MANCHESTER, NH – Speed kills and Concord won almost every footrace that pitted their strikers against the Memorial Crusaders defenders Tuesday night as seniors from both teams were recognized before the game. This was the Crusaders’ final game on Chabot-McDonough Field for the year.
Slow starts have been an obstacle for Memorial, and the combination of coming off a tough 7-5 loss on Monday to Spaulding, and a Concord Crimson Tide team that flew out of the starting gate, left little drama after the first half of the first period. Concord had five goals before Memorial had a shot on goal. Concord tallied 23 shots on goal for the game, with 18 of those coming in the first half. Concord also had four corner kicks to Memorial’s one. Memorial had seven total chances with three solid shots on goal for the game.
“We had a hard game yesterday,” Memorial coach Nick Gardner explained. “Our midfielders and forwards are pretty banged up. I don’t know that we had one fully healthy player tonight.”
The Crimson Tide wasted little time, scoring at the 35-minute mark with a point-blank Madison Brown header. Eight different players contributed to Concord’s nine goals.
Just a few minutes later, the Crimson Tide attack went full-throttle with the Crusaders having no answer for it other than one of several exciting point-blank saves by senior goalie Hannah Jenkins. The sequence started with a 40-yard free kick by Concord co-captain Abigail Dickson that hit the crossbar flush. A beautiful cross by Concord’s Rachel Gridley to set up a goal soon followed.
Concord’s third goal was provided by speedy midfielder Caroline Quirk when she ran clear of her opponent on the left wing and fed Nadia Lane with a spot-on cross for that player’s first of two consecutive goals. By the 27-minute mark, Memorial was down 4-0. Dickson added a fifth goal before Memorial scored.
Nine goals is the most Memorial has allowed in a game this year, but senior co-captain Jenna LaBerge gave Crusader fans something to cheer about later in the half, when she buried a kick high in the left corner of the net from 25 yards after Torle Adumene fought off a pair of defenders to keep the ball in the attack zone.
LaBerge scored Memorial’s second goal late in the second half on a penalty kick.
What’s to be learned from the girl Crusaders this year? Their lone win came over winless archrival Central, and their nine total goals for the year with one game left work out to about .65 goals per game.
There are three things to look for in a case like this: Did the team have fun? Did they learn or get frustrated? Did they play as a team?
Memorial can answer “yes” to these questions. Coach Gardner is a soft-spoken guy who corrects, not berates, his players. He told them early on to have fun, and despite slow starts in several games, their energy level seldom waned.
According to Gardner, LaBege and Kayleigh Brunette are looking to continue with soccer programs in college.
Memorial concludes their season Thursday night in Exeter.
“We’re not the team to beat in the playoffs,” Crimson Tide Coach Andrew Mattarazzo said post-game. “We’ll be seeded eight, nine, 10 or 11. We are healthy, however, and we’re peaking at the right time.”
