came to an end at the hands of fourth-ranked St. Thomas Aquinas, 4-0, in the D-III quarterfinals on Saturday.
- Note: Manchester West would have been the No. 7 seed in the D-III tournament but was ineligible due to petitioning down a division this season.
Girls Soccer
No. 8 Trinity 2, No. 9 Kearsarge 1 (10/29/24)
No. 8 Trinity 0, No. 1 Gilford 2 (11/1/24)
On the back of Amely Collado’s brace, eighth-seeded Trinity (9-4-3) hosted and dispatched ninth-ranked Kearsarge, 2-1, to open the playoffs last Tuesday, but fell to top-ranked Gilford, 2-0, three days later.
No. 11 Derryfield 4, No. 6 Campbell 2 (10/29/24)
No 11 Derryfield 0, No. 4 St. Thomas Aquinas 1 (11/1/24)
Following a 5-6-3 regular season, the Cougars offense exploded with four goals in their playoff opener at Campbell of Litchfield on Tuesday. Three days later, they were edged by No. 4 St. Thomas Aquinas, 1-0.
Girls Volleyball
No. 3 Trinity 3, No. 6 Belmont 2 (10/31/14)
The third-ranked Trinity girls volleyball team (14-2) is the lone playoff representative from the Queen City, and the Pioneers looked the part of a polished postseason contender when, after a first-round bye, they opened the playoffs with a 3-2 victory over visiting Belmont in the quarterfinals Thursday.
Next up for the Pioneers is a semifinal date with second-ranked Concord Christian (14-2) this Thursday (11/7) at 5 p.m. The contest will be at Laconia High School with the victor advancing to Saturday’s D-III championship game, which is currently scheduled for noon at Pinkerton Academy.
Football
Manchester Memorial 20, Timberlane 13 (11/1/24)
The Memorial High School football (6-2) celebrated senior night with a seven-point win over Timberlane (2-7).
The seventh-ranked Crusaders now head to the playoffs for the first time since 2003.
They’ll open Friday at 6:30 p.m. when they host No. 10 Winnacunnet in the opening round of the Division-I playoffs.
Manchester Central 19, Windham 15 (11/1/24)
Friday night, the Little Green won their final game of the season, 19-15, over Windham on Central’s senior night, to finish the season 1-8.
Manchester West 20, Hanover 17 (11/1/24)
Friday’s senior night battle saw the Blue Knights come from behind to secure a playoff spot for the first time since Bedford High School opened in 2007, putting a huge dent in West’s student-athlete population.
The game-winning drive started at the West 25-yard line with less than a minute on the clock and one timeout and concluded with Gio Doria connecting with Terrance Bovil as time expired to win the game.
Doria finished the contest with 223 yards and three touchdowns on a 9-for-18 showing.
KeShawn Foster also had a standout game with 149 total yards, including 115 yards on two receptions that each resulted in a touchdown. Myles Whitier added three catches for 52 yards.
On defense, Logan Paradis had five tackles, including two for a loss and a sack; Foster continued his all-around impact with seven tackles, including one for a loss, a sack and a forced fumble; Rayvon Nelson and Ryan Perkins also finished with double-digit tackles with 11 and 10, respectively; Nono Omol had nine tackles, and Jhystoni Rivera and Jarome Hernet each contributed eight stops.
The game was hosted by T-Mobile, which has already awarded the Blue Knights $25,000 and has the team in the running for the Friday Night 5G Lights $2 million grand prize.
West is scheduled to open the playoffs at 6:30 p.m. Friday at defending-champ Pelham. The Blue Knights take aim at the program’s first playoff win in this, the seventh postseason game in its history.
Trinity 44, Bow 7 (11/1/24)
The Pioneers completed their season with a 9-1 record after earning a 44-7 win over Bow (5-4) Friday night. The victory extended their unbeaten streak to six as they head into the Division-III playoffs.
Entering the tournament as the No. 3 seed, the Pioneers open at home Saturday against at 4 p.m. against sixth-ranked Bow.
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