As usual, the Hanover and Lebanon high school soccer programs will be well-represented come next summer’s Lions Twin State Soccer Cup, assuming the games can be staged.
The New Hampshire Soccer Coaches Association announced its teams for the 2021 contests on Monday, and Marauders and Raiders fill multiple spots, as usual. Hanover is sending a total of five players to the planned doubleheader: Sage McGinley-Smith, Charlotte Johnson and Casey McGuire for the girls; Henry Aspinwall and Dylan Kotlowitz for the boys. Lebanon is contributing UNH-bound goalkeeper Sally Rainey to the girls and midfielder Tyler St. Martin to the boys.
The Lions Cup annually matches Vermont and New Hampshire rosters of top graduated senior soccer stars against each other. Last summer’s contests, slated for mid-July at Nashua’s Rivier University, were an early-April casualty of the coronavirus pandemic, the first time in the event’s near half-century of life in which the games weren’t held.
Coach Doug Kennedy’s Hanover High girls were rewarded with three selections following their first season in NHIAA Division I play, one that ended in a 14-round penalty-kick tiebreak loss to Windham in the state semifinals. For a program that has excelled on the defensive end of the pitch for years, the Marauders’ representatives excelled largely for their offensive prowess.
Johnson (12-2-14), McGinley-Smith (3-5-8) and McGuire (3-4-7) all ranked in the top 10 among Upper Valley scorers last season, Johnson’s share of third place the highest. Johnson and McGinley-Smith were also part of a three-headed attack as juniors that propelled Hanover to a second straight NHIAA D-II state title in 2019.
They’ll be joined on the Granite State roster by Rainey, the four-year starter in goal for coach Breck Taber’s Lebanon High girls. Rainey, who recently signed her national letter of intent to join the UNH women’s soccer program this fall, recorded 31 shutouts and started every game of her career for the Raiders.
Hanover’s boys, also D-I semifinalists in 2020, will contribute a forward and defender to next summer’s Granite State Lions Cup roster. Striker Aspinwall had a team-high six goals for the Marauders last fall and shared the team lead in assists (three) with Kotlowitz, a key partner in a Hanover defense that surrendered just eight goals in 11 contests. They’ll be joined by Lebanon’s St. Martin, who scored four times and added two helpers out of the Raiders’ midfield.
Lions Cup camp director Paul Pearsall said in a Monday email that the 2021 Lions Cup matches are set for July 17. Lions officials are expected to decide on a host site on Wednesday night, and a single-day location — as opposed to the traditional three-day training camp on a college campus — is in play.
The boys series is deadlocked at 18-18-9, and New Hampshire has a 19-13-5 edge in the girls series.
State of all-state: The announcement of the New Hampshire Lions Cup team coincided with the release of the NHSCA’s all-state teams on Monday. The Upper Valley’s representation:
Hanover (D-I): Kotlowitz (boys first-team defense); Palmer Okai (boys honorable mention defense); Eric Ringer (boys first-team midfield); Aspinwall (boys second-team forward); Elsa Bolinger (girls honorable-mention defense); McGuire (girls first-team midfield); McGinley-Smith (girls second-team midfield); Johnson (girls first-team forward).
Lebanon (D-II): St. Martin (boys second-team midfield); Alex Felix (boys honorable-mention defense); Ryan Oliveira (boys first-team midfield); Rainey (girls first-team goalkeeper); Rachel Harrington (girls second-team midfield); Mary Rainey (girls honorable-mention midfield).
Mascoma (D-III): Connor Thompson (boys second-team goalkeeper); Isaac Rayno (boys honorable-mention defense); Ben Seiler (boys first-team forward).
Newport (D-IV): David Hutchinson (boys honorable-mention goalkeeper); Gavin Callow (boys first-team defense); Colton Godwin (boys second-team midfield); Paige Greenhalgh (girls second-team defense); Aura Parker (girls honorable-mention defense); Riley Skarin (girls first-team forward).
Stevens (D-II): Cooper Moote (boys second-team goalkeeper); Brady Moote (boys first-team defense); Dylan Chambers (boys honorable-mention midfield); Zahna Rice (girls first-team defense); Brynn Murphy (girls honorable-mention defense); Stella Lavertue (girls second-team midfield).
Greg Fennell can be reached at gfennell@vnews.com or 603-727-3226.
Correction
Lebanon High’s Tyler St. Martin and Conval’s Zachary Kriebel were photographed during a November 2019 NHIAA Division II championship game won by Conval. A caption in Wednesday’s Valley News gave an incorrect date for the game.