MANCHESTER — It wasn’t just the Mascoma High boys soccer team who made the 80-mile trek to Manchester Memorial for Sunday’s NHIAA Division III championship game, the Royals’ first finals appearance in school history.
A few hundred students, parents and other white-clad fans joined them in the stands, making their voices heard from before the opening kickoff to the final whistle. But against an opponent as strong as Gilford, all the support in the world couldn’t will Mascoma to the title. The undefeated, top-seeded Golden Eagles led by just one at halftime before a second-half onslaught propelled them to a 4-0 win over the No. 3 seed Royals, who settled for runner-up status.
“We had a student bus of 30 kids, and that’s on a Sunday, when a lot of people are going to be driving down,” Mascoma coach Ryan Limero said. “The community was really happy. We’d never been here before, and they supported us throughout the whole year.”
The Royals (16-3-1) thought they had struck first in the sixth minute on a long free kick that bounced off the crossbar and into the net, but the ball actually deflected off the football uprights after Gilford goalkeeper Caleb Giovanditto got a hand on it.
After that, the Golden Eagles began to impose their will, generating consistent offense and testing Mascoma sophomore goalkeeper Matt Favreau.
Gilford’s pressure paid off in the 28th minute, when a well-designed play set up Thomas Donnelly for the game’s first goal. The Golden Eagles appeared to double the lead in the 37th, but Haukur Karlsson was ruled offside.
In the waning moments of the half, sophomore forward Tanner Moulton’s corner kick got Giovanditto out of position, and the Royals were awarded a penalty kick amidst the mass of bodies in front of the net. But Moulton couldn’t capitalize from the spot as Giovanditto made the save.
“I don’t think people took us that seriously, and we made a statement throughout the playoffs,” Limero said. “(The early goal) would have been huge because they’re not used to being down.”
Mascoma kept the deficit at one through the first 20 minutes of the second half, creating a few scoring chances along the way. But Gilford, which came in having outscored its opponents, 98-5, exploded for three goals in a six-minute span to put the game away. The Golden Eagles never conceded multiple goals in a game all season, scored at least two in every game and shut out all four opponents in the postseason.
In Sunday’s final, the Royals had a 5-4 edge in corner kicks, but Gilford out-shot Mascoma, 20-12. Favreau finished with 11 saves.
The Royals will lose Garrett Giovagnoli, Zach Thompson, Grant Suttie and Rhys Roberts to graduation.
Those seniors helped Mascoma to unprecedented success in the first year of Limero’s second stint as head coach, but core players such as Moulton, Favreau, James Thomas, Aidan Smith and Brayden Pierce all return next fall.
“They made my first year back fantastic. I couldn’t ask anything more from them,” Limero said. “I’m happy that they got this run. It sucks that we lost, but we still made history.”
Benjamin Rosenberg can be reached at brosenberg@vnews.com or 603-727-3302.