Jon Schafer, of Kimball Union Academy, left, watches his shot from the goal line sail past Harri Sprofera, middle, and over Noble and Greenough goalkeeper Jackson Smith into the goal during their NEPSAC quarterfinal in Meriden, N.H., Wednesday, Nov. 14, 2018. Kimball Union won 2-1. (Valley News - James M. Patterson) Copyright Valley News. May not be reprinted or used online without permission. Send requests to permission@vnews.com.
Jon Schafer, of Kimball Union Academy, left, watches his shot from the goal line sail past Harri Sprofera, middle, and over Noble and Greenough goalkeeper Jackson Smith into the goal during their NEPSAC quarterfinal in Meriden, N.H., Wednesday, Nov. 14, 2018. Kimball Union won 2-1. (Valley News - James M. Patterson) Copyright Valley News. May not be reprinted or used online without permission. Send requests to permission@vnews.com. Credit: Valley News photographs — James M. Patterson

Meriden — On a windy Wednesday afternoon at Pope Field, Kimball Union Academy’s boys and girls soccer teams combined with two foes to dump six goals in the same net. Fortunately, KUA had more.

The host Wildcats swept their NEPSAC quarterfinals by matching 2-1 scores. The second-ranked KUA boys came out on top in a Class B semi over No. 7 Noble and Greenough. The fourth-ranked KUA girls followed suit by an identical score, beating No. 5 Berwick Academy.

Action continues on Saturday. The Kimball Union boys (14-2-1) will host No. 6 Rivers in a Pope Field semifinal at 1 p.m. The KUA girls (13-3-2) will hit the road for their semifinal, visiting No. 1 Brewster in Wolfeboro, N.H.

Boys: KUA 2, Nobles 1

The boys played first, but Nobles’ Harry Roberts was the first to reach the back of the net. With just 10 minutes left in the half, Roberts drew a direct free kick just outside KUA’s penalty area when he was taken down on a breakaway. Roberts struck the ball right into the wall of Wildcat defenders, but got his own rebound and put it past KUA goalkeeper Kosta Maniatis.

The Wildcats went into the half down, 1-0, but were outplaying the Bulldogs, controlling possession and outshooting them, 5-3. KUA coach Mike Doherty was not worried, because the wind would be at his back in the second half.

Doherty said he was confident in his group of guys.

“I thought going with the wind in the second half, we’d be in their zone a lot more,” Doherty said. “At halftime, we didn’t really change anything. I just told the guys to be sharper with their passes. With the wind, I was confident we could pin them in (their zone).”

The second half opened up with an odd foul, just five minutes in. Starting Bulldogs goalkeeper Joe Todd drew a red card for shoving a Wildcat player. Having gained the advantage of the wind, KUA added the edge of facing Nobles’ backup goalie and playing the Bulldogs with a man advantage.

Only 12 minutes after the red card, KUA scored off a corner kick. Ethan Barrett beat backup keeper Jackson Smith to tie the game at one a piece.

The Wildcats continued pressing and controlling play, keeping the ball in the offensive zone for what felt like the entire second half. With 10 minutes left, senior Jon Schafer finally put the Cats up as he charged up the left side and curved a shot into the net.

“Jon has the best left foot on the team, and when he got into that area of the field, usually something good happens,” Doherty said. “I was happy for Jon as a senior and left back; it was great.”

Girls: KUA 2, Berwick 1

Kimball Union’s girls also found success with the wind in overturning another group of Bulldogs. The Wildcats, playing with the wind, scored two first-half goals and never looked back.

Casey Allen was the first to find the net for KUA, assisted by Gracie Gamache in the 20th minute.

“I just had a good feeling,” Gamache said. “We were super excited in the locker room before the game, dancing around and having fun. We’re just one big happy family.”

KUA continued to pressure the Bulldogs, with most of play in the offensive zone. Berwick had two shots in the opening half, neither really a threat.

With 11 minutes left in the opening half, Gamache scored on another Wildcat drive up the right side to give the hosts a 2-0 lead.

“When we get settle and possess the ball, the game shifts in our favor,” Wildcats coach Eric Russman said. “We kept pushing forward, and our defense never really collapsed throughout the game.”

Wildcat goalkeeper Sophie Braver had a crucial save with less than 10 minutes remaining. A handball in the box led to a Bulldog penalty kick, which Braver stuffed.

It wasn’t until the final seconds of the match that Berwick broke KUA’s shutout hopes. With some nice passing, the ball popped out to Chili Dowd, who scored the Bulldogs’ lone goal.

It was a great team win for KUA, which travels to the top-ranked Brewster on Saturday. For now, they’re relishing the moment.

“We’re enjoying the win,” Russman said, “and I enjoy seeing them win.”

Correction

Kimball Union Academy’s Gracie Gamache assisted on the first goal of the game and scored the second in the Wildcats’ 2-1 win over Berwick Academy in a NEPSAC Class C girls soccer semifinal on Wednesday in Meriden. An earlier version of this story incorrectly credited both goals to other players. Gamache was also misidentified in a photograph celebrating her goal with teammate Willa McGough.