MANCHESTER, NH – Trinity High built a 3-0 second-half lead, then held on for a 3-2 win over visiting Somersworth High, Tuesday afternoon at Derryfield Park.
Junior midfielder Andrew Wood led the way for the Pioneers with a pair of goals and an assist. Junior forward Xander McBournie also tallied.
The win was critical for Trinity (2-3-2), which has gotten off to a sluggish start to the season, thanks in no small part to difficulties scoring goals. In the Pioneers’ first six games, they managed more than one goal just once (a 4-1 win over Derryfield).
“We’ve had some illness, some injuries, that have caused us to have to move guys around a little bit,” said Trinity Head Coach Mark Papp. “We’re still trying to settle in. We started to establish a little bit of a rhythm in the season and then a couple of key injuries shook things up a little bit. We got a win and that’s helpful. But we still have some areas that we need to develop.”
As with Trinity teams from years past, this one has plenty of individual talent. The Pioneers dominated the first half, owning the middle third and keeping the Hilltoppers pinned in their own end for extended periods. But timing issues in the attack zone, coupled with some stellar play by Somersworth keeper Nahum Yoder, frustrated the Trinity offense.
Yoder, a senior, finished with 15 saves.
To its credit, Trinity kept its composure and maintained the offensive pressure, finally breaking through in the 36th minute on a blast from 35 yards by Wood.
Moments later, the Pioneers were on the attack again when sophomore Vinny Bardwell’s laser ricocheted off the cross bar.
Somersworth wouldn’t be so lucky in the 39th minute, as McBournie curled a shot from the right side, past Yodur and just inside the far post, giving Trinity a 2-0 lead at intermission.
“(Those goals) gave us a little bit of momentum. We’ve got to figure out a way to establish some consistency across the board, from start to finish,” said Papp. “I thought our last game we were more complete from start to finish. Today, we had spurts of it.”
Trinity maintained the pressure and looked to be on its way to a rout, when Wood scored his second goal in the 51st minute, upping the lead to 3-0.
But Somersworth (0-4-1) wouldn’t roll over. The Hilltoppers began taking advantage of Trinity’s aggressiveness to counter attack. Somersworth used its outside speed and long clearing passes to generate its first real scoring chances of the game.
Jackson O’Brien put Somersworth on the board in the 58th minute, taking advantage of a collision in front of the net involving Trinity keeper Daniel St. Germaine.
Trinity maintained its two-goal lead until the 74th minute when the Pioneers’ defensive backs got caught too deep into the attack zone on a corner. A blocked shot by Somersworth led to a long lead pass by Simon Grandmaison. The ball was chased down just past midfield by Hilltopper forward Alex Brown, who outraced the defenders and flipped a shot past St. Germaine to make it 3-2.
Trinity found itself scrambling over the final six minutes, as Somersworth pressed an attack fueled by momentum and a sudden burst of confidence. But the Pioneers managed to hold on, thanks to some sterling play by their fullbacks and mids.
Trinity will look to put together its first win streak of the season, when they travel to Sanborn (2-2-1) on Saturday for an 11 a.m. game.