Meredith, n.h.
Twice unable to hold two-goal leads against InterLakes-Moultonborough, a first-year varsity team, the visitors force overtime on a Zoe Soule free-position shot with 31 seconds remaining in the second half. They then squander several scoring chances and lose, 13-12, a minute into the second three-minute overtime.
Sophomore goaltender Emma Thibodeau makes seven saves during her first complete varsity game, defender Baleigh Clark runs as if possessed, and Soule and Katie Berthasavage score three times each.
The Raiders’ inability to catch, pass and corral loose balls on the Lakers’ springy artificial turf is fatal. Freshman Megan Gradijan is inserted partway through the second half, and three passes glance off her stick and out of bounds.
Senior Hannah Bunten scores twice, but can’t connect on five other chances. Lebanon’s players fail to recognize when they have defenders out of position. A shot attempt could easily earn a shooting-space violation and a free-position crack at the goal.
The Lakers are slapped with three yellow cards after intermission, meaning they’re down a player for a combined six minutes. Lebanon (1-6) scores once and surrenders a shorthanded goal during those situations. Thibodeau makes her last save a great one but loses sight of the rebound, which pops high into the air and is put home out of a scrum a second or two later.
“The heart and effort is there, and if we could catch passes, we’d be beating people,” Ecker tells the players in a somber tone. “You guys work super hard to get the ball, and then you panic and throw it away.
“The only thing we can do now is pick ourselves up and make the best of it. That’s a big part of life. We have seven games left that are all winnable.”
The Raiders, several with tears in their eyes, drift to their bus, piloted as always by Don Spaulding, a local auto body shop operator who’s driven it part-time for four years. Player Lexie Roberts quietly distributes foil-wrapped sandwiches, chips, drinks and apples. The silence is broken only by occasional coughing. Emma Hansen is present, but can’t play because of a bronchitis diagnosis that explains some of her recent asthma troubles. Lily Hier is home with strep throat. Several other players are also sick.
Ecker, her face drawn and pale, grabs the leash of Hazel, the 5-year-old emotional support dog belonging to Julie Barber, a former player who stays involved with the team despite using a wheelchair since late last year. The coach walks down a long slope away from the bus. She’s gone for nearly 10 minutes, talking to her husband, Bob, on her cell phone and following Hazel as the cocker spaniel-golden retriever mix contentedly meanders with her nose in the grass.
“I’m emotionally exhausted,” Ecker says later. “I can’t even really talk to the girls right now.”
The ride home features no music or singing. Laughter occurs occasionally, but not for long. Izzy Peress talks about her sore throat and her father and inquires if anyone has a charger she can use with her phone. She gets no reply.
Ecker folds herself against the bus wall in the front row, her hands pressed between her thighs. She stares miserably at the passing scenery and periodically glances at her phone. Her overall postgame message was positive, but the losing is taking a toll and this latest setback especially so.
Ecker was fiercely competitive as a high school and college player, and much of that passion remains.
Spaulding has seen it firsthand. He’s driven for virtually every Lebanon High sport and coach. He knows how much Ecker wants to win, but how she rarely lambasts her team when it loses.
Watching the coach compose herself with Hazel off in the distance, the bus driver nodded his head ever so slightly in her direction.
“Years from now, these girls will say, “I played for the best there ever was, but I didn’t realize it at the time,’ ” Spaulding says.
He turns the ignition, readying the engine for the jarring ride home.
Tris Wykes can be reached at twykes@vnews.com or 603-727-3227.