The Woodsville Engineers, NHIAA Division IV soccer finalists for the fourth time in five years, rallied for a thrilling 2-1 victory over perennial power Epping in a rain-soaked boys’ championship game at Laconia on Friday evening, ending a 20-year title drought.
Following a scoreless first half in a cold rainstorm that featured good chances for both sides, Epping took control early in the second half and went ahead 1-0 at 51:25 on a spectacular goal by Keagan Lawrence.
The Blue Devils continued to press, and looked like a team on the way to a second title in three years before the Engineers scored twice in the final fifteen minutes against the run of play to seize the lead and then the title with a pair of spectacular goals.
Woodsville seniors Ryan Walker and Shawn Walker, unrelated, each scored a highlight-reel goal to lead the Engineers to victory.
Ryan Walker headed in a perfect cross from Eli Vasconcelos at 64:47, tying the game 1-1 after a sustained stretch of pressure from Epping.
Less than six minutes later, Shawn Walker penetrated the Epping penalty area and found space running to his right before ripping a shot off the far goal post to give Woodsville the lead at 72:29.
The Engineers kept Epping at bay in the final 7:30, and clinched the school’s first title since 2005.
After the teams battled to a standstill in the opening half, Epping stepped on the gas to open the second half, and launched a sustained attack. Blue Devil midfielder Jackson Pelland had two shots on goal, both saved by Woodsville goalkeeper Caleb Illsley.
Illsley, a first-time rookie on goal, then made saves on Logan Ayotte and Blake Snyder before senior midfielder Lawrence gave his team a 1-0 lead.
A well-executed short corner kick got the ball to Lawrence at the top of the box for a first-time drive that grazed the left upright on the way into the goal.
Illsley then continued his heroics in goal for Woodsville, stopping a close-range drive by Snyder after a great penetrating run.
Illsley ended the game with 11 saves, and Epping keeper Sam Dyer had 5.
Fifth-seeded Woodsville’s run to the title included wins over No. 4 Hinsdale, No. 1 Moultonborough Academy, and second-seeded Epping, who had beaten the Engineers 6-1 in the 2023 title game.
Woodsville’s tournament run in 2024 ended in a penalty kick shootout loss to Moultonborough.
Matt Taylor, Woodsville’s eighth-year head coach, said: “This is beyond words”, before managing a few.
“We had some bumps along the way, both during the season and in this game, but our culture at Woodsville is that it’s never over,” Taylor said. “We’ve never been seeded higher than third, and this is our fourth finals in five years.”