MANCHESTER, NH — Sophomore Amely Collado scored a pair of first-half goals and Trinity held off Kearsage, 2-1, in the opening round of the State Division III Girls Soccer Tournament, Tuesday afternoon at Derryfield Park.
Trinity (10-4-3) seeded No. 8 of the 16 teams in the field, advances for the quarterfinals on Friday. That’s the good news.
The bad news is the Pioneers will be traveling north to take on top-seeded and unbeaten Gilford (16-0-1). The Golden Eagles, state champs in 2022 and runners-up last year, have allowed just four goals all season and swamped No. 16 Mascoma Valley, 9-0, in the first round, Tuesday.
”We’re pretty much in the exact same position we were in last year,” said Trinity Head Coach Michael Martinez. “Hopefully, this time it will be a better outcome. We just have to go up there and play our game, play good defense. If we can keep it close, we’ll give ourselves a chance.”
Led by freshman sweeper Sophia Houde, Trinity’s defense turned in an exceptional performance against No. 9 Kearsarge (10-6-1). The Cougars were held to just four shots on goal for the game and just one in the second half.
Talented midfielder Carly Grant managed a second-half goal to cut the Trinity lead 2-1, but she was otherwise held in check. Grant was swarmed each time she touched the ball, as the Pioneer midfielders dropped back to help clog the middle.
“Our game starts with our defense,” said Martinez. “(Grant) got her one but I thought we did a pretty good job on her. We had a game plan and we stuck to it.”
After a sluggish start, Trinity seized control of the match midway through the first half.
Collado scored in the 16th minute on a penalty kick, resulting from a handball in the penalty area by Kearsarge mid Ociee Ilg. The costly mistake was triggered by a strong run down the right side by Trinity’s Kenzie Goldstien. The senior co-captain hooked a perfect centering pass that Ilg got a hand on while trying to clear.
With Mallory Habausz and Stella Platt dominating the middle of the field, Trinity kept the visitors back on their heels and pressed the attack.
The effort paid off in the 30th minute. Habausz used some slick ball handling to work her way through the middle of the Kearsarge defense. Then, surrounded by defenders, managed to slip the ball to Collado, who quickly snapped a low shot into the far corner of the net, past a diving Jacques.
Trinity rode the momentum into the second half, buzzing the attack zone. The Pioneers had three corners in the first three minutes of the half and five in the first 20 minutes. They peppered Jacques with shots but couldn’t net their third goal.
Instead, Kearsarge took advantage of a brief defensive lapse to get back in the game.
Grant came up with a loose ball about 20 yards from the net. She deftly worked around a defender and found herself with a clean look. She took full advantage, scoring in the 51st minute to make it 2-1.
Kearsarge tried to keep their momentum but Trinity’s defense tightened up and wouldn’t allow another shot.
Meanwhile, Goldstien was sent in alone by Collado, only to be robbed on a diving save by Jacques.
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