Lebanon
Raider sophomore forward Sydney Gonyea finally saw daylight with 2:21 remaining in overtime, giving No. 5 Lebanon (10-3-2) a 1-0 victory over No. 12 Stevens (6-7-2) in the opening-round match of the NHIAA Division III tournament on Tuesday.
The win was Lebanon’s first in the playoffs in two seasons and its first under second-year head coach Amanda Valliere.
“I tried to really think of it as just another game, but really it’s not,” Valliere said. “I did feel like I was going to throw up a few times today. … This group of young women are just so phenomenal, — I’ve really enjoyed working with them — that, selfishly, I didn’t want the season to end.”
Junior midfielder Sydney Brochu started the game-winning play at the top of the circle, maneuvering her way through several Stevens defenders before finally getting a clean shot toward goal, where Gonyea was waiting. The sophomore forward found the ball out of a mad scramble in front of Rider, knocking in her 16th goal of the year. Brochu grabbed the assist.
The tally was Lebanon’s first in back-to-back games against the Cardinals; the Raiders played Stevens to a 0-0 tie on Saturday in the regular-season finale for both teams. The strategy for Tuesday’s postseason matchup, Stevens’ veteran head coach Patty Deschaine said, was much the same: Play a strong defensive alignment while packing the circle with defenders.
“They really get on you,” Gonyea said. “They put their body on us. They’re really good.”
The result was a chess match. Lebanon finished the game with 10 shots on goal and a 9-0 advantage on corners but had nothing to show for it until after the end of regulation.
“It seemed like they were packing the circle defensively whenever we would come down,” Valliere said. “I didn’t count, but it felt like for every one of our forwards, they had two defenders.
“They did a great job. Their defense was fantastic. They stopped pretty much everything that we put toward them. Their goalie did a really good job. All it takes is one touch.”
Rider, donning pads this season for the first time after playing in the field in earlier campaigns, made nine saves in the loss. The Cardinals, who finished the year on a 1-4-1 stretch, will graduate five — Rider, Ashlee Brown, Sophie Foote, Hailey LaClair and Carrie Faro.
“Just trying to stay in position, channeling, keeping them out. It’s finally coming together,” Deschaine said. “Very proud of them to finally mold and do what they needed to protect their goalie.
“I couldn’t be more proud. … They fought. They left everything on the field. They played with heart. That’s what we asked them to do.”
For Valliere, finally having a postseason victory under her belt came as a relief.
“Last year, it was going to be tough no matter what,” she said. “Being a new coach, I was starting a new job, it’s all these different things coming into it. It was an adjustment for everybody. I feel like you have to get over the rocky part first and then see what you can really do.”
The Raiders entered the tournament riding high, having gone 4-0-1 in their last five games after a stretch of three losses and a tie in late September. They host No. 13 Con-Val in the D-III quarterfinals on Friday; the Cougars upset defending D-III champion and fourth-seeded Newfound, 1-0, in their opening round matchup on Tuesday.
Lebanon faced Con-Val once this fall, a 3-1 victory in its season opener on Aug. 27.
“It proved that we can do it,” Gonyea said. “If we can compete, we’re gonna.”
Friday’s quarterfinal game is scheduled for 3 p.m.
Josh Weinreb can be reached at jweinreb@vnews.com or 603-727-3306.