Lebanon
All Lebanon needed to do was keep its composure with its season on the line.
The fifth-seeded Raiders responded with two goals in the first half, another in the second and an airtight defensive performance in a 3-1 victory. Lebanon took advantage of numerous chances behind a shallow Souhegan defensive line.
Lebanon outshot the 12th-seeded Sabers, 17-5, through 80 minutes and finished the game with a 5-0 advantage on corner kicks. Souhegan goalkeeper Matt Greany made 11 saves for a Saber team that entered the playoffs on a five-game losing streak, including a 1-0 loss to the Raiders on Oct. 17.
“We don’t let (being down) affect us at all. We play through it,” Lebanon defender Connor Downs said. “We use it to motivate us.”
Souhegan’s goal came in the 16th minute off an otherwise tame-looking counterattack. To that point, the Sabers hadn’t had much luck through the midfield. But Souhegan midfielder Montague Jones took a chance within striking distance, sending a shot that sailed just over Lebanon goalkeeper Chris Nulty’s head for the early lead.
“To me, what we’ll take out of this is the response to their goal,” Lebanon head coach Rob Johnstone said. “Credit to them; that was a great shot. But, so how do you respond to that? I think the response was immediate.”
Not exactly, but pretty close. Downs answered five minutes later, when he headed in a corner kick from Pat Mason to tie the game at 1-1. Midfielder Luke Sandmann scored the eventual game-winner in the 24th minute, a shot from long-distance that curved just inside the left post for his 10th goal of the year.
The Raiders carried the 2-1 lead into halftime and could easily have been ahead by more. Both Mason and Owen Johnstone had a breakaway chances broken up by Souhegan’s defense in the first 40 minutes.
“I think a big effect on Souhegan was the fact that they’re a turf team,” Sandmann said. “They practice on turf. They play all their home games on turf. We’re not necessarily as used to that as they are. I think definitely played to our advantage here, just the fact that we leveled the playing field.”
Added Downs: “I think we pressured them a lot harder than we did before. We definitely played more as a team, talked a lot. We were a lot more aggressive in the air and on the ground.”
Owen Johnstone, Lebanon’s leading scorer, found the back of the net in the 51st minute to give the Raiders some breathing room. He headed in a lobbing free kick by Downs for his 11th goal of the year.
Nulty finished with four saves.
The elder Johnstone, Lebanon’s veteran coach, has been impressed by his team’s recent offensive surge, saying that he thinks he’s finally found the right combination of players to succeed. Lebanon goes into the D-II quarterfinals having outscored opponents, 16-2, in its last four games.
It’s an offensive outburst the Raiders hope can drive them to the D-II championship game for the second consecutive year.
“I hope this isn’t cliche: We have good players. You just keep moving the pieces to see when it’s going to click or when are we going to be at our best?” Rob Johnstone said. “I just think we’ve been more dynamic on the attack.
“We started 0-2, but what our guys learned is that it’s not the end of the world. … You keep playing. I think we just kept getting better and better,” he added. “It’s so funny. We’ve scored (43) goals and we’ve given up 13. It’s a great stat to have. But it just seems like every game has been such a battle.”
Lebanon’s grind through the season has also given it a perspective on not taking things for granted.
“Not saying I’d like teams to score first on us, but I think scoring a goal on us, with our group of guys, I think that just pushes us that much harder,” Sandmann said. “I think we’re a very emotionally driven team. When we get down, that’s just another reason to fight harder.”
No. 5 Lebanon (12-4-1) will host No. 13 Goffstown at 2 p.m. on Saturday in a rematch of last year’s D-II final. The Grizzlies upset No. 4 Hollis Brookline, 2-1 on Wednesday in a match played, ironically, on Souhegan’s turf field.
Josh Weinreb can be reached at jweinreb@vnews.com or 603-727-3306.